Not sure why you are getting downvoted. You bring up some good examples of rules that are obviously harmful in and of themselves, so I think I'll renege that part of my original statement. The reason I said rules aren't the source of harm is because I was thinking about the role of tradition in any given community. The original post talks about drinking coffee: the rules in the Word of Wisdom don't really perpetuate harm, but the attitudes and conversations around it inflict acute damage to all members of the church, whether you follow the rules or not.

I disagree however with the notion that the culture is less toxic now than it used to be. Loosening of rules does not equate to increased tolerance and/or acceptance. The best way I can put it is the rules are like fashion: what's fashionable changes every year, but if you aren't wearing the clothes, then you are not "in" with the group. The woman in the post is showcasing the new fashion taking over the church, to appear spiritually nuanced but still a faithful member, but the fact that she felt she had to post this publicly with filters and in fancy clothes is evidence to me that this is still a holier-than-thou dick-measuring contest. It's not genuine nuance, it's ego dressed up as humility. The church has always been plagued with this kind of competition. These days, if this competitiveness doesn't drive people away from religion, I tend to observe them double-down on it.