Mormonism & the Mormon church

The official title of the Mormon church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The name was given by revelation from God to the prophet Joseph Smith in 1838. It is common, though incorrect, to see a lowercase “t” in the “The” or an uppercase “D” in “day”.

When used in the media, it is preferred that the full title of the church be used, as opposed to “Mormon church”, “LDS church”, or “Church of the Latter-day Saints”. These variations leave out the most important part of the Church’s name — the name of Jesus Christ — and perpetuate false notions about the Mormon church not being Christian. Additional references to the Church may use the term “the Church” or “the Church of Jesus Christ”.

Church members may be referred to as “Latter-day Saints” (better) or “Mormons” (okay). The culture, doctrine, and lifestyle of the Church together may be called “Mormonism”.

For more information, see Style Guide - The Name of the Church.

While these guidelines are important for naming the title of the Church in the media and preventing misconceptions, the use of more colloquial phrases like Mormon church or the Mormons is an important part of reaching out to persons of other faith. Both on the Internet and in person we should use language that is familiar to persons of other faiths and not expect them to understand our esoteric language. As they become more familiar with Mormonism, we can begin to explain the less familiar terms.

Among the latest news around the Mormon church is a letter from Church leaders to local members addressing an upcoming Senate bill that would amend the Constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. The letter from the Church asked members to “express themselves on this urgent matter to their elected representatives in the Senate.” (See KSL.) This effort by the Church is seen by gay rights advocates as discriminatory, and I suppose there are probably gay Mormons within the Church that feel similarly.

The Church rarely takes a position on political issues, except in some family and societal matters, which makes this recent letter all the more interesting. In fact the Church has a policy of being politically neutral:

In this election year, we urge Church members to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then vote for those they believe will most nearly carry out their ideas of good government. Latter-day Saints are under special obligation to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are ‘wise,’ ‘good,’ and ‘honest,’ (see Doctrine and Covenants 98:10). (LDS.org)

The Mormon church’s position on homosexuality is that it’s a behavior and as such can be overcome. I don’t think this denies the possibility that gays may have a biological tendency toward homosexuality, making it difficult to overcome for some. I tend to look at it like a person of Irish descent saying (and I have heard this), “I’m Irish; I have a temper. That’s just the way I am.” No doubt there are tendencies toward certain temperaments, but that doesn’t mean we can’t overcome our tendencies.

FYI, Evergreen International helps gay Mormons overcome homosexuality.

See the following searches at LDSsearch.com for more information:
Gay Mormons
Gays and the Mormon church