“Ye shall call the church in my name…”

I’m not particularly fond of the nickname given to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Mormons. I wouldn’t say I’m ashamed of it either although, in my experience, it is usually associated with criticism of the Church. The biggest problem with the nickname is that it distracts from the name of Jesus Christ, whose Church this is.

The official name of the Church in these last days was made clear in 1838 when Christ revealed it to the prophet Joseph Smith (dozens and dozens of these revelations can be read in a book of scripture called Doctrine and Covenants). In verse 4 of the 115th Section, the Lord makes it crystal clear: For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

If I’m not mistaken, members of the Church were first called Mormons by those who opposed them. And if not, it was still a pretty popular way to refer to those who believed the boy Joseph spoke with God the Father and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. From what I’ve read, members even frequently referred to themselves as Mormons.

Why Mormon? It’s because of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Several years after seeing the Father and Son, an event which became known as the First Vision, an angel visited teenage Joseph. The angel’s name was Moroni and he told Joseph that a record of his people had been recorded on metal plates and buried nearby nearly a millennia before. Joseph translated the contents of the plates over just 90 working days. The book was later published as The Book of Mormon, named after Moroni’s father, Mormon, who was responsible for compiling and abridging the records of their people, the Nephites.

The Book of Mormon is not another bible, per se. Latter-day Saints cherish and study the Holy Bible like all other Christian churches. And like many other Christian churches, we use the King James translation (KJV). I personally love the New Testament, especially the Gospels. There’s nothing else that compares to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. At this moment, my personal reading is in the Gospel of John, my favorite of the three Gospels. I just read the story of the man who was healed by the Savior after having clay applied to his eyes and then being instructed to wash in the pool of Siloam.

While we’re on the topic of the Bible, I would tell my non-Latter-day Saint Christian friends that I often reference other common Bible translations. When I come across a verse in the KJV that reads a bit opaque, I hope over the Bible App, produced by the evangelical Life.Church, and review the same verse in several different translations. My favorite is probably New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) but I frequently compare the same verse with several other translations such as New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), New International Version (NIV), Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC), and English Standard Version 2016 (ESV).

So, what is the Book of Mormon then? As a full-time missionary, I would tell people that it’s a record of God’s dealings with His Children in the New World just as the Bible records those interactions in the Old World. We also commonly refer to the Book of Mormon as “the keystone of our religion”. Why? Because all that makes Latter-day Saints unique, including our claim to be Christ’s restored New Testament Church, hinges on the veracity of the Book of Mormon.

The argument goes like this:

• If the Book of Mormon is truly an ancient record, then…
  • Joseph Smith was truly called by God
• If Joseph Smith was called by God, then…
  • The Church that was Restored through him is the church
• If the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was God’s church at one time, then…
  • It still is God’s church, led by a prophet

But most importantly, I believe, the Book of Mormon is a powerful witness of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is mentioned 3,925 times. That’s every 1.7 verses, which is more frequent than the Holy Bible if I remember correctly. The Book of Mormon incorporates 100 different names or titles of the Savior throughout its pages.

Within the Book of Mormon, we find the account of Jesus Christ visiting the people of ancient America after His death and resurrection. Much of what He taught in the Old World is taught again in the New, with a few clarifications. I like to refer to that account, starting in the 11th chapter of 3 Nephi, as the Fourth Gospel.

As His New World disciples were discussing what to call the new Church Christ was establishing among them, they asked Him what they ought to do. This is what He said:

4 And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?

5 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;

6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.

Jesus goes on to teach that using any other name would make it the Church of that man–which makes total sense to me. It’s always puzzled me how few Christian churches invoke the name Diety in their official titles.

I don’t belong to the Church of Moses, the Church of Noah, and certainly not the Church of Joseph Smith or the Church of Mormon. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ.

In closing, please take a minute and forty seconds to listen to Russell M. Nelson, God’s current prophet plead with us to use the correct name of the Church: