Since there is an obvious shortage of revelation for Latter-day Saints to cling to or believe in, they must often cling to changes in church policy or tradition as a substitute.
One of these changes occurred in 2018.
Growing up, I was a Mormon. Yes, I was a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I never actually said that. I was a Mormon. I was a part of the Mormon Church. I do not think I am alone in this. Prior to 2018, proud members would boldly proclaim their Mormon heritage, their Mormon beliefs, their Mormon standards. It was everywhere. We didn’t listen to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Tabernacle Choir. It was Mormon Tab. Mormon.org. It was the “I’m A Mormon” campaign. It was the “Mormon Movement.” It was “Meet the Mormons.” There wasn’t much of a problem with this title.
There wasn’t much of a problem until Russell M. Nelson became President. In 2018, he said this of the term “Mormon”:
“Thus, the name of the Church is not negotiable. When the Savior clearly states what the name of His Church should be and even precedes His declaration with, “Thus shall my church be called,” He is serious. And if we allow nicknames to be used or adopt or even sponsor those nicknames ourselves, He is offended.” [1]
The statement was quite clear. So clear, even, that the Church began a massive switch. mormon.org became “comeuntochrist.org.” Mormon Tabernacle Choir became “The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.” The “I’m A Mormon” campaign was forgotten about.
The name switch of the Church was surprising to me, and to many members. What was more surprising was to learn that this was not the first time that Russell M. Nelson exclaimed his dislike of the nickname “Mormon.”
In April 1990, Nelson spoke in General Conference of the same issue. The talk is titled “Thus Shall My Church be Called.” In this talk, he spoke against nicknames, in favor of the name “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
“Today I would like to speak about a name. We are all pleased when our names are pronounced and spelled correctly. Sometimes a nickname is used instead of the real name. But a nickname may offend either the one named or the parents who gave the name.” [2]
While it is interesting that Nelson’s distaste for nicknames did not begin during his Presidency, it is even more interesting to read a talk given by Gordon B. Hinckley, the Prophet and President of the Church at the time, in the very next conference. His talk was called “Mormon should mean ‘More Good.’”
In his talk, Hinckley directly disagreed with Nelson. The timing of Hinckley’s talk seems to suggest, not only a teaching, but a correction, of Nelson’s previous statement.
“I suppose that regardless of our efforts, we may never convert the world to general use of the full and correct name of the Church. Because of the shortness of the word Mormon and the ease with which it is spoken and written, they will continue to call us the Mormons, the Mormon church, and so forth.
They could do worse. More than fifty years ago, when I was a missionary in England, I said to one of my associates, ‘How can we get people, including our own members, to speak of the Church by its proper name?’ He replied, ‘You can’t. The word Mormon is too deeply ingrained and too easy to say.’ He went on, ‘I’ve quit trying. While I’m thankful for the privilege of being a follower of Jesus Christ and a member of the Church which bears His name, I am not ashamed of the nickname Mormon.’ ‘Look,’ he went on to say, ‘if there is any name that is totally honorable in its derivation, it is the name Mormon. And so, when someone asks me about it and what it means, I quietly say—‘Mormon means more good.’”
“Ever since, when I have seen the word Mormon used in the media to describe us—in a newspaper or a magazine or book or whatever—there flashes into my mind his statement, which has become my motto: Mormon means ‘more good.’” [3]
Joseph Smith apparently agreed with Hinckley. After all, it was from Joseph’s translation of the word “Mormon” that we understand its meaning as “More Good.”
In a letter to the editor of the Times and Seasons in May 20 1843, Joseph said this:
“. . . The word Mormon means literally, more good.” [4]
Twenty years after Hinckley’s support of the term “Mormon,” in 2010, the “I’m A Mormon” campaign began.
“The Church’s national media campaign called “I’m a Mormon” (launched in 2010) included television spots, billboards, and ads on buses and on the Internet. The ads give a glimpse into the lives of Latter-day Saints from all over the world and refer people to the mormon.org website, where they can read the profiles of tens of thousands of Mormons, chat live with representatives who will answer questions about the faith and watch dozens of videos about members of the Church.” [5]
The Church spent millions of dollars, dollars donated through tithing by Church members, to proudly proclaim the Church’s terrible nickname. Why did God allow this?
I remember the campaign well. My sisters and I would watch the videos on Sunday mornings before Church. The videos usually showcased a Latter-day Saint of some unique background (musicians, nurses, soldiers, and ordinary members from different countries.) They were fun to watch. They made my religion seem less odd, and it felt good to relate to members with such different lives.
