484: ONLY 97% CORRECT OF THE CHURCH'S REVEALED NAME.... 3% VICTORY FOR SATAN?.

There are few things that have to be 100% perfect in the Church. For example, TOTAL immersion at baptism and I don't mean just the person. If any part of the clothing floats to the surface, the baptism needs to be redone. The wording of the Sacrament Prayers can not be said with any error. Last Sunday, one of the 15 year olds in our ward (who is now ordained a priest) had to repeat the blessing of the bread because he said the word 'it' after the word 'eat'.

Now add to that list the correct name of the Church. Here is the directive from Russell M. Nelson, in his conference address that he gave last year. (emphasis added)

"Thus, the name of the Church is not negotiable. When the Savior clearly states what the name of His Church should be and even precedes His declaration with, “Thus shall my church be called,” He is serious."

____________________

I find it fascinating that if you look at the Joseph Papers, you can see the original revelation given to Joseph Smith on April 26, 1838 on what the Church should be called.  The correct name and spelling of the Church is:

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Does something look different? Notice the lower case 't' for the word 'the' and the upper case 'D' in Day and no hyphen. If the Savior clearly states what the name of His Church should be and Joseph Smith wrote it down, why have we altered the spelling of that name?

Here is a screenshot from the Joseph Smith Papers. 

So was there another revelation to change the spelling?  (Fact is that the name of the Church has changed multiple times... (See THIS BLOG, for more research and a huge hat tip for bringing all of this to my attention:)

I am not aware of any such revelation. But I assume the reason to change the spelling was due to a schism after Joseph Smith died. After Smith was murdered in 1844 with no clear successor, several claimants sought to take leadership of the LDS Church. Among them was William Strang, who competed with other prominent members, notably Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon. Strang continued using the official name of the Church for their congregations. This church is a separate organization from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is considerably larger and better known, although both churches claim to be the original organization established by Joseph Smith, on April 6, 1830. The Strangite church is headquartered in Voree, Wisconsin, just outside Burlington, and accepts the claims of James Strang as successor to Smith.

After moving here to Utah, Brigham Young changed the spelling of the Church's name to include the hyphen and the lower-case "d". It wasn't until incorporation in 1851 by the legislature of the State of Deseret that the church standardized the spelling of its name became official. 

Then in 1876, the LDS Church issued a new edition of the D&C which contained the capitalization and hyphenation of the church's name. A change from the 1838 revelation and the 1844 edition of D&C which did not have the hyphen spelling.

So when we read the Doctrine and Covenants today and President Nelson emphatically states we need to make sure that we only use the correct name of the Church we think assume it is to be written like this:

but according to the revelation and what Joseph Smith penned.. it should be written like this:

However, with all that said, the most important thing according to the Lord is not the name but if it is built upon His Gospel. We read in 3 Nephi 27: 8

"but if it be called in my name 

then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel."

So you could be using the correct name of the Church, like the Strangites.. but you are not the Lord's Church if you are not built upon His gospel. Any church could have the name of Jesus Christ in the title, but unless you are built upon His gospel you could possibly be only professing.

Sidenote: The last part of verse in 3 Nephi 27: 8 was omitted from President Nelson's talk. The qualifier "if" clause which says "if it so be that they are built upon my gospel"  was not said. From the The Correct Name of the Church  talk says:

“And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church.

deleted are the 11 words.. "if it so be that they are built upon my gospel." 



SIDENOTE: 
While we are on the subject of Church names. It might be of interest that the official legal name of the church is actually:The Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Here are a few past blog posts on that subject:

What is more offensive to God?
Happy Birthday to The Corporation of the President

483: "MIGHTY AND HEROIC BAND OF CHRIST'S DISCIPLES"

"The moment was historic. The image instantly iconic.

But all the pictures combined are no match 

for the Spirit-witnessing

conformation of the unity and brotherhood of

this mighty and heroic band of Christ's disciples" 

quote from the news article found here: www.thechurchnews.com 

"As the brethren took their places, a hush came over all who had crowded in to watch the gathering of these special witnesses documented by photograph...The sight of these Apostles walking together, talking, and clearly rejoicing in their unity literally took one's breath away... It was a scene that would have fit perfectly on the road to Emmaus or along the shore of Galilee."

