The Mormons Don't Like the Name

A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.  This week’s item is from the Associated Press, June 2001, with the headline, “Mormons Don’t Like the name,” date line: Salt Lake City.Mormon leaders are asking news organizations and their own followers to stop calling the church by its Mormon name which it says is informal.A news release issued March 1^st by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints asked that its full name be used whenever possible.In instances where the full name is too long such as in headlines the release suggested using “The Church of Jesus Christ.”However the church discouraged two names popular in Utah, Latter Day Saints, and LDS.Founded in 1830, the faith was originally called The Church of Jesus Christ.The Latter Day Saints portion of the name was later added to reflect followers belief that they are taking the path of Christ’s first disciples or saints.This is not the first time the church has tried to prevent use of the term Mormon invented by 19^th century critics to deride the new religion.The name refers to the Book of Mormon, a religious text that the sect considers as important as the Old and New Testaments.

Tom:

Dave this sort of seems like, and correct me if I’m wrong, this sort of seems like it is sort of an ecumenical spin on things, that they might become more integrated with their “fellow Christians?”Is that a little cynical of me?

Dave:

I don’t think so; obviously they are trying to do that.They have been trying to do this for some time.They used to make a clear distinction with the two missionaries came to your door.They wanted you to know they were not Christians.They were different from everybody else.

Tom:

Certainly what they teach is incredibly different.

Dave:

More recently they’ve tried to pass themselves off as just another Christian denomination.Now there are some problems of course.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints—that’s a mouth full.That’s a lot to ask someone to say much less to write down in print.Mormons—The Book of Mormon—why not?

Tom:

Why wouldn’t they be proud of that?The Book of Mormon.I can read you from the Book of Mormon and it’s found throughout Moroni.

Dave:

Well Tom you can see what the reason is.They know that it is too long a name.So they say you want to shorten it a bit, just call it The Church of Jesus Christ.That sounds a little—see The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints says well these are these people who call themselves Latter Day Saints and they claim that this is the church of Jesus Christ, but now this is an all encompassing thing and they are claiming to be THE church of Jesus Christ and I resent that because their Jesus Christ is not the Jesus Christ of the Bible.Their Jesus Christ is for example, half brother of Lucifer, half brother in fact of all of us.He was born as a spirit being up in the pre-existent state—

Tom:

Lucifer=Satan

Dave:

Right, along with the rest of us.And there was a rebellion up there and Jesus was valiant for the truth and Lucifer was not and therefore he fell and the demons came with him and they used to say the black people were the ones who were not valiant up there and that’s why they got black skin.And now we all came to this earth to get a body—I don’t know who made the first bodies to be here, because Brigham Young in fact, taught that Adam was in the Garden of Eden and was God.But nevertheless, Jesus had to come to this earth to get a body in order to become a god and they have trillions of gods.Joseph Smith said, and look, I am just giving you the facts, okay?Joseph Smith said this has been going on forever.He said matter and intelligence have always existed.No, the Bible says, “In the beginning God…,” who existed before the universe created the universe.Joseph Smith said no the universe has always been here, matter and intelligence, whatever that means—intelligence, disembodied intelligence or something out there and out of that the gods created worlds and there are trillions of worlds out there, this has been going on forever and every Mormon male hopes to become, well most of them know they are not going to make, they don’t go through the temple, they haven’t lived up to the requirements and so forth.But those who do, let’s say one million Mormon males make it eventually and become gods.We have another million gods out there.This is not the God of the Bible who is the one and true and living God.There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, but their Jesus Christ is only one of—

Tom:

And he had to become a god—

Dave:

That’s right.

Tom:

Where as Jesus, from eternity—

Dave:

That’s right and their Jesus is only one of trillions of Jesus’.In fact their god is a man with a physical body who lives on a planet near a giant star called Kolof.He was redeemed as a sinner by another Jesus Christ on another planet and every Mormon male hopes he’ll have his own world—another Adam, another Eve, another Jesus, another Lucifer and another fall, another redemption,—this is not the Jesus Christ.So for them to call themselves THE Church of Jesus Christ, I think is rather deceptive.

Tom:

Well here’s the problem as we have been talking about it.We are encouraging people to have some healthy skepticism with regard to religion.Now you have a movement that’s trying to give the impression that they are just as biblical, just as Christian as any other denomination.People ought to ask these two missionaries who come to their door, ask them questions.If they claim to be Christian, find out how Christian, biblically Christian they really are.Dave, one other aspect I want to throw in here.They say the term Mormon was invented by the critics.Well that can’t be.Secondly if someone will go to The Book of Ether, I am looking at Ether 7:5.I just want to read a couple of things here.“And when he had gathered together an army, he came unto the land of Moron where the king dwelt and took him captive.And it came to pass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into captivity.”Now in the land of Moron—there’s a lot of—

Dave:

Moron?

Tom:

Moron.There are a lot of things, that’s my point; there are a lot of things that they ought to be a little more worried about than just the name.

Dave:

It is called the Moron.

Tom:

It is.