Popular Post rodheadlee Posted October 28, 2012 Popular Post Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) I know you don't mean anything by it but it is critical to not call The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the Mormon Church, especially during this time of great scruinty by the public. D&C 115:3 and 4 plainly tell us what Christ wants his Church to be called. I read a nice post on here about Lamanites and the Church but the poster called it the Mormon Church throughout his post.It drove me nuts. I read an article about Billy Graham and Romney's Mormon Church. I stopped reading it. If we don't correct people and call the Church by the correct name it hurts the missionary effort. How do I know? I'm a convert and I had no idea whatsoever that Mormons were Christian until I went to the Worlds Fair in Spokane and went to an exhibit. It matters and I believe we had a GC talk by President Monson on this subject last year. It matters because it forces people to realise we believe we ARE His Church and we want them to join us in Christ. Edited October 28, 2012 by rodheadlee 5
Scott Lloyd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 Thank you for this post. I am inclined to be tolerant when non-members innocently use this appellation, though as you say, a gentle and courteous correction can be appropriate on occasion. I am less so when I see it or hear it from seasoned members of the Church who have been reminded again and again to use the proper name of the Church as mandated by none other than the Lord Himself in scripture. And before anyone starts down this road, I hasten to point out that Church leaders have said it's OK to call Church members Mormons or to use the word in names such as Mormon Tabernacle Choir. That's a different matter than the name of the Church itself. 4
CA Steve Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) So can we expect a change in the name of this discussion board?I mean that if in all cases except when referring to the Church itself it is okay to use the word Mormon it is going to be very difficult to even get members to not use the easier and shorter term "Mormon Church" not to mention the rest of the world. The current generation is used to sound bytes and texting. The dialogue that surrounds the present election is dominated by the term Mormon Church rather than CofJCoLDS.. I am not saying we can't and shouldn't try but I don't see much hope for success.As a side thought, is "LDS Church" also inappropriate? Edited October 28, 2012 by CA Steve
Bart Burk Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 I know you don't mean anything by it but it is critical to not call the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints the Mormon Church, especially during this time of great scruinty by the public. D&C 115:3 and 4 plainly tell us what Christ wants his Church to be called. I read a nice post on here about Lamanites and the Church but the poster called it the Mormon Church throughout his post.It drove me nuts. I read an article about Billy Graham and Romney's Mormon Church. I stopped reading it. If we don't correct people and call the Church by the correct name it hurts the missionary effort. How do I know? I'm a convert and I had no idea whatsoever that Mormons were Christian until I went to the Worlds Fair in Spokane and went to an exhibit. It matters and I believe we had a GC talk by President Monson on this subject last year. It matters because it forces people to realise we believe we ARE His Church and we want them to join us in Christ.When they use mormon.org for their missionary website, I don't think you can argue with calling it the Mormon Church. And what is the name of this pro-LDS board?
Sky Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 I also prefer the full, correct name of the Church, but the term "Mormon" is very useful because the rest of the world uses it to distinguish us with. It's not going away, and I don't want it to. A while back ago, I remember the Church making a big push to move away from the term "Mormon", but now we seem to be going in the other direction with websites like Mormon.org, which by the way, also happens to use the term "Mormon Church." As long as we have it, we might as well use it to our benefit, instead of letting our critics use it in some sort of derogatory way.
altersteve Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 I agree complete. Even "LDS Church" gets on my nerves sometimes. The Church requests that people not use either term.
Judd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 A pet peeve of mine is the frequent use of writing it (in well over 70% of any articles) as "the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" as if the official name were Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think that one bothers me more.
rodheadlee Posted October 28, 2012 Author Posted October 28, 2012 When they use mormon.org for their missionary website, I don't think you can argue with calling it the Mormon Church. And what is the name of this pro-LDS board?I understand that we are Mormons and that we practice Mormonism but we don't worship Mormon. It's not the Mormon Church.
rodheadlee Posted October 28, 2012 Author Posted October 28, 2012 A pet peeve of mine is the frequent use of writing it (in well over 70% of any articles) as "the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" as if the official name were Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think that one bothers me more.Why, that is the official name of the Church? That is what Jesus Christ requested that we call the Church.
Nathair/|\ Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 Why, that is the official name of the Church? That is what Jesus Christ requested that we call the Church.(s)he's complaining that "The" is not capitalized. It's a legitimate concern.
rodheadlee Posted October 28, 2012 Author Posted October 28, 2012 (s)he's complaining that "The" is not capitalized. It's a legitimate concern.I see, I'm a little slow. I corrected my OP. I don't think that is near as critical as calling it the Mormon Church. I kid you not I had driven through Utah several times in the late 60's and early 70's and I had no clue they worshipped Jesus Christ. When I was hitchhiking through Eastern Washington I had the occasion to go through an exhibit at the Worlds Fair. I was stunned to find out they believed Christ came to America. I didn't get to take U.S. History in High School due to overcrowding at my school. I suppose that could be the reason for my ignorance.
altersteve Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 (s)he's complaining that "The" is not capitalized. It's a legitimate concern.I don't think the capitalized "the" is a very big deal at all.
