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According to Latter Day Saint belief, 'Mormon' is the name of the compiler of the book of scripture known as the Book of Mormon. 'Mormon' is also a term used to describe people who are adherents, practitioners, followers or constituents of Mormonism. The term most often refers to a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which is commonly called the ''Mormon Church''. The LDS Church believes that "Mormon" may only properly be applied to its members, but the term is occasionally used more broadly to describe any individual or group that claims belief in the Book of Mormon, including other Latter Day Saint groups.

Contents

Origin of the term

Popular usage

"Mormon Church"

Scholarly usage

Meaning of the word

Confusion with other religious groups

Trademark

See also

References

External links

Origin of the term

The term "Mormon" has its origins from the ''Book of Mormon'', which is believed by Latter Day Saints to be a collection of writings and teachings of the ancient prophets and followers of Jesus Christ who lived in the Americas from approximately 600 B.C. to A.D. 421. Mormons believe that Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the ''Book of Mormon'' into English by divine inspiration from golden plates that he received from the angel Moroni. Mormons believe that the ''Book of Mormon'' is another scriptural witness of Jesus Christ that is comparable to the Bible, which they also believe to be the word of God.^[1] The book gets its name from Mormon, the prophet who abridged the record during the 4th century.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', one of the earliest published usages of the term "Mormon" to describe believers in the Book of Mormon was in 1833 by the Louisville (Kentucky) ''Daily Herald'' in an article, "The Mormons and the Anti-Mormons".^[2]

Popular usage

The term "Mormon" is most often used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The LDS Church holds that it is incorrect to apply "Mormon" to other groups or their members.^[3] The Associated Press Stylebook agrees, specifying that the term "Mormon" is not properly applied to other Latter Day Saint groups founded after the death of Joseph Smith, Jr.^[4]
Nevertheless, the term is also often used to refer to a number of Mormon fundamentalist groups who continue to practice plural marriage, a practice that the LDS Church officially abandoned in 1890.^[5][6] These groups, while numerically much smaller than the LDS Church, continue to use the term "Mormon" and claim to represent "true Mormonism" as taught and practiced by Smith and Brigham Young.
The term "Mormon" is generally disfavored by other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, such as the Community of Christ, which has had a distinct history from that of the LDS church since Smith's death in 1844. On the other hand, the Strangite Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints—with only a few hundred members—embraces the term, though the sect's existence is unknown to even the majority of LDS Church members.
The terms "Mormon" and "'Mormonite'" were first used in the 1830s as pejoratives to describe those who followed Joseph Smith and believed in the divine origin of the ''Book of Mormon''. However, by the 1970s, "Mormon" had become so common and accepted that the LDS Church began to use the term in its radio and television Public Service Announcements, which ended: "A message from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: the Mormons."

"Mormon Church"

The official name of the Salt Lake City, Utah-based church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the term "Mormon Church" has long been attached to the church as a nickname, it is an unauthorized title, and its use is discouraged by the church, although the use of "Mormon" in other contexts is not generally considered offensive and is commonly used by members of the LDS Church.^[7][8][9] Leaders of the LDS Church have encouraged members to use the church's full name to emphasize the church's focus on Jesus Christ.^[10]

Scholarly usage

Some scholars, such as J. Gordon Melton, in his ''Encyclopedia of American Religion,'' subdivide the Mormons into ''Utah Mormons'' and ''Missouri Mormons''. In this scheme, the 'Utah Mormon' group includes all the organizations descending from those Mormons who followed Brigham Young to what is now Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is by far the largest of these groups, and the only group to initially reside in Utah. The 'Missouri Mormons' include those who chose not to travel to Utah, and the organizations formed from them — the Community of Christ, Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and others.
The terms "Utah Mormon" and "Missouri Mormon" are problematic because the majority of each of these branches' members no longer live in either of these U.S. states. Although a majority of Utahns are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the LDS Church has a worldwide membership with the majority of its members outside the United States. Nor are most "Missouri Mormons" based in Missouri. Notable exceptions include the Pennsylvania-based Church of Jesus Christ, which considers Sidney Rigdon to be Joseph Smith's rightful successor, and the Wisconsin-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), which considers James J. Strang to be Smith's rightful successor.
Addressing some of the limitations of the Utah/Missouri designations, some historians have now coined the terms ''Rocky Mountain Saints'' and ''Prairie Saints'' to rename the "Utah" and "Missouri" branches of the movement. These new terms have begun to gain a following among historians today, but similar to the above mentioned titles, they are not of common usage among the majority of those who call themselves Mormons.

