Slaughtered my Name and now my Image


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Its the culture of LDS that is keeping Christs church from growing and allowing many to leave. Its clear that since Pres Nelson became prophet he or should I say God, has told us to get his name and now image correct. If something so simple as his name and image has slipped away from us over the years because of cultural habits (that most of us cant see from the inside), what else are we blind to see?

 

*Eversince I was a kid and people told us that mormons are not christians we kind of puffed up our chests and stood proud that we had the truth and it doesnt matter what they think.

Edited by priesthoodpower
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1 hour ago, priesthoodpower said:

If something so simple as his name and image has slipped away from us over the years because of cultural habits...

I don't think it "slipped away from us."  I think the Lord had a plan to take us through phases.

"Mormon" is a very quick and meaningful label.  It is much more catchy and easy to market and remember.  The "And I'm a Mormon" Campaign was a valuable tool to perform that marketing to get the term "Mormon" into the remaining corners of the world culture (or at least the English speaking world) that had not heard the term.

The next phase was that AFTER the term is in the consciousness of the public, we teach the world the rest of the information.  I've actually had people tell me that they didn't even know what a Mormon was until the "And I'm a Mormon" campaign. And when they heard about the switch it was all over social media.  They had to know what the deal was.

My response was that there were circumstances where people were in the "Mormon Helping Hands" disaster areas and they offered gratitude for two groups that provided invaluable assistance: The first is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The second is the Mormons.

But it was all part of the big plan.  All those who thought we were separate got the sucker punch -- the old one-two.  Now they know we're that same, and that we're a Christian Church.

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The pessimist in me says that the new logo requiring a larger slab of stone in front of our buildings will invite vandalism from the haters.  Such irony that they will have such hatred for us that they will get offended at us displaying an engraving of the Savior.

Edited by Carborendum
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David Burge (aka “Iowahawk”) has observed that liberals often go through a four-stage process:

—Identify a respected institution

—Kill it

—Gut it

—Wear its carcass as a skin suit, while demanding respect.

Christianity has been a victim of this process since long before modern political liberalism made its arrival.  It got to the where it was “Christians” who tried to steal the gold plates from Joseph Smith, “Christians” who shot little Sardius Smith at point-blank range, “Christians” who gang-raped Eliza Snow and scored of other Mormon women, “Christians” who murdered Joseph Smith, “Christians” who drove the Saints of God out of their country and then turned on each other for a hundred years of unlimited warfare from the Civil War to World War 2 and beyond.  “Christians” who have told God to shut up, preferring to worship their biblical exegeses.  “Christians” who are increasingly replacing the scriptural Jesus and His law, with a bizarre libertine hybrid of Santa Claus and omnipotent pimp.

We looked at the word “Christian”, saw it for the hollowed-out shell that it was, and said “screw that.  We don’t want it.”  And we went off into the wilderness; and with God’s help we built something new, something blessed, something wonderful—and we acquiesced as the world called that thing “Mormonism”.

But the Second Coming draws ever nearer; and it would seem that before the Bridegroom returns—one of His instructions is that the bride to go and get her skin-suit back.

So, we will.  Nominal “Christians” may consider themselves to be on notice—if they aren’t going to live and love their religion—their true religion; there are yet Saints who will.

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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4 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I don't think it "slipped away from us."  I think the Lord had a plan to take us through phases.

"Mormon" is a very quick and meaningful label.  It is much more catchy and easy to market and remember.  The "And I'm a Mormon" Campaign was a valuable tool to....

But it was all part of the big plan.  All those who thought we were separate got the sucker punch -- the old one-two.  Now they know we're that same, and that we're a Christian Church.

-------

Interesting, and I like how the big news and major push from this conference was the "Restoration Proclamation". To emphasize a restoration which is what makes us very different yet same.

