A Latter-day Saint by any Other Name

It is always good to know old friends are still on form and issuing thoughtful challenges to the ministry of Reachout Trust. One such is a good man who is a faithful Mormon and has been for many years. The challenge was to our use of the word ‘Mormon’ when we know ‘the name is the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day saints.’

The question is, which church name would he have us use given the name has changed so much over the years. Instead of Mormonism should we call it, ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-ism?’

I would point out the current Mormon prophet, M Russell Nelson, has point-blank contradicted the policy of his immediate predecessor, Thomas S Monson. Perhaps Mormons should look closer to home and have the Mormon Church do some housekeeping. The various names of the church have been:

The Church of Christ - 1830
The Church of the Latter Day Saints - 1834
The Church of Jesus Christ - Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 3:24, footnote

The Church of God - ibid

The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints - Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p.979
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Book of Mormon, frontispiece, 1966 ed.

The Mormon Church - Thomas S Monson: see the article here.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - M Russell Ballard

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Latter-day Saints for short - website

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on first reference, ‘the Church,’ or ‘the Church of Jesus Christ’ for short, then a complicated list of rules – website

You can read a fuller account here.

It was so much easier in the first century.

‘The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch’ Acts 11:26

The problem the Mormon Church has is it wants to be identified squarely with those first called Christians in Antioch, while at the same time seeking to identify and highlight distinctives. ‘Mormonism’ is a great distinctive, but doesn’t identify ‘Christians,’ while ‘Christians’ identifies ‘followers of the Way’ Acts 24:14 but certainly doesn’t highlight distinctives.

The most honest thing I ever heard a Mormon leader say came from Gordon B Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1995-2008’

“The traditional Christ of whom they (the Christian churches) speak is not the Christ of whom I speak,” (baptistpress.com)

Of course, the church back-pedalled furiously on this, doing its usual firefighting after another public pronouncement by G B Hinckley.

Clearly, distinctives are important. I suggest ‘Mormon’ is not such a bad distinctive. After all, it all started with that book and it still stands as the book of the ‘Restoration,’ while the Bible is notably the book of the apostasy.

As for our ministry we, like so many in the ministry, will continue to use nouns and pronouns that make the distinction. Who knows but that a future Mormon president will change back to ‘My name is [fill the blank] and I am a Mormon.’ That would put us ahead of the game it seems to me.

And, after all, neither we nor members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would want people to make the mistake of identifying Mormons as just another denomination standing in the long line of denominational Christianity in the past two-thousand years.

Heaven forfend!

Obama's mother posthumously baptized into LDS Church - Salt Lake Tribune

In the wake of his remarkable success it seemed that the world and his wife wanted to claim President Obama as their own with even an Irish connection being dug up. Now the Mormons have got in on the act by posthumously baptising his mother. They have in the past upset the Jewish community, the Catholic Church and now the American President with this wacky and unbiblical practice but there is no indication that they will review it. And, of course, it is always someone else’s fault and they promise a thorough inquiry to uncover the real culprits. Maybe they should try looking in the mirror. President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995, was baptized posthumously into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints last year during her son's campaign, according to Salt Lake City-based researcher Helen Radkey. The ritual, known as “baptism for the dead,” was done June 4 in the Provo temple, and another LDS temple rite, known as the “endowment,” was

Mormon Christians? Whats in a Name?

The Mormon Church, disturbed by the continuing identifying of polygamus sects in the news with the name Mormon, recently issued a press statement aimed at "clarifying" issues. It is interesting to note that if you substitute the name "Christian" where they use the name "Mormon" it makes a very good argument for us against the claims of the Mormon Church. The full press release is reproduced below in italics with each paragraph rewritten in ordinary text to present it from a Christian perspective. SALT LAKE CITY 10 July 2008 On 26 June, Newsroom published a package of information featuring profiles of ordinary Latter-day Saints in Texas. With no other intention but to define themselves, these members provided a tangible depiction of what their faith is all about. They serve as the best distinction between the lifestyles and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a Texas-based polygamous group that has recently attracted media attent

The Mormon God’s Dysfunctional Family

You know those moments when you look at something you’ve looked at a thousand times before and suddenly see something new? I was looking at a blog I found via the Google Blog Alerts service and it told the familiar story of the Mormon “ Plan of Salvation”; you can read it here. There really was nothing surprising until I started thinking about what people might think if a family they knew conducted themselves the way the Mormon “family of God” do in this story. People from abusive backgrounds have problems enough with the idea of God as a Father but this story would put anyone off the idea forever! As I recount this story think about what the typical dad would do as his kids are growing up and compare it with this “exalted man.” According to Mormonism “ God created our spirits” and we lived with him in a pre-mortal existence (Mormons say “pre-existence” but it is not possible to pre-exist, i.e. to exist before you exist. The noun “existence” has to be have the prefix “pre” othe

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