The name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is derived from an 1838 revelation church founder Joseph Smith said he received. Church leaders have long emphasized the church's full name (though more especially since 2018),[1] [2] and have resisted the application of informal or shortened names, especially those which omit "Jesus Christ". These informal and shortened names include the "Mormon Church", the "LDS Church", and the "Church of the Latter-day Saints".
The LDS Church traces its founding to April 6, 1830, when Smith and five other men formally established the Church of Christ.[3] [4] The church was known by this name from 1830 to 1834.[5] [6]
In the 1830s, the fact that a number of U.S. churches, including some Congregational churches and Restoration Movement churches, also used the name "Church of Christ" caused a considerable degree of confusion.[6] On May 3, 1834, the church adopted a resolution that it would be known thereafter as "The Church of the Latter Day Saints".[7] [6] [8] At various times the church was also referred to as "The Church of Jesus Christ", "The Church of God",[9] and "The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints".[5] [6]
In the late 1830s, Smith founded a new headquarters in Far West, Missouri. At Far West on April 26, 1838, Smith recorded a revelation from God renaming the organization the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints".[10] [11] The church was known by this name until after Smith's death in 1844; occasionally the name would be written with a hyphen between the words "Latter" and "Day".
After Smith's death, competing Latter Day Saint denominations organized under the leadership of a number of successors. The largest of these, led by Brigham Young, continued using "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" until incorporation on February 8, 1851 by the legislature of the provisional State of Deseret, when the church standardized the spelling of its name as "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", a hyphenated "Latter-day", and a British-style lower-case "d".[12] In January 1855, the legislature of Utah Territory re-enacted the charter which incorporated the church under this name.[12]
In 1876, the church issued a new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants which contains the text of significant revelations received by Joseph Smith. In this new edition—the first revision since before Smith's death—the capitalization and hyphenation of the church's name in the 1838 revelation to Smith was changed to reflect the name format the church had since adopted:
[A]nd unto all the elders and people of my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, scattered abroad in all the world; For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[13]
The definite article "The" was not capitalized in D&C 115:4 of the 1876 edition; it was not until the 1921 edition that it was capitalized.[14] Until the late-20th century, church publications inconsistently capitalized "The" in the name of the church in running text. Today, church publications invariably capitalize "The" in all contexts.
Today, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" is a registered trademark owned by the LDS Church. In contrast, "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" is a public-domain name and is used by some smaller Latter Day Saint denominations, including the Strangites.
The church teaches that its name is a significant indicator of its origin and mission. The following teachings have been given on the meanings of the various components of the church's name:
Because of the belief in the Book of Mormon among Joseph Smith's followers, in the 1830s people outside the church began to refer to its members as "Mormonites" or "Mormons" and the church as the "Mormon Church". Smith and other church leaders considered these informal or abbreviated terms to be derogatory and inappropriate, as editorialized in 1834:
Today, it remains common for individuals and media outside of the church to refer to it as the "Mormon Church". Church leaders have resisted these practices and have asked members not to refer to the church in these ways.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26]
In 2001, the LDS Church Saints issued a style guide on its name, requesting that those writing about the church adhere to the following guidelines:
- In the first reference, the full name of the Church is preferred: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
- Please avoid the use of "Mormon Church", "LDS Church" or the "Church of the Latter-day Saints."
- When a shortened reference is needed, the terms "the Church" or "the Church of Jesus Christ" are encouraged.
- When referring to Church members, the term "Latter-day Saints" is preferred, though "Mormons" is acceptable.[27]
On publication of the 2001 style guide, The New York Times reported that the release of the style guide recommendations was a "'deliberate reaffirmation' of a long effort in favor of wider use of the church's full title". Apostle Dallin H. Oaks told the Times that "church leaders decided it was possible to begin using the abbreviated name of Church of Jesus Christ because no other major Christian body in the United States had laid claim to it."[28] Dr. Jan Shipps, an expert on the Latter Day Saint movement, suggested that these continuing efforts to emphasize the church's name reflect its members' longstanding desire that their beliefs "be understood as a Christian tradition."[28]
On August 16, 2018, church president Russell M. Nelson reiterated the request that church members and others call the church by its full name instead of using the terms "LDS Church", "Mormon Church", and "Mormonism". Nelson reaffirmed his position during the October 2018 General Conference, stating: "To remove the Lord's name from the Lord's Church is a major victory for Satan."[29] He further requested that "LDS" and "Mormon" not be used to refer to its membership or belief system,[1] [2] and the style guide was updated accordingly.[30] Among other changes, this update rearranged the above points and replaced the second and fourth as follows:
- While the term "Mormon Church" has long been publicly applied to the Church as a nickname, it is not an authorized title, and the Church discourages its use. Thus, please avoid using the abbreviation "LDS" or the nickname "Mormon" as substitutes for the name of the Church, as in "Mormon Church," "LDS Church," or "Church of the Latter-day Saints."
- When referring to Church members, the terms "members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," "Latter-day Saints,” "members of the Church of Jesus Christ" and "members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ" are preferred. We ask that the term "Mormons" and "LDS" not be used.[31]
Subsequent to this announcement, the church began the "complex effort in numerous global languages" and requested that "all... be patient and courteous as we work together to use and share the proper name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world."[32] [33] Church web sites were updated with new URLs,[32] social media accounts were updated to further emphasize the name of the church, and the church's premier vocal ensemble, then best known as the "Mormon Tabernacle Choir", was officially renamed The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.[34] Reaction to the name change policy in the media, by the general public, and even among church members has been mixed, with the preferred second–reference terms (such as "the Church of Jesus Christ" and "the restored Church of Jesus Christ") generally being shunned except by the church's own adherents.[35] However, media in Utah, including the church-owned Deseret News, KSL-TV, and KSL radio, now tend to use "Latter-day Saints" when referring to the church in headlines.