Posted by:
steve benson
(
)
Date: August 20, 2018 05:53PM
History Corner Time for a History-Cornered Church
A. The Mormon Church's Own Original Name[s] for the Mormon Church
“The LDS Church traces its founding to April 6, 1830, when Joseph Smith and five other men formally established the Church of Christ. The Church was known by this name from 1830 to 1834. At various times the Church was also referred to as ‘The Church of Jesus Christ.’ ‘The Church of God,’ and ‘The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints.’ . . .
"The original Church within this movement, founded in April 1830 in New York by Joseph Smith, was the 'Church of Christ,' which was later named the 'Church of the Latter Day Saints.' It was renamed the 'Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' in 1838 (stylized as the 'Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' in the United Kingdom), which remained its official name until Smith's death in 1844. . . .
"The 'Church of Christ' was the original name of the Latter day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith. Organized informally in 1829 in New York and then formally on April 6, 1830, it was the first organization to implement the principles found in Smith's newly published Book of Mormon, and thus represents the formal beginning of the Latter-day Saint movement. Later names for this organization included the 'Church of the Latter Day Saints (by 1834 resolution), the Church of Jesus Christ,' the 'Church of God,' the 'Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints,' and the 'Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' (by an 1838 revelation).”
Sources
-"Minutes of a Conference," in “Evening and Morning Star,” vol. 2, no. 20, p. 160 (May 1832)
-“Doctrine and Covenants” 20:1
-"Chapter 2: "Establishing theFoundations of the Church" in “Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 1996)
-Susan Easton Black, "Name of the Church," in Daniel H. Ludlow ed., “Encyclopedia of Mormonism” (Macmillan: New York, 1992) p. 1979
-Richard Lloyd Anderson, "I Have a Question: What Changes Have Been Made in the Name of the Church?," in “Ensign,” January 1979;
(The above quotes and citations come from“Name and Legal Entities,”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints#Name_and_legal_entities; and “Historical Names of the Church;" and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints)
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B. A "Mormon Boy's" Mormon Church
As President of the Mormon Church, my grandfather, Ezra Taft Benson, sang with golden godly gusto the Mormon Church hymn, “A Mormon Boy,” at the Mormon Church’s 1989 General Conference:
Source:
http://www.ldsliving.com/Listen-Ezra-Taft-Benson-Sings-Old-Mormon-Song-in-1989-General-Conference/s/73633______
C. Mormon Church-Name Traditionalists Might Not Go Down Without a Fight
--From the "Salt Lake Tribune's" recent coverage of Mormon Inc.'s latest push for a non-Mormon name-change:
“Blogger Steve Evans, founder of By Common Consent, sees Nelson’s effort as ‘fighting for the divinely revealed name of the church in the hearts and minds of the members.’
"In a 1990 speech (a year after former Church President Ezra Taft Benson sang 'I Am a Mormon Boy' from the pulpit), Nelson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke of the importance of using the church’s full name.
“’He views it as something sacred, which I respect,’ Evans said. ‘But the initiative won’t succeed — if success means getting everyone to stop using the terms ‘Mormon’ or “LDS Church.”’
“Evans predicts this undertaking will only ‘confuse outsiders,’ he said. ‘I don’t think it substantively alters external perspectives of the Church, but I do think it makes us look a little persnickety.’”
Source:
“LDS Church Wants Everyone to Stop Calling It the LDS Church and Drop the Word ‘Mormons'--but Some Members Doubt It Will Happen,”
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/08/16/lds-church-wants-everyone/______
I can see it now: "The Book of No-Mo Mormon"
Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2018 06:47PM by steve benson.