I was not aware I was “offending God” by watching them. After all, it was the Prophet Thomas S. Monson who signed off on the campaign. One of my favorite talks at the time was one given by Monson. The talk was “Dare to Stand Alone.” The Prophet spoke of his days in the U.S. Navy. On a particular Sunday, sailors of different religions were given time to worship. Catholics, Lutherans, and Protestants were given places to gather to practice their religions. As each group left together, Monson found himself alone in the field, having not been assigned a place to worship.
“Instantly there flashed through my mind the thought, ‘Monson, you are not a Catholic; you are not a Jew; you are not a Protestant. You are a Mormon, so you just stand here!’
I can assure you that I felt completely alone. Courageous and determined, yes—but alone.
And then I heard the sweetest words I ever heard that chief petty officer utter. He looked in my direction and asked, ‘And just what do you guys call yourselves?’ Until that very moment I had not realized that anyone was standing beside me or behind me on the drill ground. Almost in unison, each of us replied, ‘Mormons!’ It is difficult to describe the joy that filled my heart as I turned around and saw a handful of other sailors.” [6]
The word “Mormon” was shouted with pride by a Prophet of God. The Prophet of God. There was no fine print, no subtle correction of the name, no justification for using a nickname. Monson was a Mormon, and he was proud of it.
In 2014, the Church released the “Meet the Mormons” movie. It was a huge event. Bishops and Stake Presidents all around the world encouraged their saints to flood the theaters in droves. As a youth in my small Montana stake, we filled a theater room as if it were a chapel. David A Bednar, and other prominent Church figures, used, and encouraged members to use “#meetthemormons” on social media.
“If we allow nicknames to be used or adopt or even sponsor those nicknames ourselves, [God] is offended.” [7] Well, shame on President Monson, then. Shame on Elder Bednar. Shame on President Hinckley. Shame on all of us. Shame on the Church for sponsoring the campaign (with tithing dollars, it should be noted.) Shame on the Church for sponsoring a movie which so directly and violently offended God.
What, then, can we know of God, according to the words of one of his apostles?
“It ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.” [8]
According to David A. Bednar, we must “Choose Not to Be Offended.” It’s impossible to cause someone offense, unless that person unrighteously chooses to be offended. So, shame on God, too.
For years, it has not mattered. For the first two hundred years of the Restored Church, God has overlooked this nickname. He’s allowed his Holy Anointed Prophets and Apostles to use the name, to encourage others to use the name, to pour millions of tithing dollars into advertising the name — but now, we are supposed to believe that He takes a personal offense to it? That He always has? Was Russell Nelson the only one sufficiently righteous and enlightened to understand God’s desires? I don’t think so. Rather, he had an opinion; an opinion which gnawed on his conscience for decades; an opinion which he turned into doctrine as soon as he had power to do so.
This is the revelation upon which members must cling. In a desert, the smallest weed is an oasis in the sand. In today’s Church, a policy change is prophetic revelation from the heavens and from God.
This idea, this clinging to the smallest policy change as the only prophetic fruit with which to prove our Prophet’s prophethood, neglects a very important point:
Russell M. Nelson is not just the Prophet of the LDS Church. He is the Prophet of the world.
He is the only one. He, and he alone, is able to receive revelation for all of God’s children. The Mormons, the Methodists, the Catholics, the atheists, the Christians in America, just as much as the agnostics in Africa. What good does this policy change do for anyone but a Mormon? What has he prophesied that could benefit the world? If you are inclined to believe that his encouragement to do good, to be kind, to love one another for the second coming of the Lord is nigh—if you are inclined to believe that this is sufficient, what, then, differentiates Russell Nelson from every pastor, preacher, priest, and minister, who shout the same warnings to their congregations?
[1] Russell M. Nelson, “The Correct Name of the Church,” Oct. 2018
[2] Russell M. Nelson, “Thus Shall My Church be Called,” Apr. 1990
[3] Gordon B. Hinckley, “Mormon Should Mean ‘More Good,’” Oct. 1990
[4] “Correspondence”, Times and Seasons (Nauvoo, Illinois), vol. 4, no. 13, p. 194 (May 15, 1843); quoted in Joseph Smith (Joseph Fielding Smith ed., 1938) Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) pp. 299–300.
[5] Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Newsroom, “’I’m a Mormon’ Campaign,” 2011
[6] Thomas S. Monson, “Dare to Stand Alone,” Oct. 2011
[7] Russell M. Nelson, “The Correct Name of the Church,” Oct. 2018
[8] David A. Bednar, “And Nothing Shall Offend Them,” Nov. 2006
