In recent years the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has made great strides to change its public image from that of an unorthodox religious cult to one more in line with those of mainstream Christian groups. This effort has been seen in many of the church’s pubic statements and in some books written over the last decade seeking to minimize the differences in that church’s beliefs and practices and those of mainline protestant and evangelical churches and denominations.
As part of that campaign, in 2010 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a new official style guide detailing how it wants news outlets and publishers to now refer to it. Below is the full text of that style guide as found on the church’s website: www.churchofjesuschrist.org.
“The official name of the Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This full name was given by revelation from God to Joseph Smith in 1838.
While the term “Mormon Church” has long been publicly applied to the Church as a nickname, it is not an authorized title, and the Church discourages its use.
When writing about the Church, please follow these guidelines:
- In the first reference, the full name of the Church is preferred: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
- Please avoid the use of “Mormon Church,” “LDS Church” or the “Church of the Latter-day Saints.”
- When a shortened reference is needed, the terms “the Church” or “the Church of Jesus Christ” are encouraged.
- When referring to Church members, the term “Latter-day Saints” is preferred, though “Mormons” is acceptable.
- “Mormon” is correctly used in proper names such as the Book of Mormon, Mormon Tabernacle Choir or Mormon Trail, or when used as an adjective in such expressions as “Mormon pioneers.”
- The term “Mormonism” is acceptable in describing the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, the terms ‘Mormons’, ‘Mormon fundamentalist,’ ‘Mormon dissidents,’ etc. are incorrect. The Associated Press Stylebook notes: ‘The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other … churches that resulted from the split after [Joseph] Smith’s death.’” (https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide2)
In 2018 the president of the church, Russell M. Nelson, gave a speech in which he reiterated the church’s position on what to call it and its members.
“If someone asks, “Are you a Latter-day Saint?” you might respond, ‘Yes, I am. I believe in Jesus Christ and am a member of His restored Church.’ My dear brothers and sisters, I promise you that if we will do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord’s Church, He whose Church this is will pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints, the likes of which we have never seen. We will have the knowledge and power of God to help us take the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct-name-of-the-church?lang=eng )
Notice that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints no longer wants the church to be referred to as “the Mormon Church” or as the “LDS Church” as it has traditionally been called, even in many of its own media campaigns. The only shortened versions it now requires are “the Church” or “the Church of Jesus Christ.” Thus it means that traditional use of Mormon, or even LDS, as an abbreviation is not acceptable.
That presents a knotty situation for some Christian writers (like this one) who want to be respectful of the church’s desires, but find repeatedly using the long form of “the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” tedious. Also, many Christians writers (like this one) find using the shorter titles of “the Church,” or “the Church of Jesus Christ” especially problematic. For that church to say it is “the Church,” or “the Church of Jesus Christ,” obviously implies that it claims a unique divine status above all other churches. Of course, that is exactly what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes about itself. Historically, and in all of its current literature and on its website, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints refers to itself as the “restoration,” the “restored church,” or “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.” Consider these words from the afore mentioned speech by President Nelson:
“Following the Savior’s Resurrection and the death of His Apostles, the world plunged into centuries of darkness. Then in the year 1820, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith to initiate the Restoration of the Lord’s Church.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct-name-of-the-church?lang=eng )
It is clear that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, despite its efforts to improve its image and relations with other church bodies, still regards itself as what the late Apostle Boyd Packer affirmed in a 1985 General Conference speech still posted on the church’s website.
“It is our firm conviction that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, as the revelations state, ‘the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.’ (D&C 1:30.)”
“A little more than a year after the Church was organized, the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants was revealed. In it the Lord said that the Book of Mormon was given in order that his servants ‘might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually.’” (D&C 1:30) (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1985/10/the-only-true-church?lang=eng )
The claim of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be the only true church is a fallacy. No single ecclesiastical organization can claim to be only true church of Jesus Christ, whether it be Baptist, Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or any other. The true church of Jesus Christ consists of all people in all times and all places who are born-again believers of the true God and the true Jesus Christ.
But this presents an even bigger difficulty when it comes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That church is not only incorrect to assert its uniqueness, but its officially stated theology (what used to be called “Mormonism,” even by the church itself) is totally incongruous with every other historic Christian church or movement in the world. Its basic doctrines of God, the Scriptures and Authority, the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, Sin, Salvation, Life After Death, and the Church, are all (and I don’t intend this sarcastically, but respectfully) completely different from and incompatible with those of historic Christianity. Thus, not only is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not the only true church on the face of the earth, it is not a true Christian church at all.
(For a complete comparison of the doctrines of Historic Christianity and those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints go to these two posts:
Mormonism Versus Christianity- Can They Both Be Christian? Part 1 – http://www.marketfaith.org/mormonism-versus-christianity-can-they-both-be-christian-part-1
Mormonism Versus Christianity – Can They Both Be Christian? Part 2 – http://www.marketfaith.org/mormonism-versus-christianity-can-they-both-be-christian-part-2
© 2021 Tal Davis