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July 22, 2019 5:00 am
One member is examining the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism.
So glad you could join us for this additional viewpoint on Mormonism. Either host Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson, my colleague, M. R. M.
Well, it's been almost one year since Russell M. Nelson, the 17th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints came out with a mandate asking members to no longer refer to themselves as Mormons and for members not to refer to their church as the Mormon church. In fact, the church came out with a statement on their official website, which at that time was Mormon newsroom saying that they were no longer to use words like Mormon Mormonism and even LDS even though at the time they were using LDS.org as URL for their official website but they're not supposed to use those terms. Any longer. I'm just wondering Eric how that's been working out for him because I kind of noticed in talking with Latter Day Saints that there is a mixed opinion on some Mormons seem to be really upset when you use the word Mormon and some don't even care. In fact, I've even had some members of the church call themselves Mormons even after they were told by their profit not to refer to themselves that way any longer. I think a lot of Latter Day Saints don't quite know what to do with this because it's difficult for them to remember to call themselves something other than Mormon because it's been ingrained in them. Since primary that Mormon is who we are. They had, and I am a Mormon campaign.
Even if you go on the website and you click in. I am a Mormon, you will see many videos that are still up on YouTube that you can actually go watch people talking about how they are more but not that they're a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I you and I both had these experiences on the street where either they are bristling that you would use the term Mormon or that they're using Mormon themselves, so it seems to be almost confusing within the ranks and not even had it used one time where was I think the person was even trying to be deceptive talking to a Mormon apologist and the friend that I was with. He he use the phrase Mormon in a sentence in this apologist immediately said, I'm not a Mormon and I caught that I knew exactly what he was doing so I made the announcement to the people that were listening.
This is all yeah that's right before August 2018. He was a Mormon, but after August 2018.
He was no longer a Mormon that why did he say that I still don't understand this day why he had in check. That will I'm not a Mormon. Come on, why would you do something like that, except to maybe try and make the person you're talking to look ignorant but as you said, everybody knows what that term means and we don't mean it to be derogatory. They been using it since the beginning of their church. For Pete's sake but I think it's got to be as you said, very confusing to the Latter Day Saints has been using this title to describe himself and others that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints because that's what they've always known.
And you're right that term.
I am a Mormon in the video series when October rolled around October 2018 Russell M. Nelson gets up and he actually says that using the term Mormon offends God okay so does that mean every time those videos are played. The individual that says I'm a Mormon. Every time that's being played. Are they offending God will if so, Mr. Nelson, you better be taking those things down as quickly as possible because the sinning in offending God by using the term. I'm just trying to carry it to its logical conclusion. Try as I might, but it seems like there's a huge inconsistency here and I don't know if it's really working all that well for the LDS church now because as you said there some that don't seem to care and you even heard one gentleman not too terribly long ago say that he didn't even like that whole mandate that came out from the church right there's an article that was published in the Salt Lake Tribune and the title is Latter Day Saints leader Russell Nelson trumpets church of Jesus Christ but so do many other Christian face and this was written by Peggy Fletcher stack and on the April 3, 2019 and and why is that date important because remember this first came out in August 2018 and then we had in October Gen. conference where Russell and Nelson double down on that and now here we are in April 2019 will. The reason why this article shows up in Salt Lake Tribune is because this is around the time that the church started rolling out its new URL its new address to its particular websites, including LDS.org and so this is how she starts the LDS church just amped up the religious rivalry around who owns the name Jesus Christ last August Latter Day Saints embrace their profits mandate to use the face official name the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as a public and private push to recognize a Savior who they believe leads their church outsiders, researchers and reporters respected the religious right to self identify and many strive to follow its preferred style guide.
Some even issuing the popular term Mormon to describe the 16 million members recently though the Utah based church replaced its official website LDS.org with a new domain name, simply church of Jesus Christ.org without the Latter Day Saints ending a move some Christians find confusing. Curious or downright offensive and she goes on to say, after all, scores of churches have Christ in their names in many online domains are similar as well and then she proceeds to list the number of various denominations that use the name of Christ in it and then she also includes some of the restoration churches that also use the name she list.
