There is no Christ, in the Church of Jesus Christ.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

Today in Sacrament meeting, a brother (my son-in-law's father) spoke of a common remark I have heard and read from time to time. People showing up out of curiously, or by invitation and claiming that nowhere in the service was Christ spoken of. even members, (those usually on the way out) have said that Jesus Christ is not spoken of enough. One recent poster stated that when Christ is not being spoken of, he looks up scriptures for his own sermon. 

Jesus Christ is spoken of in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, more than in the Bible. Every prayer, especially in the in the Sacrarment Prayer acknowledges the role and love to the Father for Jesus Christ. Every building also bares (or is it bears) his name alone, as does the Book of Mormon, and the first section of the D&C states imfactacally that he alone is the Saviour of all mankind, as it states that, He (Christ) "...excuses not himself...", for the gospel. 

Are those who do this trying to deceive?

Are they not listening?

As the Bible states, "...are there ears stopped up"...by the adversary? 

Are those who are in the process of leaving, looking for a convient reason...or will ny reason do?

Is Christ not oken of enough in our meetings? 

Or

Do we as members need to insure our comments reflect Jesus Christ more? 

Do we need in every meeting make sure that we (our actions) reflect Him more? 

How do we expel such falsehoods to the visitors or those who feel disenfranchised? 

How mqny here feel that we do not worship or speak of Jesus Christ enough? I ask in Ernest, and not in jest.

in the eyes of those who have issues; What does The Church of "Jesus Christ" need to do to glorify Christ to their liking? 

Please show respect in all responses, no matter your position.  

 

[CV75]

43 minutes ago, Bill "Papa" Lee said:

Today in Sacrament meeting...

I always do best when I don't become critical of what others are doing to the extent I depress the influence of the Spirit.

[Glenn101]

29 minutes ago, CV75 said:

I always do best when I don't become critical of what others are doing to the extent I depress the influence of the Spirit.

Good point. This is a constant point of criticism. Yet today, the talks in sacrament meeting were on the Book of Mormon and the Atonement. he third speaker only had time to bear his testimony ...... of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

If one listens seeking the Spirit, he or she will find it.

Glenn

[Tacenda]

I'm sorry Bill, I think Jesus isn't spoken enough or praised enough in Sacrament meetings in my ward. I don't blame the members per se. It could be that it must come from the top to speak of Him more often. And not the fault of the stake president or bishop. Or it is, I don't know, because some on here have said that the opposite happens in their meetings compared to mine. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, CV75 said:

I always do best when I don't become critical of what others are doing to the extent I depress the influence of the Spirit.

I was encourage that he gave a great defense, to the change that there was nothing said of Christ, by the person who made the charge. I noted the constant mention of Christ by all three speakers, and the Spirit that was present. The thread was to note that for those who listen...little else is spoken of and then I marvel that so many who cannot see or hear the truth. I was speaking of the many claims of others who cannot see or hear, and of the account mentioned by the speaker. No one disappointed today, all (including the baby blessing) made for a great day. 

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, Glenn101 said:

Good point. This is a constant point of criticism. Yet today, the talks in sacrament meeting were on the Book of Mormon and the Atonement. he third speaker only had time to bear his testimony ...... of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

If one listens seeking the Spirit, he or she will find it.

Glenn

I agree, I think some can do better, but those who listen may be the problem. "Let him who hath ears, hear". 

From a poem of mine...

The blind they see no colors,

The deaf they hear no voice.

Halt, not by birth it seems

But rather so by choice. 

So many go seeking entertainment from those who are doing their best, and don't feel responsible to lend a listening ears, nor allow for those who are still learning and seeking to do they best. Forgetting that they once filled that spot, and once resided on the learning curve. I always try or do remember that it was once me, learning to speak and trying (sometimes badly) to get in all I wanted or hoped to say. Today, I was blessed to hear three wonderful speakers who accomplished their goal, even though they may feel they might have done better. There are always five to six prayers every Sunday, praising Jesus Christ. Also most every talk and topic speak of his commandments, his love and his Atonement. 

[cdowis]

I have the greatest compassion for those who are ignorant of the church and the doctrines of the kingdom.

