Mild Drinks

There's a lot that I don't get about the gospel. Heck--there's a lot that I don't get about specific gospel principles, like the Word of Wisdom. For instance, I've always wondered how to interpret Doctrine and Covenants 89:17, where the Lord explains that "wheat [is] for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain." There's a lot that I don't understand just in this one verse--is wheat supposed to be the optimal feed for people and corn for cattle? This certainly can't be exclusionary, right? So why make the distinction at all? And what about rice?

Again, I'm profoundly aware of my ignorance. And the bit about "mild drinks" made from barley has always confused me. The only "mild drink" made from barley that I know of is beer--and prophetic counsel forbids alcohol. But when I read about this study claiming that non-alcoholic beer boosts the immune system and this study claiming that non-alcoholic beer prevents cancer, I had to wonder--is the Doctrine and Covenants encouraging us to consume O'Douls?

Comments

Unknown said…
c'mon bro, you're just kidding, right?...
August 4, 2011 at 5:25 PM
Amazon Mama said…
LOL . . . that's very funny.
August 6, 2011 at 11:20 PM
shirlgirl said…
I just looked up the alcohol content in O'Doul's non-alcoholic brew. There is about 0.4% alcohol content in this beer. There is a 5% alcohol range in regular beer. One would have to drink 12 O'Doul's to equal a single beer. Just thought you'd like this info.
August 7, 2011 at 4:16 PM
Unknown said…
Webster's 1864 Dictionary and Lexicon defines the following:

"Mild Drink - Fermented Beverages of Fruit and Grain."

"Strong Drink - Fermented Beverages, Distilled."
September 4, 2019 at 12:02 AM
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