Can Mormons Really Never Have Hot Drinks?
Have you ever played a game of Telephone? It's the game where a bunch of people sit in a circle, with one person whispering a phrase to the person next to them until the circle's completed. The point of the game is that what the last person hears is usually much different from the original phrase — illustrating the dangers of spreading gossip, or at least the danger of that one wise guy who would deliberately whisper a completely different sentence just to be a pain. In any case, this broadly explains why a lot of people are under the impression that Mormons can't drink hot beverages.
It's true that Mormons are taught not to consume "hot drinks," but the reasoning has little to do with the literal temperature of the drinks — unlike Kenneth from "30 Rock," they don't believe that "hot is the devil's temperature." The phrase "hot drinks" is meant to encompass both coffee and tea, both of which are discouraged due to their caffeine content. So long as the drink doesn't contain caffeine, Mormons are free to drink as much hot chocolate as they want — although on the downside, it does mean crafty young Mormons can't sneak their way around the rule by getting a grande nitro cold brew from Starbucks.
Caffeine is discouraged among Mormons, although there are some gray area
It should be noted that, as is so often the case when it comes to religion, there are some gray areas. The advice not to drink caffeine, and to abstain from drugs and alcohol, is part of the Word of Wisdom, a section of the Mormon Doctrine and Covenants. While it was not intended as a commandment when it was written in the early 1800s, it is frequently interpreted and enforced as such by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
As such, most Mormons you meet will not drink coffee or tea, although there is some wiggle room when it comes to soda — the Brigham Young University campus began to allow caffeinated soft drinks in 2017, and high-profile Mormon Mitt Romney has occasionally been seen in public imbibing caffeinated Diet Coke. Mormon religious teachings are also part of the reason why Utah drinks the least alcohol of any state, and why state liquor laws often end up rehauled.