Meaning of the word

In the May 15, 1843, issue of the Mormon periodical ''Times and Seasons'' published in Nauvoo, Illinois, Joseph Smith, Jr., wrote the following on the subject of the meaning of the word "Mormon" (T&S 4:194):^[11]

To the Editor of the ''Times & Seasons'':


    Sir:—Through the medium of your paper, I wish to correct an error among men that profess to be learned, liberal and wise; and I do it the more cheerfully, because I hope sober-thinking and sober-reasoning people will sooner listen to the voice of truth, than be led astray by the vain pretensions of the self-wise. The error I speak of, is the definition of the word "Mormon." It has been stated that this word was derived from the Greek word "mormo." This is not the case. There was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from which I, through the grace of God, translated the Book of Mormon. Let the language of that book speak for itself. On the 523d page, of the fourth edition, it reads: "And now behold we have written this record according to our knowledge in the characters, which are called among us the 'Reformed Egyptian,' being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech; and if our plates had been sufficiently large, we should have written in Hebrew: but the Hebrew hath been altered by us, also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold ye would have had no imperfection in our record, but the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also, that none other people knoweth our language; therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof."


    Here then the subject is put to silence, for "none other people knoweth our language," therefore the Lord, and not man, had to interpret, after the people were all dead. And as Paul said, "the world by wisdom know not God," so the world by speculation are destitute of revelation; and as God in his superior wisdom, has always given his Saints, wherever he had any on the earth, the same spirit, and that spirit, as John says, is the true spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus, I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation.—Before I give a definition, however, to the word, let me say that the Bible in its widest sense, means good; for the Savior says according to the gospel of John, "I am the good shepherd;" and it will not be beyond the common use of terms, to say that good is among the most important in use, and though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in opposition to "bad." We say from the Saxon, "good"; the Dane, "god"; the Goth, "goda"; the German, "gut"; the Dutch, "goed"; the Latin, "bonus"; the Greek, "kalos"; the Hebrew, "tob"; and the Egyptian, "mon." Hence, with the addition of "more," or the contraction, "mor," we have the word "mor-mon"; which means, literally, "more good."


            Yours,

                JOSEPH SMITH.

Confusion with other religious groups

Despite some misconceptions over similar nicknames and stereotypes, Mormons are not in any way associated with the Quakers (members of the Religious Society of Friends), Mennonites, Amish, or Jehovah's Witnesses. Mormonism originated separately from these groups, and is distinct in culture, practice, theology, and worship.

Trademark

In some countries, ''Mormon'' and some phrases including the term are registered trademarks owned by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.^[12][13] In the United States, the LDS Church has applied for a trademark on "Mormon" as applied to religious services; however, the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected the application, stating that the term "Mormon" was too generic, and is popularly understood as referring to a particular kind of church, like "Presbyterian" or "Methodist", rather than a service mark.^[14] The application is on appeal as of mid-2007.^[15]

See also

★ List of Latter-day Saints (well-known Mormons)

★ Restorationism

References

1. Article of Faith #8
2. ''Oxford English Dictionary'', s.v. "Mormon".
3. Mormons and Polygamy, LDS News Room.
4. Associated Press, ''The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law'', 2002, ISBN 0738207403, p.48
5. The LDS Church now strictly prohibits polygamy and any member practicing it is subject to excommunication. For description of the dispute over the term "Fundamentalist Mormon," see Plural lives: the diversity of fundamentalism
6. Some confusion has been caused in the media by fundamentalists clarifying their status as breakaway sects. The confounding of the term is similar in principle to the reciprocal excommunications of Roman and Greek Catholic pontiffs, with each sect claiming to be the original and authoritative church; this led to the originally external adoption of the distinctive labels "Roman Catholic" and "Greek Orthodox" for the sake of clarity among people not involved in schismatic propaganda.
7. LDS Church Style Guide.
8. Gordon B. Hinckley, "Mormon Should Mean 'More Good,'" ''Ensign'', Nov. 1990, 51.
9. See Style Guide - The Name of the Church
10. Russell M. Nelson, "Thus Shall My Church Be Called," ''Ensign'', May 1990, 16.
11. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 299-300
12. For example, "Mormon Tabernacle Choir" is registered as United States Federal TM Reg. No. 2766231, and "Mormon" is registered in the European Community serial number EC004306701, registered July 6, 2006
13. Intellectual Reserve is a corporation formed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to hold the church's intellectual property.
14. Office Action, Nov. 1, 2005.
15. Federal TM Ser. No. 78161091

External links

★ LDS Newsroom Use of the Word Mormon in News Reports

★ "The Mormons" - PBS Special can be watched online