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6 hours ago, priesthoodpower said:

Its the culture of LDS that is keeping Christs church from growing and allowing many to leave. Its clear that since Pres Nelson became prophet he or should I say God, has told us to get his name and now image correct. If something so simple as his name and image has slipped away from us over the years because of cultural habits (that most of us cant see from the inside), what else are we blind to see?

I think there is some truth to what you are saying, but we shouldn’t speak so harshly and definitively of how things were in the past. I honestly belief that the name “Mormon” helped our religion get into the minds of everyone. Now that everyone knows who we are, let’s start adjusting their perception.

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Guest Scott
2 hours ago, mordorbund said:

For your consideration, "Mormon Church" has never been approved as a nickname for the Church of Jesus Christ, although "Mormon" has been embraced in the past as a nickname for its saints.

https://askgramps.org/nickname-mormon-victory-adversary/

I don't know what an "approved nickname" is, but previous Church leadership and prophets did refer to our Church as the Mormon Church and Mormonism.  Of course that's not longer true and we aren't supposed to do it anymore.

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May I suggest that there is something else going on that seems to be missing from this thread.  I realize that many think President Nelson is coming up with a bunch of new things to change the image and branding of the Church.  I believe there are two things that have been missed.  The first - I believe was expressed in the theme  of this current world conference that just ended.  That theme, or so it seems to me, is that we are in a dispensation and era of restoration.  Some think it is just a restoration of the primitive Church established when Jesus called his Apostles.  But I think there is more than just that.  The Church of Jesus Christ is a restoration of all things and all dispensations.  Beyond the Church that Jesus established - Moses has restored the gathering or Israel - during the time of Jesus and his Apostles (70 AD) Israel (in particular the house of Judah) was still in the process of being scattered.  The time of restoration of Israel was for a different time and dispensation.

Elijah also restored the sealing of families and temple work.  This restoration is not of man or established through scholars but by G-d through the ignorant on the American frontier.   And now I am to the second point.  Nothing has changed concerning the name of the Church.  The name is the same today as the April 6th of 1830 when the Church was organized.  But the Church is growing and is filling the earth.  G-d continues to restore line upon line upon line and precept upon precept upon precept.  That the time has come that Zion should be adorned with the garments intended from the beginning should be a message to the Latter-day Saints.  This change is not about P.R. or re-branding.  I believe it ought to  be obvious that this commandment to the Saints is a preparation for the return of the Messiah.  I believe it is to prepare the Latter-day Saints (not so much the world) for Jesus to return.

 

The Traveler

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17 hours ago, priesthoodpower said:

Slaughtered my Name and now my Image

Its the culture of LDS that is keeping Christs church from growing and allowing many to leave. Its clear that since Pres Nelson became prophet he or should I say God, has told us to get his name and now image correct. If something so simple as his name and image has slipped away from us over the years because of cultural habits (that most of us cant see from the inside), what else are we blind to see?

Also... does anyone else see the irony?

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7 hours ago, Scott said:

I don't know what an "approved nickname" is, but previous Church leadership and prophets did refer to our Church as the Mormon Church and Mormonism.  Of course that's not longer true and we aren't supposed to do it anymore.

Part of that is something that I do not understand how they are obeying or keeping now.  One reason they used the words Saints and other items to describe the Members of the Church in the past was to AVOID taking the Lord's name in vain.  They did not want to make the Lord's name a common place usage or a common place item.  They took the Ten Commandments VERY seriously and thus they did NOT want to disobey the line about taking the Lord's name in vain.

This can be a very fine line to follow and one which can be difficult to navigate when one is using the full name of the Church.  We need to show that we are Christians and I think that is important.  Joseph Smith used the words Saints and other items to describe the members at times as did other Prophets.  They knew the Doctrine and Covenants (or the revelations and commandments given through Joseph Smith during those earlier years) which has been quoted rather often.  The reasons to use other terms was not simply due to ignorance.  They did it with full knowledge and with good reasons.  They strove to keep the commandments of the Lord fully and to have the Saints also do so.

Later, as the Saints became more identified by the term Mormon, it was acknowledging that we were known by this term generally throughout the world.  Changing the world's ideas by aggressively fighting back is not normally a way to win converts.  It CAN be a way to drive them to be even more aggressive or anti against us.  This PR idea was something understood by Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson, and Gordon B. Hinckley who used it at those times to drive up the number of Baptisms we had and the number of converts during their respective prophetic eras. 

Different situations and eras occur under different prophets for different reasons I suppose.

Edited by JohnsonJones
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I am a convert so i can say something about this. I too, as a kid, never thought the "mormons" were christians, because they didn't have anything related to christ, They never corrected anyone calling them mormons and lots of people in my area barely knew how to read at that time, so they couldnt know what was written in the name tag.

So the rumors around the Brazilian rural area where i lived were that they had a god named José smith and another one alive called gordon B hinckley.

Now, Most of you are utah people born in the covenant, so you havent had the opportunity to see how valuable these changes being made by pres nelson are.

Members in that same area where i live began to correct others wherever and whenever they were called mormons. Those who have been corrected have started to call the members SUD (LDS)

The church is know becoming more and more connected culturally to christ in that area. And now that the christus image is going to be added to our every simbol, that is going to be awesome. My brethren, i am trully excited. My people will always see christ in the nametag and in our chapels now.

the addition of the christus as a visual simbol is really really valuable. I really hope they add that to our temples and chapels and everything related to the church as soon as possible. This prophet is extremely inspired.

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Sometimes i think that the spreading of this nickname might have something to do with the enemy. Because I know firsthand that this did not contribute with anything. What the prophet did was crucial, both adding the visual simbol and prohibiting the use of the nickname.

Edited by Serviteur du seigneur
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/6/2020 at 6:05 AM, JohnsonJones said:

Part of that is something that I do not understand how they are obeying or keeping now.  One reason they used the words Saints and other items to describe the Members of the Church in the past was to AVOID taking the Lord's name in vain.  They did not want to make the Lord's name a common place usage or a common place item.  They took the Ten Commandments VERY seriously and thus they did NOT want to disobey the line about taking the Lord's name in vain.

This can be a very fine line to follow and one which can be difficult to navigate when one is using the full name of the Church.  We need to show that we are Christians and I think that is important.  Joseph Smith used the words Saints and other items to describe the members at times as did other Prophets.  They knew the Doctrine and Covenants (or the revelations and commandments given through Joseph Smith during those earlier years) which has been quoted rather often.  The reasons to use other terms was not simply due to ignorance.  They did it with full knowledge and with good reasons.  They strove to keep the commandments of the Lord fully and to have the Saints also do so.

Later, as the Saints became more identified by the term Mormon, it was acknowledging that we were known by this term generally throughout the world.  Changing the world's ideas by aggressively fighting back is not normally a way to win converts.  It CAN be a way to drive them to be even more aggressive or anti against us.  This PR idea was something understood by Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson, and Gordon B. Hinckley who used it at those times to drive up the number of Baptisms we had and the number of converts during their respective prophetic eras. 

Different situations and eras occur under different prophets for different reasons I suppose.

Yes! I was raised this way; meaning, my mother taught us not to use the Lord's name more often than necessary, and only in reverence. I can't remember from whom or where I learned this, but inside the recesses of my memory is the idea that the church purposely didn't use an image of Christ on everything in an effort to be respectful. His image was reserved for holy places, such as the temple, church buildings, and formal living rooms in the home. Or, one might keep a bookmark with a painting of the Savior in your scriptures. As a Primary teacher in the early 2000's, we were instructed not to use cartoon images of deity. The only pictures the church wanted us to use were paintings from the Gospel Art Kit or similar ones. And, unless recently changed, the current handbook has strict guidelines about people dressing up and role-playing the Savior; again, presumably, out of reverence.

Edited by Comp
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