 -----------------------

Have we elevated these men to such a status now calling them heros? We almost treat them like celebrities, even idols. I mean when we describe being in their presence, we actually say there is a "hush" that came over all who had crowded in to watch the gathering.  Even that the sight of these Apostles "literally took one's breath away". 

It might be good for us to review some of the very first commandments given by God. In fact lets reread #1 and #2 of the Ten Commandments. I wonder if those two commandment are given first because God knew that we would have the tendency to break both of these. 

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...

If you look at the iconic and historic photo above, I wonder if we see evidence of possible violations of these two commandments. 

Are there any graven images in the photo?

Who really is in the forefront of the photo? Christ?  Is there anything/anybody in front of Him? or in other words.. "any other gods before me" that we might be asked to follow? 

Anyway.. something to at least think about.

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Sidenote:

I don't think you need to wear a white suit or have rank and status in a hierarchy to be a mighty and heroic disciple of Christ. I think we can ALL be mighty and heroic. All we need to do what Christ teach us in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats found in Matthew 25.

"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me."  

In my opinion, here are true mighty and heroic disciples of Christ.

A few weeks ago I gave a talk in Church. I spoke briefly about this parable. Here is an excerpt from the talk:

What does it mean to feed the hungry?

I am wondering if feeding the hungry doesn’t always mean just giving food to those who haven’t eaten for awhile.  

What if the Lord is also talking about those who are spiritually hungry?

For example, those who don’t have the gospel, or who are experiencing a crisis of faith, and struggling with finding God.

What about those who are emotionally hungry, like those who suffer from depression, anxiety and loneliness?

What about those who are financially hungry. the poor and the needy who struggle to provide for the necessities of life?

What about taking in a stranger?

Is a stranger only someone we don’t know?

What if a stranger is someone we know, but we think they are not like us, people who we perceived to be different.. do we take them in?

Do we exclude, criticize, condemn people we consider strange?

What about the naked? 

I don’t think it means to just give someone clothes.

What about those who have lost their reputation or who have been stripped of their good name?

What about those who have been abandoned, left out, or without protection that clothes provides?

How about those who are sick?

I don’t think it is those who just have the flu.

Those who are dealing with abuse, or have weaknesses? Do we sit and visit with them and try to help?

Or what about visiting those who are in prison?

I don’t think in means only those who are incarcerated at the point of mountain.

What about those who struggle with additions?

I recently came across youtube video of what it means to really help someone’s pain and suffering.

It shows someone in a deep hole and they shout out from the bottom and they say I’m stuck, It’s dark, I’m overwhelmed, I don’t know what to do.

Do we just look down at the person in the hole and pass by.. or are we are willing to climb down in that hole and say, I am here for you. I might not know exactly what you are felling, but I want you to know that you are not alone.

To me, that is what is meant by visiting someone if prison. 

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"And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you; he that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the LEAST and the servant of all." 

Doctrine and Covenants 50: 25-26 

482: THE INDISPENSABLE FIRST STEP IN TEACHING

I wanted to end a series of posts written the past few days on a good note. I try to share the positive along with what Moroni called our "awful situation"  with this meme.

481: NO LONGER THE CHURCH OF THE DEVIL?

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 100 YEARS MAKE

THEN in 1919: "The Catholic church is a national liability to any country. It is a power for evil rather than for good".... it is "most abominable above all other churches"

NOW in 2019: "Latter-day Saints cherish the long-standing friendship we have developed with the Catholic community"

The following was written by Elder Hyrum M Smith, one of the apostles in the Quorum of the Twelve in his Conference address in October 1916. He was the eldest son of church apostle and future church president Joseph F. Smith and grandson of Joseph Smith's brother Hyrum. 

"The great Catholic division of the Christian world, the Catholic church, is a national liability to any country. It wields a great power over the minds and the hearts of the children of men, but it is a power for evil rather than for good. It brings countless thousands regularly to confession ; it rarely brings a single man to repentance and the abandonment of his sins. The power wielded by that organization is one that does not promote civilization, nor advancement morally or spiritually, but it binds its adherents in the thralldom of superstition and ignorance and fear, and denies them the liberty to make an open-minded investigation of other questions ; and the nations and the people governed and controlled by that power are the least advanced intellectually and morally and industrially of any people in the world called Christian or civilized."

