Remember When it Was Frowned Upon to Say I'm a Mormon


clbent04
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Remember not that long ago when it was frowned upon in the church to say, "I'm a Mormon"?

Good riddance to those days. So much harder to say, "Actually, we prefer to be called members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Here's a scenario of one conversation from back in the day (aka, like 5 years ago):

(Person A) "So, are you a Mormon?"

(Person B) "I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

(Person A) "But you're the ones that believe in the Book of Mormon, right?"

(Person B) "Yes, that's us"

(Person A) "Who do people refer to when they talk about Mormons?"

(Person B) "That's usually us. We prefer to be called members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

(Person A) "So if you're a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, why is it the Book of Mormon and not the Book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?"

(Person B) "Because a prophet named Mormon was the one who abridged multiple ancient records together"

(Person A) "Do you worship Mormon?"

(Person B) "No, we worship God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

(Person A) "Can I just call you a Mormon?"

(Person B) "No."

Edited by clbent04
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I remember when they began to actively discourage us from calling the Church "The Mormon Church" - and this is on-going and I expect it will stay that way.  I don't really remember being told the members couldn't be called Mormons, though I suppose it's possible.  It seems more likely a misunderstanding or exaggeration of the "Mormon Church" issue.

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8 minutes ago, zil said:

I remember when they began to actively discourage us from calling the Church "The Mormon Church" - and this is on-going and I expect it will stay that way.  I don't really remember being told the members couldn't be called Mormons, though I suppose it's possible.  It seems more likely a misunderstanding or exaggeration of the "Mormon Church" issue.

Entirely possible. It could have been an exaggerated application. I remember members in my ward specifically discouraging anyone from saying "I'm a Mormon". I just took it as instruction that came from the top down  

Edited by clbent04
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I remember, and still sometimes tell others, I prefer to be considered a Saint.

:itwasntme:

Ah, I found the one with the Halo (edited to have the smiley face with the Halo over it).

I do tell people that we are Saints, or can be referred to as such in the church, though.  We are called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

I don't object to being called a Mormon though, and will also claim to be a Mormon as well, so either works.

when they move on to asking about how many wives I have though...that's about where I draw the line and point out that there are different groups under that Mormon Moniker.

Edited by JohnsonJones
Halo pointed out to me so replaced it.
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3 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

I had to use that smiley because we don't have the one with a smiley face with a halo over it...or I'd have used that one.

We do, actually, but he's averting his eyes:  :itwasntme:   We also have:   :angel:  If there are other behaloed smilies, I missed them.

Click the smiley face icon in the toolbar, click "Categories" in the upper right of the popup, choose "Emoticons".  Scroll away.

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20 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

I remember, and still sometimes tell others, I prefer to be considered a Saint.

I would prefer to be called a Saint as well if it was universally understood to those outside the Mormon religion what being called a Saint means. But I just don't care enough to take the time necessary to help others understand why we would want to be called Saints rather than Mormons. But maybe I should!

Being called Mormons misrepresents us as to who we really are. The prophet Mormon wasn't the author of the church, we aren't Mormonites, Mormon wasn't the only prophet in the Book of Mormon. 

Does anyone know who decided to name the Book of Mormon as such? Was it revealed to Jospeh Smith from God for it to be named the Book of Mormon? If not, I would like to suggest we simply call it the American Testament of Jesus Christ

Edited by clbent04
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What zil said. This goes back a lot further than five years; it's been an ongoing conversation since well before I was born. The latest idea, as I understand it, is that it's simply no big deal if we're called "Mormons", but the name of the Church is not the "Mormon Church". It's "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".

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I've been a member for over 25 years. I've never had an issue with being called a Mormon. I would simply say, "Yes, I am Mormon." If they ever called the church the Mormon Church, then I would correct them with the actual church name. If I were asked what religion I was, I would reply, "I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as Mormons." And I don't ever remember being told that I couldn't call myself a Mormon. 

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