What do you think when......

[breeb]

I have a question for everyone. Members and non-members. What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear the name The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and when you hear The Mormon Church? I'm curious to know what you feel and think about each.

I'm curious to know what non-members think and feel too, if there is anything, but please be respectful if its negative. I dont want this to get out of hand. Im also curious to know what you think and feel about the name of your own church.

I'll explain my reason for asking after I get a few responses.

Thanks a bunch!

Breeb

[skalenfehl]

I think of one more formally than the latter. I have visions of temples, general authorities speaking, missionaries serving, etc on the formal name, but on the second name, I simply think of the church in general.

[kona0197]

Both names mean the same to me.

[WANDERER]

The first is difficult to remember and that you probably don't want to get it wrong LOL. I tend to think of the church. With the second, I think of the people.

[john doe]

When I use the formal name of the church, it's usually in reference to the church as an entity and its leaders. When I use the word Mormon, it is usually in reference to the people of the church. I don't generally call it the "Mormon Church", I call it the LDS Church, but I refer to its members as Mormons.

When someone casually talks about religion and asks me what mine is, I usually say I'm LDS. When they look confused, I will say that we are sometimes called Mormons.

On my mission I made a flip chart as a door-discussion tool based on the book Meet The Mormons. It worked really well and got us into some good discussions about the church and its basic beliefs.

[Moksha]

I use Mormon and LDS interchangeably.

[Aphrodite]

It depends what context I hear it in. I dont know why but I have always felt really uncomfortable hearing either, even before I started losing my faith. If I hear it now used by a non member my ears will prick up as most people I know out of the church dont know im a member so I would wonder why they are gtalking about it as the church is still very little known here really-most people havent heard of it. Then I would start to panic, thinking about what they might say. id probably walk away if I could so I wouldnt have to be invilved in the conversation.

If I heard it from a member...I wouldnt think anything.

[MarginOfError]

I tend to be a bit more cynical in my use of the word 'Mormon,' only using it when referencing parts of Mormon Culture that really annoy me. Otherwise, I use LDS, the full name of the Church, or simply the Church.

[VisionOfLehi]

When I hear the first, I think of my Church. The one I've chosen, the one I have faith, belief, and knowledge in. I think of the chapels, and the humanitarian efforts, and the leaders.

When I hear "The Mormon Church" I generally think that there's some ignorance going on, and the person saying it probably doesn't know what they're talking about. It's non-specific, and seems more likely to confuse aspects of FLDS and RLDS/CoC with the LDS Church. I've also heard it used more in a derogatory tone.

Hearing the first kind of makes me proud. "Yeah, I belong to that one!" The second puts me on the defensive, ready to explain any misconceptions to the speaker. Or, if in text I may not bother even reading it.

[breeb]

Ok....thank you for all of your answers. Keep them coming. I just finished work, and need to head to bed. I'll be on later today to explain the purpose of the question. Thanks again everyone.

[NeuroTypical]

They refer to the same organization, but the different ways of identifying it can give a little insight into the mindset of the person using the term.

You get more insight when people use terms like "The Joe Smith Cult" or "Those D&@#X$* Mormons". :)

[inquirer_Jn1717]

When I hear "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," I remember those commercials the church used to put out on TV when I was a kid. There would be Jesus walking down a crowded street reaching out to people and them fawning over him, accompanied by a soothing male voice saying something about how Jesus never wrote a book but still changed the world.

Then we would see an idealic family with 2.5 smiling children cuddled with their parents around a couch for a Bible study. Lastly, there is an offer to receive a free KJV Bible along with (...the camera pans right and then appears...) the Book of Mormon, both of which can be delivered to you by two nice young men if you call this toll free number. So to me, the formal name represents the public face of the LDS Church: no mention of Joseph Smith, just the Bible, Family Values, and the Book of Mormon.

(I apologize if all that sounds a little satirical, but as a kid I did think the commercials were kinda cheesy. On the other hand, they must have worked if indeed the LDS Church is the fastest growing religion in America!)

Now ironically, if I say to the average Joe, "Joe, have you ever heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?"

Joe says, "Who?"

I say, "You know, the Mormons?"

Joe says, "Oh yeah, them."

Even though Joseph Smith (I believe) coined the term "Mormon," I think historically it has always been associated with every negative image of the LDS Church and used in derogatory fashion, similar to the term "Christian (little Christ)," was first used in Antioch. The difference I see is that the early believers embraced the insult and proudly declared themselves such, while the modern LDS Church seems to shy away from the term "Mormon," (at least this my perception from the commercial and my conversations with LDS).

[Misshalfway]

They refer to the same organization, but the different ways of identifying it can give a little insight into the mindset of the person using the term.

You get more insight when people use terms like "The Joe Smith Cult" or "Those D&@#X$* Mormons". :)

Or "the Normans". Used to hear that one a lot on the mish.

I use them interchangeably as well. I don't mind if someone calls us "mormons". I just hope that people get accurate information about us. Pretty hard to tell us we are not Christian when the official name is used.

[Hemidakota]

I usually correct people when I hear the term Mormon Church or Mormons.

[breeb]

Thank you all for your great answers. The reason I was asking is this; As I was soaking in the tub after a long day I got to thinking. I wonder how Mormon feels about being the one mostly refered too when refering to the Lords church. He must feel honored. Then it turned into....I wonder if the Lord feels any disrespect that His church is being refered to as Mormonism instead of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints. I dont think anything negative about the term Mormon. In fact I'm honored to be a "Mormon", and I know the Lord isnt petty so he's probably happy with it as long as His church is getting possitive recognition. I dont think everyone uses the term Mormon in a durogitory manner. Anyway, my thoughts then turned to; how lucky are we? We are one of the very few Christian churches that actually have the name of the Lord right in our title. Its amazing to me that so few churches actually recognize the Lord in the title of there church. Do we really stop and think what that means? I want everyone to stop and really think about it on a personal level. What an honor it really is to be members of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints. Not of Joseph Smith, not Mormon, but of Jesus Christ. Forget for a second what others think of us and really ponder how lucky and honored we are.

I dont know why this hit me so hard, but I've always just thought the same as most. Just of our church, and its service and kindness. For some reason for the 1st time ever I realized the importance of the name of our church. I will now automatically think of the Lord 1st. Its really hard for me to put into words, but I hope you all can feel the importance as I have. Don't be hurt when you hear the term Mormon anymore. He was and is a great and important man and we should be honored. WE know who Mormon is and its not a bad thing to be "Mormon". No matter what was intended by it, but always remember what an honor it is to have Christ right in the title of our church.

Thanks a lot for your participation. I hope I didnt come of to preachy. It was just a thought that I had that I wanted to share with all of you.