Columbia Faith & Values: Why Latter-day Saints are called Mormons
Writing at columbiafavs.com (a hub site for Religion News LLC), local Latter-day Saint Kirsten Pinto explains why members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are called Mormons.
Pinto points first to the portion of the Church’s name that says “The Church of Jesus Christ.” “Jesus Christ is the central figure of our church,” she says. “We believe Him to be our Savior and the Son of God.” Concerning “Latter-day,” she correctly explains that although the Church is often regarded as a new faith, Latter-day Saints consider it to be the “ancient Church of Jesus Christ brought back. Hence, the distinction ‘Latter-day’ in our name.” And Church members refer to themselves as Saints “in the sense that we count ourselves among those who seek to follow Christ.”
Finally, Pinto correctly notes that Latter-day Saints are called “Mormons” by others because they believe in the Book of Mormon. “We don’t mind our nickname,” Pinto says. “But knowing and understanding our full name sheds light on who we are and what we believe.”
Read Pinto’s entire commentary at columbiafavs.com.
Related resource:
- The Importance of a Name (October 2011 general conference address by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)
Your News Now (Austin, Texas): Mormon missionaries seek to serve God by sharing the message of Jesus Christ
Russell Wilde at Your News Now (YNN) in Texas writes about San Marcos High School student Josh Vences, a local Latter-day Saint who will soon be a missionary. Wilde includes comments about why Mormons serve missions and the message they share.
Vences says he wants to be a missionary “to serve God. I want Him to know that He’s my first priority.” Wilde correctly writes that missionaries teach from the Bible and the Book of Mormon because “both books ... focus on the teachings of Jesus Christ.” And Gene Massey, the leader of Vences’ congregation, says part of a missionary’s primary responsibility is to “tell people about Jesus Christ, that He lives, that He is the Savior of the world and the Son of God.”
Read the entire article at austin.ynn.com.
Tremonton Leader (Utah): In addition to teaching about Christ, Mormon missionaries provide community service
The Tremonton Leader’s Jessica Tanner writes about a community service project completed by two Utah natives currently serving as Mormon missionaries in Durban, South Africa. Elders Micah Roberts and Ryan Francom oversaw the cleaning and painting of the roof of Elora Primary School in Chatsworth, a large suburb in Durban. Twenty-two fellow missionaries in the area assisted them.
Community service is a key part of Mormon missionary work. Each year, Latter-day Saint missionaries across the globe provide a combined 12 million or more hours of such service, going beyond their usual teaching and preaching to do such things as disaster cleanup, helping people move, visiting the elderly and more.
Related resource: