Of Course I’ll Start Saying The Church of Jesus Christ

[Third Hour]

Here I am writing on a website I helped brand called “Mormon Hub.” About two years ago I wrote an epic rant about how proud I was to call myself “Mormon.” In my field of work, I am well aware of the search engine benefits of using the word “Mormon.” And I may or may not have implied on more than one occasion that only old people had a problem with the word Mormon. So you might naturally think I would join the chorus of Mormons that have scoffed at the Church’s refocus on its name “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” But you would be very wrong. Follow the Prophet There is little value in unthinkingly following a prophet’s instructions. As a group, Latter-day Saints should be thinking about this, struggling with this. And we’re seeing these thoughts play out in Tweets and Facebook posts. Seeing these thoughts in public may be jarring, but we may simply need to accept that Facebook posts are the new living room couch. And people who are...

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[Guest LiterateParakeet]

Great article.  I agree.   As I read, the part about how the language can shape us, I was reminded of a TED talk that had a great impact on my thinking.   It is called, How Language Shapes the Way We Think by Lora Boroditsky   It's worth watching!
 

 

[Vort]

32 minutes ago, MormonHub said:

There is little value in unthinkingly following a prophet’s instructions.

Seriously? So unthinkingly disobeying a prophet's instructions is not really much worse than unthinkingly obeying?

People need to think through the implications of what they write before publishing. (And I say this as a fan of Christopher Cunningham.)

34 minutes ago, MormonHub said:

As a group, Latter-day Saints should be thinking about this, struggling with this.

I think "struggling" is the wrong word, as it implies difficulty in accepting something. I see no reason that this request should be difficult. Quite the opposite, in fact.

36 minutes ago, MormonHub said:

And people who are telling jokes or questioning motives on social media are no less faithful than those who would have done the same thing with their friends and family at home a generation ago.

Maybe not. Both groups lack faith, perhaps the Facebookers no more than the living room couch whiners. But the Facebookers can potentially do a great deal more damage; their faithlessness is more visible, and thus more disturbing. And they are proportionally more accountable -- or to be precise, they will have proportionally more to account for.

I actually agree with the thrust of Cunningham's article. I think it's worthwhile. But I find it discouraging to see a body of Saints who carp and complain about such a small, simple thing. What hope have we of gaining the revelations of God when we as a people moan and balk at fulfilling such an easy request? With such an utter lack of even the most basic spiritual strength, how can we hope to withstand the evils of the world?

[The Folk Prophet]

Quote

Seeing these thoughts in public may be jarring, but we may simply need to accept that Facebook posts are the new living room couch. And people who are telling jokes or questioning motives on social media are no less faithful than those who would have done the same thing with their friends and family at home a generation ago.

The problem with this is that it implies that both are innocent, no big deal, and should be treated that way.

 

[terrydorsey]

I really don't understand why all these folks are having such a conniption fit over this. Members all over social media are calling websites, Facebook pages and twitter accounts to repentance for having LDS or Mormon in their titles.
What is so hard to understand about the Prophets statement?
He was talking about the proper use of the name of the church...not the name of a facebook page, twitter account or website!
I get it that the newsroon style guide has been updated to reflect this impression but after reading the guide I just don't see what we "culturally" call ourselves included there. It simply states, as a guide for writers, bloggers and the like:
When referring to Church members, the terms "members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" or "Latter-day Saints" are preferred. We ask that the term "Mormons" not be used.
With that last sentence being the only part that was updated.
My Facebook page LDS Standing United, I have close to 187,000 followers and I have been inundated with messages that basically say, "I love your page but...you need to change the name or I will un-like you."
For using the acronym LDS and not spelling it out?
What is wrong with people?
I feel like a statue in the South during the purge of history a few years back.