Elder Bruce R McConkie wrote the following definition for the Church of the Devil in his first edition book of Mormon Doctrine on page 129. 

Church of the Devil.. There are two scriptural senses in which the titles church of the devil and great and abominable church are used: 1. All churches or organizations of whatever name or nature-whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious-which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God, and 2. The Roman Catholic Church. specifically-singled out, set apart, described, and designed as being "most abominable above all other churches"

WOW.. things sure have changed. See below video of President Nelson and Elder Ballard forming ties with the His Holiness (which is how President Nelson refers to and addresses the Pope).

"For me, the moment 

when President Nelson 

actually embraced the Pope 

and they gave each other a hug as

 we left was EVERYTHING".

Elder Ballard

_______________

A question/comment that I received a Reader: 

"So did the Catholic Church elevate itself out of the devils most abominable church? Or did the LDS descend and now embrace that which they taught was most abominable and of the devil? " 

480: INSIGHTS? IS THAT THE BEST WE CAN EXPECT FROM A PROPHET'S LIFE?

Here is a list in order (from High to Low)

of how we should expect God 

to communicate truth to us through His prophets  

Here is the Biography of President Nelson that will be going on sale in a few weeks. 

Just before April 2019 General Conference.

That being said.. I will say that maybe Sheri Dew should add another chapter to the book with all the revelations that President Nelson has been having recently and then retitle the book to a higher description from the list above... even Revelations and include the divine communication from the Lord to eliminate sacred symbolism from the temple endowment as well as taking all of the Brethren and their wives on a trip to Rome.

479: HISTORIC AND ICONIC PHOTO NOW AVAILABLE FOR SALE

President Nelson received a revelation from the Lord to bring the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve along with their wives to Rome. Here is the quote in The Church News

"President Nelson said the Lord told him to take the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to Rome for the dedication. “I was just following the instructions I received,” he said. “It was very clear to me.”

This historic moment allowed for an iconic photo to be taken with the statues of the original Twelve Apostles (minus Judas which they replaced with Paul). It is now for sale to the public. If you enter your credit card, an electronic image will be sent to you via email for the low price of $26.90. Here is the LINK to download the file. You will then need to print it out yourself for an additional cost..so no downloading the image for free. (I think this might be the fundraiser to help pay for the trip)
 
Sidenote: I am wondering if individual photos will be available of each apostle standing next to their equivalent counterpart apostle in order of rank. Here is Elder Bednar standing next the the fourth apostle over from Peter, since he is currently the 4th one in seniority of the modern day Quorum of the 12 apostles.

It is so much better to be a Modern Day Apostle... because the life of today's apostles bear little resemblance to how the early apostles were treated. 

478: THE NEXT MORMONS

A new book written by Jana Riess was released this week. It is called: The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church.  I attended a Q&A with her during a book signing at Benchmark books on Wednesday night.  It was recorded and you can watch the video here:  

I asked her with all that she learned from the data and research from writing the book,  what are a few recommendations that she would you make to the Church to fix some of the problems.  She said as part of her answer, "We have elevated to sanctity, the idea that the Church should be the same everywhere. Why do we think uniformity is Gospel. It makes no sense to me."  She suggested that there needs to be more local autonomy and to let wards be different from each other. 

Many good questions were asked and I am sure many of the Church leaders are aware of her book and the data she has gathered. She might be ruffling some feathers especially now from her recent column on Religion News Service. She wrote that she will continue to use the word Mormon and LDS as a columnist. (I think she should be nicknamed Rebel Riess.) However, she makes some really good points.