Christ said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  When we are talking about the doctrines of Christ -- faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and keeping the commandments, we are talking about Christ.

When we are talking about our priesthood duties, we represent Christ here on earth, we are speaking of Christ.

When we speak of service to our fellow man, of our responsibilities to our families, of preaching Christ to those outside the church (missionary work), we are speaking of Christ.  When we talk about Joseph Smith who was called by Christ to restore the church, we speak of Christ.

 

Edited October 23, 2016 by cdowis

[Rain]

I get really frustrated over this topic.I have been in sacrament meetings, (once multiple sacrament meetings for months in a row) where the only time Christ was spoken of was specified ahead of time - sacrament blessing, prayers and songs. No mention of him in talks or testimonies (except to close "in the name of...") I began to listen much deeper when I noticed to make sure I wasn't missing something.Yet, I get told it doesn't happen or I didn't have ears to hear etc.

Apparently it was a real problem because our stake president came to the ward I mentioned above and talked with us. A few months later someone in general conference spoke about it. It was AFTER this that I started hearing of it mentioned by critics etc.

Fortunately it hasn't happened in MY wards for a number of years now. 

I get there are critics. I get that Christ may be talked about a lot and people may miss it, but it is important to recognize that it was/may still be a problem in some wards. Even if it is only happening in 1% of wards that is 300 wards where this could be a common occurrence. 

Today I talked with a financial clerk, bishopric member (and they talked with a stake clerk) over a reimbursement problem. All 3 of them said they had never heard my problem happening before,  but none of them said,  "that would never happen" or "I've had tons of experience" and gave me the impression my problem is my own mixed up mind. No they practically bent over backwards to help me with it. 

Why can't we listen to a person who says he didn't hear of Christ and try to help him hear if it is there or consider changing things if you find the person is actually speaking the truth? 

[thesometimesaint]

When their looking for an excuse any will do.

[CV75]

34 minutes ago, Rain said:

Why can't we listen to a person who says he didn't hear of Christ and try to help him hear if it is there or consider changing things if you find the person is actually speaking the truth? 

I think we should do this. It is good to introspect and sit in council with others. As the OP suggests, we can do it in a way that resists the Spirit's influence or invites it.

[mnn727]

2 hours ago, Rain said:

I get really frustrated over this topic.I have been in sacrament meetings, (once multiple sacrament meetings for months in a row) where the only time Christ was spoken of was specified ahead of time - sacrament blessing, prayers and songs. No mention of him in talks or testimonies (except to close "in the name of...") I began to listen much deeper when I noticed to make sure I wasn't missing something.Yet, I get told it doesn't happen or I didn't have ears to hear etc.

Apparently it was a real problem because our stake president came to the ward I mentioned above and talked with us. A few months later someone in general conference spoke about it. It was AFTER this that I started hearing of it mentioned by critics etc.

 

Yeah, I started a thread on this about a week ago and was basically told I didn't know what I was talking about. Well I think its a real problem. The first counselor finished the meeting saying  we were 'Spiritual Feed" today and I'm wondering what meeting he attended.

Oh and to answer a previous question, No, Prayers do not count.

I also think we need to teach a course on how to give a talk, and it doesn't start with telling everyone that you're no good giving talks, or that you didn't have time to prepare, or how it was when the Exec Secretary snuck up on you to give you your talk assignment.

Edited October 24, 2016 by mnn727

[waveslider]

I have some good born again Christian friends. A long time ago their preacher started to preach to them that our church didn't believe in Christ. They didn't tell me this at first, they just observed how I did things. Since we always prayed together when we ate and sometimes when we were going to have some religious discussions and things. They kept asking me if I wanted to offer the prayer. They also found out once that I was going to give a priesthood blessing and wanted to observe it. They also wanted to observe some of our church meetings. Eventually they told me why they had to extra interest in how I lived my religion. They concluded that their preacher was dead wrong because everything my church friends and I did was in the name of Jesus Christ. These guys noticed our centered beliefs around Christ more than any other thing that stuck out. Perhaps it was because they were looking for a lack of it, and were more sensitive to seeing it, but it wasn't something they had to dig to find. It was readily apparent in abundance.

That said, since we are a lay ministry and there aren't professional speakers each Sunday, there are times when Jesus isn't mentioned a lot, but it isn't anywhere near the norm for the church overall. I think the key isn't whether Jesus is mentioned often as much as if His spirit is actually there testifying of what is being said; I have seen people mention Jesus in just about every exclamation they had, using His name in vain, and it was no where near as nice as hearing a beginner speak a boring talk in church. The Holy Ghost doesn't dwell where His name is brought up in vain, but it does dwell where there are at least gospel truths being spoken of, even if it isn't presented in a manor that some are expecting. Just my two cents worth anyway.

[Guest]

Rain...every prayer is given to our Father in Heaven, in the name of Christ...as we are commanded. Every (and I mean every) Sacrament hymn is about Jesus Christ, the Sacrament Prayer and the Sacarament that we partake of weekly is all about Christ and the Atonement. Even the song, "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" is a prayer unto God and the Gospel of Christ. Every prayer and testimony is given in His name, each acknowledging Him alone as our Savior, which is giving prayer for him. His name is on very Temple, every Church, every storehouse, every name tag on every missionary, in every part of the world. Every discussion that missionaries give are about him and his commands. He is woven into every aspects of our Church life and hopefully our own. 

The only place where Christ is lacking, is when we fail to see this, and think that every talk or sermon should be versions of the same sermon with the words in a different order. I grew up in such a Church, I am thankful that we can and do have sermons where there are topics that can give us the tools to deal with the day to day problems of life. Talks dealing with marriage, child rearing, avoiding debt, showing kindness to others, and so on. But each using Jesus Christ as the model for righteous living, and all in "His" name. 

I think one problem is that some don't like that we are different than other Churches. It is hard to be different than other people. It is human nature to try and conform...I like being different. If things we the way they should be, if the Church of Jesus Christ we as he wanted, and had all things common...there would have been no need for the restoration, no need for the BoM and D&C, and new Prophets and Apostles. 

Edited October 24, 2016 by Bill "Papa" Lee

[cdowis]

Our stake president took this seriously.  Here is a video of our stake choir at stake conference last month.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdV2o-dwtpc

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by cdowis

[JLHPROF]

7 hours ago, Bill "Papa" Lee said:

Are those who do this trying to deceive? No, I don't think they are.  But they may be incorrectly looking for Christ as God in the traditional Christian sense.

Are they not listening?  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

As the Bible states, "...are there ears stopped up"...by the adversary?  I don't think the adversary creates a desire to get closer to Christ.

Are those who are in the process of leaving, looking for a convient reason...or will ny reason do?  Definitely any reason will do once dissatisfaction sets in.

Is Christ not spoken of enough in our meetings?   Christ is spoken of sufficiently.  Every sacrament meeting features Christ no matter what the talks are on.

Or

Do we as members need to insure our comments reflect Jesus Christ more?  No, I don't think we do.

Do we need in every meeting make sure that we (our actions) reflect Him more?  Well, of course.  We need to learn more of Christ so we can be more like him.

How do we expel such falsehoods to the visitors or those who feel disenfranchised?  That depends on their attitude.  Are they willing to see or contrarian by nature.

How mqny here feel that we do not worship or speak of Jesus Christ enough? I ask in Ernest, and not in jest.  I think such suggestions are without true merit.

in the eyes of those who have issues; What does The Church of "Jesus Christ" need to do to glorify Christ to their liking? I would think nothing short of a more traditional Christianity would glorify Christ enough for those people.  And that's something Christ never advocated.

Please show respect in all responses, no matter your position.
Hope I did.

 

[JLHPROF]

5 hours ago, cdowis said:

Christ said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  When we are talking about the doctrines of Christ -- faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and keeping the commandments, we are talking about Christ.

When we are talking about our priesthood duties, we represent Christ here on earth, we are speaking of Christ.

When we speak of service to our fellow man, of our responsibilities to our families, of preaching Christ to those outside the church (missionary work), we are speaking of Christ.  When we talk about Joseph Smith who was called by Christ to restore the church, we speak of Christ.

This exactly.
I am afraid our desires for MORE CHRIST, MORE CHRIST, etc in our meetings would only result in "drawing near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

[Scott Lloyd]

9 hours ago, Bill "Papa" Lee said:

Today in Sacrament meeting, a brother (my son-in-law's father) spoke of a common remark I have heard and read from time to time. People showing up out of curiously, or by invitation and claiming that nowhere in the service was Christ spoken of. even members, (those usually on the way out) have said that Jesus Christ is not spoken of enough. One recent poster stated that when Christ is not being spoken of, he looks up scriptures for his own sermon. 

Jesus Christ is spoken of in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, more than in the Bible. Every prayer, especially in the in the Sacrarment Prayer acknowledges the role and love to the Father for Jesus Christ. Every building also bares (or is it bears) his name alone, as does the Book of Mormon, and the first section of the D&C states imfactacally that he alone is the Saviour of all mankind, as it states that, He (Christ) "...excuses not himself...", for the gospel. 

Are those who do this trying to deceive?

Are they not listening?

As the Bible states, "...are there ears stopped up"...by the adversary? 

Are those who are in the process of leaving, looking for a convient reason...or will ny reason do?

Is Christ not oken of enough in our meetings? 

Or

Do we as members need to insure our comments reflect Jesus Christ more? 

Do we need in every meeting make sure that we (our actions) reflect Him more? 

How do we expel such falsehoods to the visitors or those who feel disenfranchised? 

How mqny here feel that we do not worship or speak of Jesus Christ enough? I ask in Ernest, and not in jest.

in the eyes of those who have issues; What does The Church of "Jesus Christ" need to do to glorify Christ to their liking? 

Please show respect in all responses, no matter your position.  

 

What I have observed is that those making this complaint are often those who don't care for discussion of uniquely Mormon beliefs and doctrines. They forget or ignore or reject the fact that Christ is ultimately the author of those things that set our Church apart from the rest of the world. 

It is as though they want the Church to be indistinguishable from Protestant sects. 

[Rain]

4 hours ago, Bill "Papa" Lee said:

Rain...every prayer is given to our Father in Heaven, in the name of Christ...as we are commanded. Every (and I mean every) Sacrament hymn is about Jesus Christ, the Sacrament Prayer and the Sacarament that we partake of weekly is all about Christ and the Atonement. Even the song, "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" is a prayer unto God and the Gospel of Christ. Every prayer and testimony is given in His name, each acknowledging Him alone as our Savior, which is giving prayer for him. His name is on very Temple, every Church, every storehouse, every name tag on every missionary, in every part of the world. Every discussion that missionaries give are about him and his commands. He is woven into every aspects of our Church life and hopefully our own. 

The only place where Christ is lacking, is when we fail to see this, and think that every talk or sermon should be versions of the same sermon with the words in a different order. I grew up in such a Church, I am thankful that we can and do have sermons where there are topics that can give us the tools to deal with the day to day problems of life. Talks dealing with marriage, child rearing, avoiding debt, showing kindness to others, and so on. But each using Jesus Christ as the model for righteous living, and all in "His" name. 

I think one problem is that some don't like that we are different than other Churches. It is hard to be different than other people. It is human nature to try and conform...I like being different. If things we the way they should be, if the Church of Jesus Christ we as he wanted, and had all things common...there would have been no need for the restoration, no need for the BoM and D&C, and new Prophets and Apostles. 

If you can tell me that every time you close your prayer or testimony "in the name..." or say the sacrament prayers or sing the songs, you think of Him then I can accept your examples. I'll even go with it if you think about Him 50% of the time.  

I'll be honest and say way to often I am closing that prayer in vain in group settings.  I assume others do as well,  but maybe those of you who feel the way you do are much better at it than the rest of us are.  

Now that doesn't mean that we should stop saying it.  On the contrary we should close that way and should sing those songs and say them with meaning.  I am really working on that.  

Meanwhile,  things often said in vain/rote don't really stand up as an example to me of Christ being talked about.  I kind of think that we should be talking about him at times we don't have to talk about him like in our talks or as someone we have a testimony of or how we are grateful for Him in prayers occasionally. But when I hear constantly about "my great great grandma was a pioneer that crossed the plains" with no explanation of why she did it or a testimony over how youth conference is true with no mention of the truths taught then I don't really feel prayer endings often said in vain cut it.  