Scott Lloyd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 When they use mormon.org for their missionary website, I don't think you can argue with calling it the Mormon Church. And what is the name of this pro-LDS board?As I've already stated above, the Church leaders do not object to the use of the name Mormon as a descriptor of things pertaining to the Church of Jesus Christ, EXCEPT in referring to the name of the Church itself. In that case, it should be called the Church of Jesus Christ. Help me understand why you are having such a hard time grasping the distinction. 2
Scott Lloyd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 I don't think the capitalized "the" is a very big deal at all.In Church-correlated publications, we are instructed to capitalize it.
Scott Lloyd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) I also prefer the full, correct name of the Church, but the term "Mormon" is very useful because the rest of the world uses it to distinguish us with. It's not going away, and I don't want it to. A while back ago, I remember the Church making a big push to move away from the term "Mormon", but now we seem to be going in the other direction with websites like Mormon.org, which by the way, also happens to use the term "Mormon Church." As long as we have it, we might as well use it to our benefit, instead of letting our critics use it in some sort of derogatory way. The Church leaders have not backed away in the least from their expressed preference that it be called the Church of Jesus Christ. Nor have they ever objected to the name Mormon in usages other than the name of the Church itself. Examples would be the Mormon people, the Mormon faith, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Mormon Pioneer Trail, etc. Again, I don't see why people have difficulty grasping this distinction. Edited October 28, 2012 by Scott Lloyd 2
Scott Lloyd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) So can we expect a change in the name of this discussion board?I mean that if in all cases except when referring to the Church itself it is okay to use the word Mormon it is going to be very difficult to even get members to not use the easier and shorter term "Mormon Church" not to mention the rest of the world. The current generation is used to sound bytes and texting. The dialogue that surrounds the present election is dominated by the term Mormon Church rather than CofJCoLDS.. I am not saying we can't and shouldn't try but I don't see much hope for success.As a side thought, is "LDS Church" also inappropriate?You've made a pretty good case here for being tolerant of outsiders who call it the "Mormon Church" but have not provided a good excuse for members to continually ignore the admonition a of Church leaders to call it the Church of Jesus Christ, this in obedience to the commandment of Christ Himself.In regard to your side thought, LDS Church has the same problem as "Mormon Church" in that it leaves out the name of Jesus Christ. Some journalists and other speakers and writers think they are being respectful when they call it "the Church of the Latter-day Saints," and maybe they are, but they fail to understand that what we want is for the name of Christ to be included in the name of the Church. Edited October 28, 2012 by Scott Lloyd 1
blackstrap Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 It's just that in our modern fast-paced world we prefer to use acronyms and single words if a TALL POSSIBLE. So we get FBI,CIA,PC,RCC,LDS etc. The name of the church is just sooooooooo long. 1
blackstrap Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 By the way, is there another 'Church of Jesus Christ' anywhere? I know there are several 'Church of Christ' groups.
Scott Lloyd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) It's just that in our modern fast-paced world we prefer to use acronyms and single words if a TALL POSSIBLE. So we get FBI,CIA,PC,RCC,LDS etc. The name of the church is just sooooooooo long.Church leaders have said that "Church of Jesus Christ" is acceptable as a shortened form. That's not much longer than "Mormon Church."As for acronyms and abbreviations, they often fail to communicate very well. They are like jargon in that respect. They are a tool of a lazy speaker or writer who cares more about his own convenience than he does about conveying clear and accurate meaning. Edited October 28, 2012 by Scott Lloyd 1
Scott Lloyd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 By the way, is there another 'Church of Jesus Christ' anywhere? I know there are several 'Church of Christ' groups.There may be. But in most discourse, it can be clear from context which church one is referring to. 1
The Nehor Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 Aslan said that all things would soon have their proper names. Until then we must not quibble over noises. 2
Calm Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 I see, I'm a little slow. I corrected my OP. I don't think that is near as critical as calling it the Mormon Church. I kid you not I had driven through Utah several times in the late 60's and early 70's and I had no clue they worshipped Jesus Christ. When I was hitchhiking through Eastern Washington I had the occasion to go through an exhibit at the Worlds Fair. I was stunned to find out they believed Christ came to America. I didn't get to take U.S. History in High School due to overcrowding at my school. I suppose that could be the reason for my ignorance.Unfortunately you are not the only one, especially when it became popular to label our faith a cult. 1
Calm Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 As for acronyms and abbreviations, they often fail to communicate very well. They are like jargon in that respect. They are a tool of a lazy speaker or writer who cares more about his own convenience than he does about conveying clear and accurate meaning.Oh, that hurts.I will try to repent. 1
Scott Lloyd Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 Oh, that hurts.I will try to repent.Actually, you are one of the better communicators on the board. I only mean to suggest that acronyms and abbreviations ought to be used judiciously with communication being the paramount objective.
Calm Posted October 29, 2012 Posted October 29, 2012 Actually, you are one of the better communicators on the board. I only mean to suggest that acronyms and abbreviations ought to be used judiciously with communication being the paramount objective.Bless you, sir. I do admit it is laziness that leads me to abbreviate names and phrases so much, especially when using the iPad.
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