Faye, The Reason that Mormons don't drink alcohol basically boils down to that the Lord revealed to his children that we should abstain from certian things. Here's what was said by the Lord about that. " 5. That inasmuch as any man adrinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.  
6. And, behold, this should be wine, yea, apure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.  
7 And, again, astrong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.  
8 And again, tobacco is not for the abody, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill." Now of course my response begs other questions, like "Where is that found at in the scriptures?" But to keep the post on topic, I won't go into that. I guess one reason that they have chosen not to serve alcohol at the reception/wedding is they feel that they would be enabling others to do things that they see the Lord has frowned upon. As far as being in the company of others who do drink/smoke, that depends on the person. I personally know that everyone can make thier own decisions, and I should love everyone unconditionally. Unfortunately, there are those, (just as in every religion) who aren't as tolerant, and who you would feel shunned by if you were to smoke/drink around them. But I'm sure that your son (hopefully) understands where you are coming from, and will be one who is tolerant. 
 
Oh, and "No" Drinking isn't in the same category as beating your children. Beating your children is much worse.

I would say that it is more that the guests are asked out of respect for the faith of the individuals being married that they celebrate with them in a way that is congruous with their faith. It is not shunning an individuals right to choose but rather a request, I would think, on the Bride and Groom's part to abstain for that day at least at their festivities from drinking alcohol. When I married my wife, we chose not to have alcohol at our wedding in part because we didn't want a bunch of drunkards at our wedding, and dealing with our families was going to be difficult enough with them beng sober... :) A little humor. 
 
I think the real thing you have to ask yourself if it is so important to you that you cannot give it up for even one day...

One can argue the Mormon code back and forth about alcohol but the bottom line is that science has proven that oxidants are harmful for our health. Alcohol is one of the worst oxidants on the planet. It is only a little better for our body than drinking battery acid. Oxidants are unbalanced atoms and antioxidants are balanced atoms. Antioxidants are healthy and oxidants cause metabolic and oxidative stress. Whether one believes Mormon's abstinence of alcohol or not is one thing. But to ingest oxidants is not a wise thing for our body.

Isn't a wedding a time to uphold the vows of the two people getting married. If they have chosen to live a life that abstains from alcohol, shouldn't your part in the wedding be to support their decision, and not think of yourself, and your own selfish desires to drink at the wedding because afterall isn't a wedding all about drinking? No, it is about honoring the vows of the people who you love who are getting married, and in that honoring their wishes to uphold their desire to honor God, and not drink at the wedding.

So...I'm gonna go a bit off topic here, but I have a question about the Mormon prohibition on alcohol. 
 
Mormon's believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, do they not? A part of the Holy Trinity? Equal to God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, correct? 
 
If so, aren't Mormons basically saying that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was wrong when he performed his first Miracle at Cana by turning water to wine? Or that on his final night with his Apostles, where he chose wine specifically to represent his blood, that he was wrong to do so? 
 
It seems to me that in this case, Mormons are raising the word of a man, Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet that delivered this revelation and others including the Book of Mormon, over the word of GOD. Now, I know that Joseph Smith's revelations were supposedly delivered by an Angel(s), but still, I personally would put more faith in Jesus Christ's words and actions. 
 
Please don't take offense to my question, I am not trying to question anyone's beliefs, or push my point of view. I am just trying to find out an answer to this, which to me seems kind of contradictory.

Ted, 
 
Thanks for the question. 
 
I would make the analogy that our modern-day Word of Wisdom is similar to God's commandments to people in the Old Testament where they had many laws/commandments tied in with Mosaic law. God gives some commandments to His children here on earth in the context of the time and situation in which they are living. In Moses day part of the reason for some of the laws was to address some health concerns in their day. This is similar to us in our day where Heavenly Father is kind enough to us to warn us of things that can be harmful to our health and families. I don't think there is any question that smoking is harmful to one's health. I also don't think there is any question of the powerful societal impact that alcohol abuse has on individuals and families. Personally I am grateful to a Heavenly Father who is so concerned about us that he provides counsel for us that if we will obey it that we can be in some respects shielded from the harmful effects of them. 
 
Hope that helps give some perspective.

Jeff, 
 
My question is: why do today's leaders apply a stricter view of the Word of Wisdom than the founding church prophets? 
 
I know the Mormon church holds the Word of Wisdom and Book of Mormon as higher authority (especially, when there's a contradiction) than the Bible. Yet to compare the Word of Wisdom to the Ten Commandments is misleading. The Ten Commandments don't directly address health issues, unless you're thinking of murder or committing adultery as health issues, but those aren't diet related. And it's wrong to imply the Ten Commandments are outdated, as if murder and stealing are okay in today's environment. 
 
Any way, the original church prophets veiwed the Word of Wisdom as suggesting moderation, not as prohibitions or commandments. If God gave the Word of Wisdom in the context of time and situation, then He should give a new Word to make a change. But he didn't give a new Word, only the interpretation of the original Word of Wisdom changed. Why? 
 
Thanks. Sam.

Sam (or whatever your name is) ;-) 
 
When I was referring to the Mosaic law I am not referring just to the 10 Commandments. There are hundreds of commandments given the Children of Israel - many of which were dietary in nature. 
 
The Bible and Book of Mormon are equal to each other. They are side by side - not one over the other. The only thing to remember about our belief in the Bible is that we 'believe it is the word of God as far as it is translated directly'. 
 
Initially the Word of Wisdom was given as counsel, but is now a commandment. The reason? Because Heavenly Father has directed it to be so via revelation to his latter-day prophets.

Jeff, 
I'm curious to ask, if you wouldn't mind answering yet another question: Is there anything in the aforementioned texts which talks about the virtue of tolerating and accepting other people who desire to drink? Or are the followers of LDS Church to discourage them? So far we seem to have established that drinking and smoking has specific social and health concerns today, and that perhaps ties in to moral and religious issues where Mormonism is concerned. So the real question I have is where do the texts lean in the debate of tolerance?  
 
The question stems from a particular situation. I am a drinker, you see, and so are most of my friends. Although one good friend of mine is a Mormon, he never mentions our habits/beliefs as conflicting with his own when we drink around him. Do we put him in any kind of situation? 
 
Thanks,  
Adam

Mormons are very sensitive to imposing their beliefs/views on others. (Some who live in Utah might debate that ;-) - but that's a different discussion.) 
 
One of our "Articles of Faith" says "We claim the privilege of worshipping almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all men the same privilege. Let them worship how, where or what they may." So we as mormons as a rule are very tolerant. 
 
I go out to lunch or dinner with lots of co-workers - none of whom are Mormon. When we go out - esp for dinner like on business trips - everyone else usually drinks. Even though I don't I don't feel uncomfortable in that situation. Now if I was in a situation where there is lots of drinking and people are getting drunk/loud/boisterous/etc - I would start feeling uncomfortable. I think most mormons are like that. I do know that some mormons get very uncomfortable being at dinner or around people where there is drinking, but I think that's more the minority. Everyone is different.  
 
You could just ask your friend in a side conversation. Given that you are frequently with him I suspect that he is ok. If he was really uncomfortable he would probably excuse himself from being in those situations. 
 
Hope that helps.