And no,  I am not looking for a way out of the church and it really bothers me to be accused of that.  I don't want to have an evangelical style of meeting.  I've never felt this way.  Having lived in the south and served my mission in the south I'm not sure why someone would think that is a reason why I feel the way I do.  This thought makes me wonder how many people thought "conference has become so evangelical" last spring when a member of the Godhead was mentioned in every single talk last spring. 

While I would love to hear about one of the Godhead in every talk, I understand that it doesn't have to happen every single time and I'm OK with that.  But I think that it should be OK if I don't consider a testimony that "the brethren told me how humble I am" is mentioning Christ if the speaker closes in His name.  

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by Rain

[Calm]

To me, it is about seeing how people are personalizing their faith and it just works better for me if it is explicit instead of needing me to fill in major gaps.  The primary purpose in life in my understanding is to seek God and help others do the same, it makes sense to me therefore to frame what we speak about in those terms so that others can benefit from our example of seeking out God.

The weekly rituals of the sacrament, prayers and hymns provide a great skeleton on which to flesh out our worship with the muscle of personal connection (can't decide if I am going for a medical analogy or a Halloween one).  Why settle for the bare bones approach when we can have much more.

Edited October 24, 2016 by Calm

[strappinglad]

Church talks can follow waves of influence. For a while there may be undue influence with pioneers. Then there may be a switch to prophets. Then there may be an emphasis on the WoW or tithing or some other doctrine. An outsider attending during one of these waves could be forgiven if he assumed that was all the church ever talked about.

 Short of the Bishop standing at the beginning of each sacrament meeting and shouting the name of Christ three times, some will always say we don't speak of the Savior enough.

As for the closing phrase of our prayers, sure it can be automatic just like partaking of the sacrament. We are supposed to be thinking about Christ and our covenant renewal. I'm going out on a limb here and say, such is not always the case. The problem is that the sacrament is the main purpose for the worship service, yet we worry about the talks not being sufficiently Christ centered?

[Tacenda]

3 hours ago, cdowis said:

Our stake president took this seriously.  Here is a video of our stake choir at stake conference last month.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdV2o-dwtpc

 

You wish!!

[Robert F. Smith]

9 hours ago, Tacenda said:

I'm sorry Bill, I think Jesus isn't spoken enough or praised enough in Sacrament meetings in my ward. I don't blame the members per se. It could be that it must come from the top to speak of Him more often. And not the fault of the stake president or bishop. Or it is, I don't know, because some on here have said that the opposite happens in their meetings compared to mine. 

We could do a statistical sampling of a random selection of wards and branches worldwide (or just in USA) to determine just how often "Jesus" and "Christ," or closely related words are spoken ("savior," "redeemer," "son of God," etc.) on any given Sunday(s).  We could do the same for various christian churches (Pentecostal, Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.), and then compare the figures to see which churches mention Him most often.  Indeed, one could do that now with each LDS conference.  Since they are online at lds.org, one could simply do a keyword search.  One could also survey radio and TV preachers aurally to determine how often they mention Him.  Without that data, I don't see how anything we might say just offhand here would be more than anecdotal.

We might also examine the statistics for Sunday School, Relief Society, Elders Quorum, High Priests Group, or the like.  It might even turn out that the three-hour block of meetings result in far more discussion of Jesus in an LDS setting than anywhere else.

[Scott Lloyd]

21 hours ago, Tacenda said:

I'm sorry Bill, I think Jesus isn't spoken enough or praised enough in Sacrament meetings in my ward. I don't blame the members per se. It could be that it must come from the top to speak of Him more often. And not the fault of the stake president or bishop. Or it is, I don't know, because some on here have said that the opposite happens in their meetings compared to mine. 

 

11 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

We could do a statistical sampling of a random selection of wards and branches worldwide (or just in USA) to determine just how often "Jesus" and "Christ," or closely related words are spoken ("savior," "redeemer," "son of God," etc.) on any given Sunday(s).  We could do the same for various christian churches (Pentecostal, Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.), and then compare the figures to see which churches mention Him most often.  Indeed, one could do that now with each LDS conference.  Since they are online at lds.org, one could simply do a keyword search.  One could also survey radio and TV preachers aurally to determine how often they mention Him.  Without that data, I don't see how anything we might say just offhand here would be more than anecdotal.

