Re: BYU announces caffeinated beverages will be served on campus and at games
Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2017 2:39 pm
I think your post does a good job capturing the essence of what many Millennials and others, myself included (I am not a Millennial) find off-putting about the Church.KingCoug wrote: ↑Sun Sep 24, 2017 12:51 pmI like a Diet Coke (mainly to stay awake) as much as the next guy but anyone who made caffeinated drinks a movement at BYU, besides being a jackyewt, had way too much time on their hands.Gunk wrote: ↑Sat Sep 23, 2017 9:45 pm I'm late to the thread, but have a few cents on the matter.
1) About 5 years ago there was an article in Forbes or Time, one of those big pubs, that discussed the Church's finances. Was a great article. I recommend reading it. It mentioned Mormons aren't allowed to drink caffeinated sodas. There was a big to-do about it and the church releases a statement saying drinking such sodas wasn't against the WoW. Well, BYU students pounced, prompting BYU to claim the only reason BYU didn't serve suck drinks was because there wasn't demand. BYU students pounced again. Petitions were passed around, emails sent, etc. The Church and BYU found themselves in a hard spot. Shortly thereafter the Church retracted their statement on caffeinated beverages and the leader of the bring-caffeine-to-BYU movement was pressured by his bishop to give up the cause (I know because I chatted with him on FB at the time). BYU leadership took some bruises those few weeks and I suspect it contributed to the recent change in policy.
I know you're just the messenger but these kind of rumors have been around for decades. I don't think we'll see "a bunch" of anything (because we don't need to) and I don't see the purpose in waiting for a new prophet even if there was.2) It's complete hearsay, but a family friend of ours has some high-up connections within Church leadership. Rumor is there are a "bunch" of "big" changes in the works and the presidency is just waiting for when the new prophet is called.
The problem holding onto Millenials has less to do with caffenaited drinks and much more them being raised in a very liberal, secularized, and self-centered society which, unfortunately, many of them have embraced. Dr Pepper is the least of the problems with these types.3) The Church is bleeding members states side. Internationally the Church is growing. We're becoming much more of an international church than a U.S. church. While U.S. baptisms may be fine, the Church is having a real hard time holding onto Millennials born into the Church due in part to Church cultural things like no drinking Dr. Pepper. I am sure the change in women's garments is also a reflection of this.
You're right, it's not about being able to drink a Coke. That's just a lightning rod. It's more about being able to be the person you feel/want to be instead of being crammed into a box dictated by someone else and then made to feel guilty anytime you so much as question the existence of a line. And, before you think I am talking about being able to sin and do whatever you want without consequences, I'm not.
Case in point, you immediately start labeling a BYU student a "jackyewt" because like many 20-somethings he was having a bit of fun. This same student had fellow students compare him to early apostates. He was called a lot worse than "jackyewt" and accused of sowing discord within the Church. He did nothing wrong, but was made to feel as though he committed one of the unpardonable sins. I'd rather be counted among "jackyewts" than zealots that turn on their own kind at a moment's notice.