What images do you come up with when you hear the word “alcohol”? Almost people may think that it is a negative substance because of the word “alcoholic.” Actually, you sometimes hear some news about crimes by alcoholics. If you drink too much alcohol, you could be an alcoholic. Because of this effect, some religions and people do not drink alcohol. However, in fact, if you do not drink alcohol too much, alcohol has two positive powers which affect on people’s health. In addition, alcohol can use not only for drinking but also disinfection. It means alcohol can protect from some bacteria. Alcohol can make people’s lives longer and protect them from some illnesses, however, some religions, such as Mormons and Muslims are prohibited from drinking it. This paper first describes the positive consequences of alcohol, then considers the view of alcohol for Mormons.
The first positive effect is that alcohol can use for disinfection. Flournoy (2018) said that “Alcohol has been used as a disinfectant for centuries.” For instance, at many supermarkets in Japan, there is rubbing alcohol to clean people’s hands, especially in winter. The reason why is in winter, the air is dry, so there are a lot of risks to be sick like the flu. According to Carter (2019), rubbing alcohol can kill fungi, bacteria, and viruses. It means if you use it for your hands, before eating something, you can reduce the risk of getting viruses, especially from your mouth. Additionally, alcohol is used in hospitals. According to Gotter (2018), “Antiseptics are applied to the skin before any kind of surgery to protect against any harmful microorganisms that might be on the skin.” When you get an injection, before doing that, a doctor wipes your skin by using cotton with rubbing alcohol. Thus, alcohol can use not only for just fun it has the power to prevent diseases. In addition, it can use one tool of hospitals.
Despite the benefits of alcohol, it is banned in Mormonism because of its law called “Word of Wisdom,” for Mormons. According to Forgie (2019), “The Word of Wisdom is a law of health for the physical and spiritual benefit of God’s children. It includes instruction about what foods are good for us and those substances to avoid.” Therefore, Mormons avoid the food or drinks which are written in the Word of Wisdom. In it, alcohol is written as one of the prohibitions for Mormons. Doctrine and Covenants which is a part of the Word of Wisdom, says that “And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.” In here, strong drinks mean alcohol. From this “Word of Wisdom,” you can understand that alcohol can use for anything except for drinking. Although Mormons can not drink alcohol, they can use it for sanitizing. A Mormon said that “We also use rubbing alcohol to clean. Not a problem.” (Johnson, J, personal communication, November 3, 2019). Thus, you can learn Mormons can use alcohol but they cannot drink it.
In conclusion, there are some religions that think alcohol is a negative thing, however, alcohol can be used to prevent diseases, and has good effects on people’s health. Alcohol is able to kill some bacteria to prevent getting them into your body. Moreover, drinking red wine can protect the body from diseases. Nevertheless, Mormons do not drink alcohol because of the “Word of Wisdom,” which make them forbidden to drink alcohol, therefore they can not drink them. Similarly, Muslims were prohibited to drink alcohol as “haram.” These two religions know alcohol has good effects, but when people drink alcohol, they think it has more negative effects than positive ones. The proverb, “Too much is as bad as too little,” means the same situation that if you water a cactus every day, it will be dead. From this saying, you can learn if you drink too much alcohol, alcohol brings not only good effects, but also negative effects like alcoholism.
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