We might also examine the statistics for Sunday School, Relief Society, Elders Quorum, High Priests Group, or the like.  It might even turn out that the three-hour block of meetings result in far more discussion of Jesus in an LDS setting than anywhere else.

I have done such a study with a general conference. It is fairly easy to do, as the texts of all the conference sermons are published online and are searchable.

Specifically, I was responding to the complaint that Joseph Smith is mentioned more often in conference than Jesus Christ. So I did a count and a comparison, counting all the instances when Christ was mentioned, including various names or titles for HIm and excluding His name given at the close of talks, reasoning that this is routine so it might skew the results.

What I found was that the ratio is not even close. Joseph Smith was mentioned in the conference only a tiny fraction of the time in comparison to how often Christ was mentioned.

So this would contradict Tacenda's notion that the problem -- if there is a problem -- is "top down."

Edited October 24, 2016 by Scott Lloyd

[Scott Lloyd]

Another thing I have observed about those who complain that Christ is neglected in our meetings is that the complainers are often of the mindset of wanting to hear more about Christ's mercy and love, but they don't have much use for or interest in discourse about keeping Christ's commandments. They are apt to throw around the term "Christlike," implying by that descriptor tolerance and love but not so much Christ's requirement of personal righteousness and integrity.

This is a corollary to the pop-culture "love wins" mentality that Ralph Hancock, one of the speakers at last summer's FairMormon conference, talked about.

If one wants to hear more about Christ, he should be prepared to receive the whole message, not just portions of it excluding anything in the way of  exhortation to righteousness or calling to repentance.

James in his epistle defined pure religion as both serving the needy and keeping oneself unspotted from the world. I do believe that both are included in pure Christianity and discipleship. Personal purity is essential to developing true Christlike love.

Edited to add:

When the scriptures are quoted relative to one of the prominent commandments -- Word of Wisdom, tithing, Sabbath observance, law of chastity -- loving and serving God and one's neighbor -- it is apt to be the words of Christ that are quoted, be it Christ as God of the Old Testament, Christ in His mortal ministry or Christ in the dispensation of the fullness of times. When the Doctrine and Covenants is read, it is almost always the direct words of Christ.

When the focus is on family history research and temple work, it is in fulfillment of the commandment of Christ to be saviors on Mount Zion and to bring salvation to the dead, thus fulfilling the plan of salvation.

When there is discussion of Church history and the pioneer heritage in the Church, it is part of the broader context of the restoration of the gospel and the gathering of Israel in the latter days in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.

Edited further to add:

I acknowledge that in some instances the complaints may have been completely warranted.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by Scott Lloyd

[Tacenda]

9 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

 

I have done such a study with a general conference. It is fairly easy to do, as the texts of all the conference sermons are published online and are searchable.

Specifically, I was responding to the complaint that Joseph Smith is mentioned more often in conference than Jesus Christ. So I did a count and a comparison, counting all the instances when Christ was mentioned, including various names or titles for HIm and excluding his name given at the close of talks, reasoning that this is routine so it might skew the results.

What I found was that the ratio is not even close. Joseph Smith was mentioned in the conference only a tiny fraction of the time in comparison to how often Christ was mentioned.

So this would contradict Tacenda's notion that the problem -- if there is a problem -- is "top down."

How did you conduct this study, and how far back did you go? According to this article, Jesus shows up in the latter conferences but hardly a mention in the early church. And it may be because of the below remark.

http://religionnews.com/2016/03/04/jesus-less-joseph-changes-mormon-general-conference/

Gordon: We interpret that by saying that the Church is concerned about how it is perceived by others who are not LDS. They want to reinforce the idea that Mormonism is a staunch Christian religion, and the Book of Mormon doesn’t support that with critics. It’s a scripture that they don’t recognize as genuine or valid.

This is part of the overall de-emphasis of certain kinds of teachings and doctrines that are peculiar to Mormonism. There’s been a decline in mentioning specifically Mormon ideas of salvation, like exaltation and the Celestial Kingdom. Those are core Mormon theological beliefs, but they don’t get referenced very often at General Conference, especially in the last 30 years.