LDS prophet and Church President Gordon B. Hinckley(1910-2008) once said: "I do not wish to give offense to any of my Christian brethren who use the cross on the steeples of their cathedrals and at the altars of their chapels, who wear it on their vestments and imprint it on their books and other literature.
But for us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ."(Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, Salt Lake City: Deseret book, 1997, pg 182)
Some have said that the symbol of the Latter-day saints is our temples, or even the angel on top of our temples.(Howard W. Hunter, Exceeding Great and Precious Promises, Ensign, November 1994, pg 8) Others have said our symbol has become our missionaries (Abide In Me, Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign May 2004, pg 30), or the unique way that we Latter-day saints live our lives. While all of these may be true, they all point to the true symbol and head of our Church - the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
All LDS temples have the name of Jesus Christ on them, all LDS missionaries wear a nametage each day that bears the Lord's name on it, and each member of the LDS Church Makes a promise to take upon [them] the name of Christ, by baptism"(2 Nephi 31:13). Jesus Christ is the greatest symbol of our Church, and all other symbols in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints point to and declare His living reality."
President Russell M. Nelson has in recent years, since becoming prophet and president of the restored church, made a greater effort to clarify that our symbol is not the angel Moroni atop of the 160+ temples that have been dedicated to this point, nor is it in the nickname Mormon that has been attributed to members of the church because of the Book of Mormon, but it is most definitely the Savior, Jesus Christ.
On August 16th, 2018 President Nelson released a preliminary statement regarding the correct name of the church on the church's news website: “The Lord has impressed upon my mind the importance of the name He has revealed for His Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have work before us to bring ourselves in harmony with His will. In recent weeks, various Church leaders and departments have initiated the necessary steps to do so. Additional information about this important matter will be made available in the coming months”
In October 2018 during General Conference, he addressed in further detail the direction of the church and its members in referring to ourselves as members of the church of Jesus Christ. How to go about it he said...
"If we as a people and as individuals are to have access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ—to cleanse and heal us, to strengthen and magnify us, and ultimately to exalt us—we must clearly acknowledge Him as the source of that power. We can begin by calling His Church by the name He decreed. For much of the world, the Lord’s Church is presently disguised as the “Mormon Church.” But we as members of the Lord’s Church know who stands at its head: Jesus Christ Himself. Unfortunately, many who hear the term Mormon may think that we worship Mormon. Not so! We honor and respect that great ancient American prophet. But we are not Mormon’s disciples. We are the Lord’s disciples......If someone should ask, “Are you a Mormon?” you could reply, “If you are asking if I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, yes, I am!”
If someone asks, “Are you a Latter-day Saint?”you might respond, “Yes, I am. I believe in Jesus Christ and am a member of His restored Church.”
Then President Nelson extended a promise for our faithful efforts in referring to the church by it's correct name.
He said,"My dear brothers and sisters, I promise you that if we will do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord’s Church, He whose Church this is will pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints, the likes of which we have never seen. We will have the knowledge and power of God to help us take the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord."
This promise was repeated in our last general conference as was introduced a new symbol for our church, being a rendering of Thorvaldsen's Christus under an arch with the offical name of the church underneath.
President Nelson reminded us "Previously, I promised that if we would “do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord’s Church,” He would “pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints, the likes of which we have never seen.” I renew that promise today." (Opening the Heavens for Help, May 2020 Ensign, President Nelson)
I have made a concerted effort even more since the repeated invitation but it is a struggle to overcome tradition and habit in the form of a recognizable nickname. However, I know that his promise is real and can be realized as I am diligent. My children will have no problem with this distinction since they are young and won't associate - like has been done in the past - the church's name with the name Mormon. I see that as a blessing for them and their generation. It will just take some effort on my part. I have tried to avoid or explain the name Mormon as a nickname of the past or in relation to the man in the book of Mormon who wrote about his Nephite nation on the brink of destruction while he kept the record near the end of his life.
How are you doing with this direction from President Nelson? Have you made an effort in faith to kindly clarify or correct those who misname the church and it's members? Have you seen evidence of the promise given by President Nelson back in 2018 and repeated a few months ago?
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