It has never been my intention to offend when using “Mormon” or “LDS.” It should be pointed out that for well over 150 years their apostles and prophets have consistently used “Mormon” and “LDS” to identify themselves and their faith. For example, I have a book in my library published in 1958 by general authority Bruce R. McConkie, who would later be an apostle, entitled “Mormon Doctrine.” We observe that “Latter-day Saint authorities attempted a similar name campaign just before Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. That drive ended about a decade later. In fact, the church then embraced the term ‘Mormon,’ launching its ‘I’m a Mormon’ ad campaign and releasing a ‘Meet the Mormons’ movie.” (Ibid)

So, why are church members (and non-members) being told not to use “Mormon”  and “LDS” when their leaders have used it for generations? The answer is found in what President Russell M. Nelson told his flock at General Conference, October 6, 2018. He said the name of the church, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” was a matter of revelation, and therefore should be used as the proper and consistent name of the church. (It is believed the Lord gave this name to the church in a revelation to Joseph Smith, Jr., April 26, 1838, Doctrine and Covenants 115:4.) “Nelson launched this latest name push in August, stating that God had ‘impressed upon my mind the importance of the name he has revealed for his church.’” (Ibid)

Nelson “acknowledged from the start that it will take time to fully implement. ‘It’s going to be a challenge to undo tradition of more than a hundred years,’ he told a congregation of Latter-day Saints in Montreal last summer. ‘ ...It’s not Mormon’s church. It’s not Moses’ church. It’s the Church of Jesus Christ.’ He went on to say this name revival ‘is the command of the Lord.’” (Ibid)

Names are important. We know this from experience,  since very few (if any) parents name their newborn daughters “Jezebel.” For generations, brethren have labored to impress the importance of the name of the church on our denominational friends (who name churches after men, theologies and other things). The churches of men are not the church of Christ!

Man-made churches (like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) have entitled their churches many things. In the New Testament, local churches are called “churches of Christ,” not as a title, but as a description of assemblies or congregations of Christians.

“Church of Christ” is a statement of possession that describes to whom the church belongs. Jesus said, “I will build My church,” therefore, “church of Christ” is the assembly of the redeemed who belong to Christ (Matt. 16:18). His church was built by Christ through gospel preaching, by which God called (and continues to call) sinners to salvation (Acts 2:37-41, 47).

The “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” is found nowhere in the New Testament. It is the figment of Joseph Smith, Jr.’s imagination. 18 million souls have been deceived into believing it is the true church – the restored church in these “latter days.”

What we find in the New Testament is the universal church of Christ – all the redeemed without reference to time and place (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). It is “the general assembly” of the redeemed who are registered in heaven (Heb. 12:23). By the gospel, these have been called out of sin’s darkness and into the kingdom of God’s Son (1 Pet. 2:9-10; 1 Thess. 2:12; 2 Thess. 2:13-14). The church is the “one body” into which we have been called by the gospel (Col. 3:15).

What we find in the New Testament are local churches of Christ, arranged independently of each other (Acts 14:23; 1 Pet. 5:2). They had no over-arching hierarchy, no inter-congregational linkage of oversight and administration. These independent assemblies of Christians met to worship God and to accomplish the spiritual work given the churches by apostolic teaching (to preach the gospel, 1 Thess. 1:8; to edify the faithful, Acts 11:23, 26; and to relieve needy saints, Acts 11:27-30; 1 Cor. 16:1-3; 2 Cor. 8:1-5).

The “Church of Christ” in the New Testament is not composed of churches of Christ. That is an unscriptural, denominational view of the church. The church of Christ is composed of Christians, not churches: “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). The Lord does not add churches to His church, He adds Christians to His church. Christians, not churches, are members of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-14, 27).

The name of a church does not automatically legitimize it. The church must follow the teachings of Christ to be His (Matt. 7:21-23). The LDS Church fails miserably to do so. Its name, its organization, and its doctrines are against the New Testament of Jesus. It is not His church. Let us be sure we belong to Christ’s church, not a church named and arranged by men. 

Scripture Reading:  Galatians 1:1-5

"It's A Brand-New World"
Joe R. Price

The title above is dialogue from this season’s premiere episode of the long-running PBS animated series, “Arthur.” In it, Mr. Ratburn (the third-grade teacher of Arthur and his friends) “ties the knot with Patrick, a local chocolatier, at a wedding attended by the students” (“‘Arthur’ Opens Season With a Same-Sex Wedding and a Cake,” nytimes.com). The children are thrilled: “‘Mr. Ratburn is married, I still can’t believe it,’ Arthur says. ‘Yup, it’s a brand-new world,’ Francine responds.” (Ibid)

“‘Arthur’ isn’t the only animated children’s show to recently feature same-sex weddings or relationships. Last summer the Cartoon Network series ‘Steven Universe’ depicted a same-sex wedding in which the main character, Steven, officiated the nuptials of two female characters, Ruby and Sapphire. Another Cartoon Network series, ‘Adventure Time,’ established a same-sex relationship when two main characters, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen, kissed.” (Ibid)

The LGBTQ agenda continues to infiltrate the minds and values of our country’s children and adults. Beware! Monitor the content of adult and children’s TV, videos and internet. Assimilation is their goal. Eternal destruction is the result, not only of those practicing sin, but also those who “approve of those who practice them” (Rom. 1:32).

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Created by Chuck Sibbing, last updated.  06/03/2019