Mormon President: “The Lord Has Impressed On My Mind” That We Won’t Be Called Mormons Anymore

The Salt Lake Tribune reports:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really, truly, absolutely wants to be known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not the LDS Church. Not the Mormon church. It made that clear Thursday — even though the last attempt to eradicate those nicknames for the Utah-based faith flopped.

The new push came from God to President Russell M. Nelson, the church said in a news release Thursday. “The Lord has impressed upon my mind the importance of the name he has revealed for his church,” Nelson is quoted as saying, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

The faith’s headquarters in Salt Lake City and Latter-day Saints across the globe have much “work before us to bring ourselves in harmony with his will,” the 93-year-old Nelson said in the statement. “In recent weeks, various church leaders and departments have initiated the necessary steps to do so.”

The church has issued a media style guide on the preferred ways to use their name in future reporting. An example: “The term ‘Mormonism’ is inaccurate and should not be used. When describing the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term ‘the restored gospel of Jesus Christ’ is accurate and preferred.”