Breaking news:
On first reference, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” is preferred, according to the Church’s Newsroom site. “The Church,” “Church of Jesus Christ” and the “restored Church of Jesus Christ” are acceptable as abbreviated names.
“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,” President Russell M. Nelson said in a statement Thursday. “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.”
Members of the Church should be referred to as “members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” or “Latter-day Saints,” not “Mormons,” according to Newsroom.
I couldn’t help but think of this exchange between orphan Anne Shirley and her new guardian Marilla Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables:
“What’s your name?”
The child hesitated for a moment.
“Will you please call me Cordelia?” she said eagerly.
“Call you Cordelia? Is that your name?”
“No-o-o, it’s not exactly my name, but I would love to be called Cordelia. It’s such a perfectly elegant name.”
“I don’t know what on earth you mean. If Cordelia isn’t your name, what is?”
“Anne Shirley,” reluctantly faltered forth the owner of that name, “but, oh, please do call me Cordelia. It can’t matter much to you what you call me if I’m only going to be here a little while, can it? And Anne is such an unromantic name.”
“Unromantic fiddlesticks!” said the unsympathetic Marilla. “Anne is a real good plain sensible name. You’ve no need to be ashamed of it.”
“Oh, I’m not ashamed of it,” explained Anne, “only I like Cordelia better. I’ve always imagined that my name was Cordelia–at least, I always have of late years. When I was young I used to imagine it was Geraldine, but I like Cordelia better now. But if you call me Anne please call me Anne spelled with an E.”
“What difference does it make how it’s spelled?” asked Marilla with another rusty smile as she picked up the teapot.
“Oh, it makes such a difference. It looks so much nicer. When you hear a name pronounced can’t you always see it in your mind, just as if it was printed out? I can; and A-n-n looks dreadful, but A-n-n-e looks so much more distinguished. If you’ll only call me Anne spelled with an E I shall try to reconcile myself to not being called Cordelia.”
So, a few quick thoughts on the name change:
- It’s nearly impossible to get someone to call you something harder and less catchy than what they’ve already been calling you for over 150 years.
- Even getting it out of the church’s own lexicon is nearly impossible. The church owns several web sites and ventures with “Mormon” or “LDS” in them. Someone observed that when he read the linked article, there was an ad for “LDS Business College” that popped up on the same page as the article!
- There are other churches that insist on owning all of Christianity, but it always comes across like a jerk move to me. Years ago, my assistant told me she was raised Catholic, but now she was Christian. I raised my eyebrows at this declaration and said I thought millions of Catholics would find that statement surprising as they too consider themselves Christian. I asked what denomination, and she insisted it was just “Christian.” (It was actually an evangelical mega-church). She refused to be pinned down further than that. It just rubbed me wrong, honestly. It smacks of self-aggrandizement coupled with an insult to everyone else.
- Someone else pointed out that for people who are so at war with “political correctness,” they sure are tetchy about what we call them.
- Rebranding is a time honored business tradition, as is having a style guide, but if we really expect a rebranding to happen, it’s going to take a whole lot more than this.
What do you think?
- Is it a positive change, focusing on Jesus Christ and away from the short-handed name associated with the book that makes us unique?
- Will the church successfully re-brand things like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, or the “I’m a Mormon” campaign?
- Is this going to go over like a fart in church? Will we lead a horse to water, only to find that he’s brought his own water bottle?
- Do you consider this revelation?
- As someone else suggested, does this make the church “Anti-Mormon” and all its members “Ex-Mormons”?
Discuss.
Wheat & Tares 
Hawkgrrrl, as always great questions. The question I would add (making explicit what I think is implicit in your questions):
Is this really what keeps Jesus Christ up at nights?
This doesn’t sound new to me. I thought that this was asked of us some years ago. I could be wrong, because it wouldn’t make sense to ask us to stop using the nickname Mormon and then create a campaign called “I’m a Mormon.” I’ll be curious to see if a change that is coming is a change of the name Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I’m also curious to read what the rest of you think.
Is it hilarious or hypocritical (or both) that the outlet used to make this information available to the public is “mormon newsroom”?
They can highlight and accentuate Jesus Christ in the church’s name all they want, but it remains meaningless as long as they continue their unchristian like treatment of LGBTQ people and their children. The POX continues in force and has even been incorporated into missionary literature. They continue to excommunicate good members just for who they are 😥
Haven’t we been here before? And then didn’t “The Church” mount an enormous “I’m a Mormon” PR campaign?
OK. Fine.
Okay, so I wasn’t wrong. We have been here before. The back and forth is so odd to me. On the other hand, if the church (I have an issue with capitalizing the word church as it pertains to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) feels that it made a mistake, and is taking action to correct that mistake, that’s a good thing, right? Maybe there is hope for other things to be made right as well.
“There are other churches that insist on owning all of Christianity, but it always comes across like a jerk move to me”
This is what jumped out at me also. I’m not going to be saying “I belong to the Church” or “The Church of Jesus Christ” to people who aren’t members without some qualifiers. Seems like we went through the don’t call us Mormons shtick when I was a teen in the 70’s and I recall telling someone “I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ” once and getting the chagrined response “So do I.!” Lesson learned the hard way.
