Recently our church emphasized a name shift. There was, of course, a mixed reaction from the public as some quickly complied and others paused, unsure of how to keep their funny blog names or websites current if they weren’t supposed to use the word ‘Mormon.’
I am nothing short of delighted with the new name emphasis. Let me explain why.
Example #1: The Old Way
“Hi! Would you like to come to church with me? It’s the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some people know us as the Mormon church.”
Instantly, this introduction of my church derails away from the source of our happiness and authority, Jesus Christ, and focuses instead on the name Mormon.
The Book of Mormon is special because it teaches the clear and beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ. It was written by an inspired prophet of God who wanted to bring readers to their Savior. In my current read-through of the Book of Mormon, I’m marking in blue every reference to Jesus Christ. So far I have blue in almost every verse.
The Book of Mormon is an incredible book, but we don’t worship it. The author-historian Mormon was a great prophet and leader, but we aren’t his disciples.
Referring to ourselves as Mormons isn’t accurate, is it? It emphasizes the wrong part of our religion. We are not Mormon’s people-- we are the church of Jesus Christ. We worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as well as God the Eternal Father. We don’t worship Mormon and though we love and honor the Book of Mormon, we sure don’t worship it. Why do we let that name be part of our identity?
We worship Jesus Christ.
Let’s try our example again:
Example #2: The New Way
“Hi! Would you like to come to church with me? I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is Jesus Christ’s restored church on Earth again.”
This name emphasis is powerful and empowering. It explains who we are, what we offer, and where this great power comes from, in just a few words. There is no misunderstanding or miscommunication, because these words point us back to Jesus Christ instead of getting lost in nicknames.
We live in a broken world. For every damaged home, every shattered life, and every guilty or shameful heart, Jesus Christ offers hope and healing. For every possible problem, true peace is only found in Christ.
We live in a broken world. For every damaged home, every shattered life, and every guilty or shameful heart, Jesus Christ offers hope and healing. For every possible problem, true peace is only found in Christ.
We are Jesus Christ’s restored church and the name shift away from Mormon and to Jesus Christ feels so right and so good.
--Jenna
--Jenna