Here are some excerpts from the article: Why journalists will keep using the word "Mormon"

"As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I’m happy to avoid using the word “Mormon” at church, at home, and in my family. I can easily try to substitute “I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” for “I’m a Mormon” in my personal conversations and church lessons. As a columnist for Religion News Service, however, I will continue using “Mormon” in headlines, articles, and columns. I will also continue using “LDS” as shorthand after using the church’s full name upon first reference to it as an institution. This is the style guide established by the Associated Press, which RNS and most other media outlets follow. It’s not just because the AP sets the rules that RNS will continue using “Mormon.” It’s also because the AP style guide makes more sense than what the church is asking reporters to do. The church wants to emphasize the name of Jesus Christ. As the Newsroom announcement put it, “the invitation to use the full name of the Church is an opportunity for Latter-day Saints to refocus their lives on the living Christ.” That’s wonderful, but Mormons’ spiritual development as disciples of Christ has nothing to do with how journalists do their jobs. Members of the media do not have a mandate to emphasize the name of Jesus Christ in the course of doing their 9 to 5 jobs just because one denomination has told its members to do so.
It is not journalists’ job to adjudicate faith claims. Built into the request to use the full name of the church is a claim to theological superiority: this is “The” church of Jesus Christ. (The church’s style guide in fact requests that the first letter of the definite article be capitalized.) But if a church’s full official name includes a theological claim, it’s not journalists’ responsibility to affirm or deny it. For example, the world’s largest denomination is officially called the Holy Roman Catholic Church, but journalists call it the Roman Catholic Church. Whether it’s headquartered in Rome is a fact journalists can verify. Whether it is holy is way beyond our pay grade.

477: A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH CHANGING THE NAME OF THE CHURCH'S WEBSITE

Yesterday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints changed the names of its major websites to reflect President Nelson's emphasis from his conference address a year ago.

LDS.org, the church's main page, has now changed to ChurchofJesusChrist.org,

But why has it taken so long to change the website? It has been almost a year.  And why did the Church decide not including the word 'The' in the new URL? In fact, if you type in the new domain name https://www.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, it will still point to the LDS.org home page. The press release said that it will take a few months to fully replace LDS.org. I hope they get this solved because we don't want to give Satan any more victories.

As far as the new website, if I were to conduct a survey, which one would you choose?

I think the top one is ALOT better. So why go with the bottom one?

Well maybe because there already exists a Church called The Church of Jesus Christ and they already own the website...  And maybe it has taken so long to change because the Church has been trying to buy/negotiate with the already existing website TheChurchofJesusChrist.org .... but it failed.

Below is a screenshot of website for TheChurchofJesusChrist.org. I can't help but think this might be a problem for the Church because this Church is so much like the LDS Church. In fact, The Church of Jesus Christ also believes in the Book of Mormon, baptism by immersion, laying on of hand for the Holy Ghost, ..  in fact almost everything the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes.  

 

Here is the complete list of their Articles of Faith. 

·         We believe in God: the Father, Jesus Christ-His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

·         We believe The Church as established by Jesus Christ has ordained officers consistent with the scriptures, that the believers possess the signs promised to them, and that this Church/Kingdom will remain upon the earth until the end of time.

·         We believe the Bible and the Book of Mormon to be Holy Scriptures telling of God’s relationship with the human family. These two scriptures jointly convey God’s dealings and plan for mankind.

·         We believe that divine inspiration is an indispensable qualification for the preaching of the Gospel.

·         We believe that The Church of Jesus Christ is patterned exactly as is represented in the scriptures including the following ordinances and practices:

§  Baptism by immersion

§  Laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost

§  Lord’s Supper

§  Feet washing

§  Anointing the sick with oil and praying over them

§  Ordaining all spiritual Church Officers

§  Blessing of children

·         We believe obedience to the Gospel is necessary to obtain salvation by taking the following actions:

§  Believe and have faith that Jesus Christ is the risen Savior of the world

§  Repent of your sins with a desire to sin no more

§  Be baptized by immersion in water for a remission of sins

§  Receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands

§  Live righteously, remain faithful, and endure to the end of your life

·         We believe that the Lord God continues to reveal His will through the power of the Holy Ghost.

·         We believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ established resurrection for all mankind.

·         We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is a holy institution.

·         We believe that many pure and precious tenets of Christ were eventually changed in the early centuries of The Church of Jesus Christ, and that God restored the Gospel of Christ in its fullness.

·         We believe that God has promised many blessings to all who love and serve Him, and that He will remember His covenants to the House of Israel.

·         We believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ to occur at the end of the world – with the First Resurrection - and that He will wed His Bride, The Church, and gather unto Himself all the righteous

Sidenote:
I am wondering if the only difference is the requirement for their members to stand when their leaders walk into a room.