I think I’ll be mildly amused to hear how use of “The Church” will go outside of the Mountain West and Samoa. I wonder what the Italian members are thinking?
Oh yes, Teresa B! And I apologize for not reading your response before I wrote mine.
On the other hand, perhaps in the words of Sister Nelson we might respond Not Even Once! … or twice.
Not old enough to recall the effort in the 70s, but I remember President Hinckley’s attempt. The same announcements went out, and it didn’t work. At all. I expect the same result this time.
Also, I’m still not over how awkward “ministering brother” and “ministering sister” are. Home and visiting teacher worked just fine, thank you.
As others have pointed out, been there, done (tried) that.
I’ve akways wondered why we call ourselves Latter-Day Saints? Wouldn’t it be more accurate ( and humble) to call ourselves Latter-Day Sinners?
Of all the things God could / should be speaking to Pres Nelson about, this is it..??
So true LDS Aussie 👍
For me, being called a Latter-day Saint has lost it’s meaning, in that I don’t think about what others who are not members of the church may think of that name. You’ve given me something to think on, Lois!
The back and forth is odd to me too. It kind of makes me think there is a power struggle going on among the Brethren relating to this topic. President Monson didn’t care about it, but President Nelson does. When someone else is in charge, will we be Mormons again?
Even if this works 100% as outlined in the new guidelines, the result will be awkward and confusing references to the Church in the media, and members who come across as pedantic or obtuse if they insist on the new usage. Hard to see any positive outcome from the new push.
As long as they are going to make this change, they ought to consider recognizing the other members of the LDS Godhead. How can we possibly leave out a reference to Father in Heaven? “The Church of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost of Latter-day Saints” seems like a much bolder and more accurate proclamation. Or, incorporating the font change from a few years ago, “The Church of God the Father, His Son JESUS CHRIST, and the Holy Ghost of Latter-day Saints.”
I guess we can’t call them the Mormon Tabernacle Choir anymore
Geez: talk about a non-story. As my Dad used to say “Whoop te do”! With all that could be done to ease suffering and help people, this is what the LDS Church choses to focus on? I think I’m embarrased for them!
High Fives all around LDS Aussie – you hit a homer!!
I suggest we blame Joseph Smith. He co-opted “Mormon” from our detractors. He even went so far as to claim it meant “More Good”. I learned that in a Gospel Doctrine Manual.
The reality is, insisting we be called the “The Church” or “The Church of Jesus Christ” will be alienating to other Christian denominations. It reminds me of the adversarial relationship with the rest of Christianity our Church seemed to relish up through the second half of the 20th Century – exhibited in books like the “Marvelous Work and the Wonder.” I see shades of a LeGrand Richard’s figure pronouncing “We make no apologies for calling ourselves the Church of Jesus Christ, for we are his chosen Church in the Latter-Days!”
Is this divisiveness where we want to be going again? If our leaders perceive Christianity, and particularly Mormons, are under attack why throw this in the Christian fellowship punchbowl?
Why can’t we think of the Church expansively as the Lord described it in Section 10, a year before the formal organization in 1830:
53 And for this cause have I said: If this generation harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them.
54 Now I do not say this to destroy my church, but I say this to build up my church;
55 Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
Here the Lord regards those who are not yet members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as members of His church. I still think the verses apply to people who are not members of our church. We don’t need to alienate them.
Finally, some modern revelation! Now if only we knew why our kids are killing themselves like three times more than before that Prop 8 thing.
Every time I was in labor in the hospital, filling out forms, I had to write out the preferred religion. “LDS” wins when one is in labor. I’m too lazy to even type the full name on my phone when I’m not in labor, come to think of it.
I loved your question “Is this going to go over like a fart in church?” which I would answer with , “No, because someone farting in church will be a permanent memory in all of the deacons at the time and this will be forgotten, but maybe both will bring a chuckle and endured until the smoke clears.”
To me this feels like a way to distract people from things like Protect LDS Children and reports about the difficulties that LGBTQ Mormons (whether children or adults) face.
It’s another way to say all is well in Zion while ignoring the real issues.
In the US, religion is indicated on military dogtags. Mine say “LDS”. Will that need to change? Most everyone knows what this means. Think of the confusion with “TCoJCoLDS”!
This is sheer idiocy. Slapping the label of “revelation” on it is just . . Weird.
Well, this is depressing.
‘The Church’ …. the youngest of my kids has now just finished at the local CofE cathedral school they both attended. There, ‘the Church’ is the CofE. Context is everything with that one. I’m assuming it must be more of a style guide thing for longer articles where the particular church has been identified previously, but the capitalisation is weird.
As to the rest , I’d agree on the divisiveness. Reminded of the last time we met up with my husband’s brother and his family (they’re Baptists), and my nephew stressed that he’s a Christian. We let it pass. In the past, this hasn’t come up with them and we all just mention church in general terms.
I agree with the concept that Christ’s church is far wider than any one denomination.’
Imagine being a sophomore during your first week of high school in, say, Massachusetts. You nervously sit down at a lunch table with a group of kids that you’re trying to fit in with.
“Hey, I heard you’re a Mormon.”
“Well, no, actually. I’m a member of the Church.”
“Oh–I’d heard you were a Mormon. That rumor must be wrong. So which church do you go to?”
“Uh…I go to the Church. But my church is also called the Restored Church of Jesus Christ.”
“I’ve never heard of that one. Is that a new church?”
“Well, no, not really. It’s been around since the 1830s. It was started by Joseph Smith.”
“I thought he started the Mormon church?”
“He did. That’s my church. But that’s not its name.”
“I’m confused–so you are a Mormon? Or aren’t you?
“Well, Christ wants us to emphasize his …oh, never mind. Yeah, I’m a Mormon.”
And off we go.
I get the theology behind this. But it is really nuanced, and it is really complicated, and it requires some really unwieldy decisions about how to refer to us moving forward. For someone living in Utah or Idaho? Doable. For a socially adept adult in a some other tolerant place who can navigate this well? Doable.
But this is so problematic for everyone else. Can you imagine being a teenager who believes that Jesus Christ literally wants you to have some version of the above conversation every time someone new in your social orbit refers to you as “a Mormon”? Or someone living in the American South, or Italy, or Greece, or some other really religious Christian place where the preferred usages are going to actively offend people?
Ugh.
Thanks JR and lefthand.
And to those who mentioned about “slapping” the revelation tag on this – thank you, you are dead right.
This is:
– NOT a name change for the church
– NOT something that requires revelation
– NOT a big deal
– IS something that “organisations” do to modify their “brand”
– IS, in the scene of things, something that is appropriate for the newsroom to release without fanfare
– IS sheer idiocy in light of the media issues they are facing st the moment (McKenna Denson, Sam Young etc etc).
Sorry for the downvote Hedge – accidental..!!
:). Downvotes can be removed by repeatedly upvoting. Had to use that method myself quite a few times for accidental downvotes.
Hedge – done..!!! Thanks.
If someone asks what religion I am I simply say I am Christian. Nice and easy, and truthful. The church has made it all too convoluted.
All I know is that my missionary-minded (-obsessed!) mother tells me about all her missionary moments and quotes herself saying the whole cumbersome. “…The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” – and I just roll my eyes. I get to do that because I’m on the phone.
I say LDS if I think the intended audience knows it means. Otherwise, Mormon.
Why are we messing around in this no-win situation while we can go Sunday after Sunday with little or no mention of Jesus Christ’s life on earth, virtually no New Testament scriptures read or stories told?
Well… in Texas we have a Church of Christ denomination and the name doesn’t cause divisiveness. Not sure why adding Jesus to the name would.
If the name change causes members to focus more on Christ, then all the better.
If it is intended to abandon all the IP associated with other names (eg MTab, etc) then it is a strong step.
Guess you could check that fairly easily.
I remember growing up in another phase of this and I felt like an idiot everytime I said the full church name and people had no idea what I was saying, but if I said Mormon they got it. I felt like an a**hole before I even knew that word.
If the spirit and intent behind this initiative is to help us refocus on Jesus Christ, then I support it, at least to the extent that it is practical. The execution will no doubt be difficult and clumsy. The word “Mormon” is not just an identifier for members of the Church, but is also a label for a distinct culture/ethnicity beyond the official Church. It would seem strange to refer to jello salads and funeral potatoes as being components of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. These things are a valuable part of our shared culture, but couldn’t have less to do with Christ.
The intent of the “I’m a Mormon” campaign was to send the message that Latter-day Saints are regular, everyday people from diverse backgrounds, just like everyone else. This new effort to seems to want to move us in the opposite direction.
More references to Jesus Christ in our church’s name don’t matter much unless He’s reflected in our words and actions.
Amen Allison 👌👌👌
Jack, Interesting that American Mormons claim jello salads as a part of Mormon cultural identity. American Lutherans claim them as part of American Lutheran cultural identity. I haven’t checked my Lutheran friends on funeral potatoes. 🙂
Amen, Dave-Oz. We’re in the UK and I’ve always just said Christian – my kids attend both CofE and Catholic schools and this has always worked just fine. When people ask which parish we attend, I explain where our local meetinghouse is.
Willing to bet on the cumbersome Primary song ” I belong to TcoJCoLDS” popping up in the new hymbook for us all to enjoy…
It looks like the heavens are shut on this one. If Jesus is with the brethren, just ask him to solve a big problem. Forget the program changes from home teaching to ministering or unimportant name changes, give us a real answer to real problems and the world will follow.
The Church of Christ in my area is a Pentecostal Church.
The Restored Church of Christ is a reference to the RLDS church and some splinter RLDS groups. Of course, no one in the PR department thought about how these new shortened names would impact the saints in the Midwest. I doubt anyone did any user testing either.
Besides, why new nick-names if God’s point was- stop using nick-names? I can see God face-palming himself right now.
The branding exists to distinguish the Salt Lake City official one and only true Mormons from the polygamous FLDS, the Strangites and so on; even the followers of the Might and Strong Art Bulla, all of whom are “Mormons”.
I’ve been through the previous attempts which explains why sometimes I spell it out even here where “the church” is fairly well understood.