Friday, September 27, 2019

K. Shane Goodwin on Early (1834) Members Wishing to Distance themselves from the nickname "Mormon"


Commenting on the reason for changing the name of the Church from “Church of Christ” to “Church of the Latter Day Saints,” K. Shane Goodwin noted the reason for Saints being used in the name of the Church:

(3) distance the Church from terms such as Mormon and Mormonite. Sometimes it is challenging to decide whether a term is spoken out of contempt, since context, intent, and especially tone of voice have great weight. The terms Mormon and Mormonite most likely were viewed with different levels of comfort by various leaders and members of the Church, as is the case today. For example, Joseph used the terms Mormon and Mormonism occasionally, as evidenced by his reflections on July 9, 1843: “If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a Mormon, I am bold to declare before heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist or a good man of any other denomination.” Later in that day’s journal entry, he states, “One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may.” [31]

On the other hand, some leaders were not as comfortable with the nickname, as can be inferred from Oliver Cowdery’s editorializing after the May 1834 name change, which stated that “the world, either out of contempt and ridicule, or to distinguish us from others, have been lav­ish in bestowing the title of ‘Mormonite.’ . . . But WE do not accept the above title. nor shall we wear it as OUR name.” [32] Lest one consider that Cowdery merely considered “Mormonite” as the only derisive name of the two, we read three months later in the same paper: “Whereas the church of Christ, recently styled the church of the Latter Day Saints, contumeliously called Mormons, or Mormonites, has suffered many privations, afflictions, persecutions and losses on account of the reli­gious belief and faith of its members.” [33]

Undoubtedly, a name change alone would not necessarily dissuade critics of the Church from using derisive terms to label its followers, but the new appellation “Latter Day Saints” would definitely rise to greater public prominence. From the Joseph Smith Papers, we read, “Despite the name change, some—both within and without the church— continued to refer to the organization as the Church of Christ and its members as Mormonites or Mormons, but after this conference, the use of the name Church of the Latter Day Saints became increasingly prevalent.” [34]

Notes for the Above


31. “History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844],” 1666, Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 18, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper -summary/history-1838-1856-volume-e-1-1-july-1843-30-april-1844/36. Although both terms Mormon and Mormonism have quote marks around them in the josephsmith.net rendition of these comments from the Prophet, in the origi­nal document, published by the Joseph Smith Papers (handwriting of Robert L. Campbell), there are no such marks. This, of course, only amplifies the nuance.
32. Editor of the Star, “The Saints,” Evening and the Morning Star 2, no. 20 (May 1834): 317, accessed July 18, 2019, https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/ collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/28070, emphasis in original.

33. “An Appeal,” Evening and the Morning Star 2, no. 23 (August 1834): 361, accessed July 18, 2019, https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/ NCMP1820-1846/id/28093. See also History of the Church, 2:126; and “Style Guide—the Name of the Church.”

34. “Minutes, 3 May 1834,” 43.

Source: K. Shane Goodwin, “The History of the Name of the Savior's Church: A Collaborative and Revelatory Process,” BYU Studies 58/3 (2019): 4-41, here, pp. 17-19

We can see that, even as early as 1834, a desire among members of the Church to distance themselves from the name “Mormon” (and “Mormonite”). One was reminded of a blog post by my friend Stephen Smoot:


A "Mormon" By Any Other Name