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Campus caffeine fix

There’s good news for groggy, late-night paper-writing, test-cramming Brigham Young University-Idaho students: The school’s new soda offerings have more types of pop that deliver more pep.

Church-owned BYU-Idaho now is selling caffeinated Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew and more at vending machines and dining venues. Energy drinks remain off-limits.

Provo’s BYU has been supplying caffeinated colas since 2017. It took seven years, but the Rexburg campus now has caught up with the flagship campus.

“We have a new contract with our beverage provider on campus,” BYU-Idaho spokesperson Perry Rockwood told multiple news outlets, “and, yes, it includes a greater variety of choices than it did before.”

This move stands as another reminder that, contrary to what many snippy outsiders and, frankly, nitpicking insiders think: consuming caffeinated sodas is not against the church’s Word of Wisdom health code.

So to all you thirsty BYU-Idaho students, cheers.

Catch our special report

Be sure to read our exclusive six-part series on the religious divide that separates the Beehive State’s Latter-day Saints from their neighbors and vice versa — a split that, according to a leading Mormonism scholar, remains “the defining feature of Utah cultural life.” Here are Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.

A sixth missionary death in 2024

A 26-year-old missionary serving in her Haitian homeland has died.

Jenny Lucas, who has been working in the Port-au-Prince Mission since January and hails from a suburb of the Caribbean country’s capital, died Aug. 2 from “what is believed to be sudden complications related to a preexisting medical condition,” church spokesperson Sam Penrod said in a Tuesday news release. “We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Sister Lucas and the missionaries she was serving alongside.”

This represents the sixth publicly reported death of a full-time Latter-day Saint missionary this year.

The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: Body and soul

What role might Latter-day Saint culture and theology play in how members view their bodies? A new BYU study provides intriguing answers.

Listen to the podcast.

Russell Nelson, by the book

For years, members studied the teachings of past church presidents using designated manuals — one for each leader. Now, they can begin diving into the life and lessons of the living prophet-president.

Four chapters from “Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Russell M. Nelson” are now available online.

“This is the first time the church has released a ‘Teachings’ manual about a living prophet,” a news release noted. “The digital format allows this manual (as well as manuals about future church presidents) to become a living document that can be updated as President Nelson continues his ministry.”

From The Tribune

• For 17-year-old Latter-day Saint Parker Mitchell, his decision to wear his “I can’t. I’m Mormon” T-shirt — “I don’t wear that shirt almost ever,” he said — to an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game provided the prop for a viral video that attracted more than 1.4 million views.

• Tribune guest columnist Eli McCann recalls his first cup of coffee and coming out to his Latter-day Saint parents as a devotee of the “devil’s bean.”

• A new study reveals Latter-day Saints have more cosmetic surgery than the average American — and sometimes for what they see as religious reasons.

• Thousands of young Latter-day Saint singles gather for speed dating, games, music, messages and to sign a 100th birthday card for President Nelson.

• See how the Lost & Found Club is building an online and in-person congregation, of sorts, of former Latter-day Saints.