For instance, the church of Jesus Christ bicker tonight is a Christian restoration is church headquartered in Monongahela Pennsylvania. It began with former latter-day St. authority Sidney Rigdon and as I said, she mentions other splinter groups as well. What's interesting about this is in this article and again folks. This is from April 2019. So this is not something that just came out but since were almost approaching the one-year anniversary of this mandate-I find it interesting to go back and look at this article now. She says in recent years the church has not quote honked about that so much says the Rev. Jeffrey R. Silliman, a lifelong Utah on an former pastor at Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church in Millcreek and that's a section of Salt Lake City. It's interesting what the former pastor of this Presbyterian Church has to say this is Silliman was okay with Latter Day Saints using the full name of their church more often. He says to help others recognize their connection to Christ, but the new domain name Silliman says offends me, offends me. He says it accentuates that the rest of us are not the church of Jesus Christ.
The Presbyterian says it's an attempt to assert the church's claims and that was an argument that we raised after this came out in August when Russell and Nelson was demanding that everybody referred to his church and a certain way. Our objection was is when you say it's the restored Church of Jesus Christ. That was one of the suggestions that was given or the church of Jesus Christ. That's a truth claim that the LDS church makes and if you know anything about the first vision account. According to that event that Joseph Smith claimed he he experience with God the father and Jesus appeared to him. He made it clear that he was told that all the churches were wrong that older creeds were an abomination and that their professors were corrupt so I can understand perhaps why I pastor Silliman was offended by this, because it certainly does make it appear that only they are the true church, which is something they've always said and that we are outside of that it goes along with this if their church is the only true church will folks think about it logically, any other church outside of that parameter is going to be considered to them as being false correct of course.
Of course it would one of the things that I found interesting though is that in this domain name change they use the name church of Jesus Christ. But wait a minute.
Mr. Nelson, that's not what you said God commanded his church to be called in. If I remember correctly, he cited from section 115 of the doctrine and covenants verse four and this is how it reads for this. Shall my church be called in the last days even capital. The church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.
So basically what we have here.
Eric is a compromise on the part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in their domain name not using the witches part of the name and that's exactly what it says. Thus, shall my church be called the church of Jesus Christ and they leave off, but of Latter Day Saints. Does that offend God in some way, since you're not using it properly mean that was the argument that Nelson used.
This is what it says and this is what we should call it but yet when it comes to domain names and this was an argument.
We raised a year ago. It seems to show that Russell and Nelson, perhaps because he's in his 90s. He just doesn't understand how domain names work. He doesn't understand how the Internet works, and perhaps that's why it took several months before the church could actually get around to changing their domain names which they still owned by the way folks they still own LDS.org they still own Mormon.org. Could we assume that owning Mormon.org somehow offends God as well, and we would be willing to take those those domain names from them if they would like to give those away because how many people type in the word Mormon when they want to find out about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, looked up it would be almost comical. It is comical.
I would say when Russell and Nelson makes his charge that you can't call them by something that for many years. They called themselves and to act as if it's something that they're not supposed to be called anymore. I we don't mind when people call us different ways and then call us Christians and cause Protestants and because evangelical Christians certainly there are number of ways to identify other people can call us whatever they want.
We certainly like a certain term and I like the term evangelical or Bible believing Christian. That's my preferred reference, but to make it so that everybody ought to go with what he says I think is is almost silly will, I think. Also, we've often had to say this when we speak it churches because some people are very aware of this mandate from August and also October 2018 and I will get up and I will say look, we know that the church came out with this statement in August and in October that they don't want to be called the Mormon church. They won't be called the LDS church and we apologize right up front say look, were not going to call them by their official name every time we make reference to this church because if we did, and I still stand by this. If we referred to them by their official name every time we make reference to them. People with think we are mocking them because the title is so long and cumbersome.
It's not out of disrespect that we use the shorter term. But really, what is happened is Russell M Nelson whether he wants to admit it or not put everyone else between a rock and a hard place