Reaffirming with members and the media its intent to emphasize the name of Jesus Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has formally requested that the church's full name be used by reporters and church members alike.
And while the church is "pleased" with inquiries it has received from a variety of media about using the church's full name in news stories, decisions about how to handle the request are still being considered by news organizations.
In a Feb. 23 letter from the church's First Presidency to some 25,000 congregations worldwide, which was read in many local congregations Sunday, members and leaders were asked to refer to themselves as Latter-day Saints, rather than Mormons, and their church by its full name, or "The Church of Jesus Christ," or "the church" in shorter references.
A press release issued Monday called on media outlets to call the church by its formal title, using "The Church of Jesus Christ" or "the church" on second reference. The terms "Mormon Church," "LDS Church" or "The Latter-day Saints Church" should be avoided, according to the release.
Church spokesman Dale Bills said the church has been "pleased by the number of calls we've had seeking further clarification" on the request, from "a variety of media." The response indicates news organizations are taking the request seriously, he said.
The request came following a Feb. 15 story in the New York Times that detailed an interview with Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, who said the church wants to emphasize the fact that Christ is at the center of LDS theology and that the church is called after his name.
According to Bills, the emphasis is not something new but has been an ongoing effort in recent years by the church to "educate people everywhere that the church is Christ-centered."
The Times' story merely refocused attention on the effort, he said.
Representatives at several local television stations said they had received the press release but that there had been no decision yet as to how to respond to the church's request.
Renai Bodley, news director at Fox 13 News, said her news crew has had "several discussions in editorial meetings. It's much different in broadcast than print. We only have so much time on air. To say, 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' rather than the Mormon Church — we need to come to a decision, and we're talking about it again today."
Bodley said the station is considering "what's respectful, what is clear, and what is accurate. Those are all the things we're struggling with right now."
She pointed out that many Christians believe the term "The Church of Jesus Christ" is a universal name for Christianity in general and that some may be offended by its use directed toward the LDS Church. "There's the whole non-Mormon population to think about, too, when we're being respectful."
Brink Chipman, news director at church-owned KSL-TV, said he and others are "still struggling with how to deal with it. "It becomes very hard in a verbal situation. We don't even usually do The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To be honest, it's very formal and it's not the way a lot of people talk."
Using the church's full name could be easier "depending on what the context of the story is. Certainly with the death of the prophet or something like that, it's very formal. On the other hand, with a lighter story, it doesn't seem to fit," Chipman said.
The Associated Press, which sets the style followed by most of the nation's newspapers, has no plans to make changes.
"AP will review the matter, but for now we plan to stick with our current style, which finds Mormon Church acceptable on all references but also calls for using the full name of the church in any story dealing primarily with church activities," managing editor Mike Silverman said.
Deseret News editor John Hughes said it has been the Deseret News style for years to spell out the full name of the church on first reference and to use LDS Church on second reference. The newspaper has not yet decided on any style changes but will review the issue, he said.
The Salt Lake Tribune will stop using "Mormon Church" but will continue to use the church's full name and "LDS Church" on second reference and has no plans to use the new "Church of Jesus Christ," according to editor James Shelledy.
In a recent column on Beliefnet.com addressing the church's name change, researcher Jan Shipps said she believes the re-emphasis of the church's formal name is an effort to move beyond widespread identification of the church with the geographic and cultural practices of its Great Basin heritage.
"It seems obvious to me that in moving to curtail use of the Mormon label, the church is marking the move away from a past in which being a peculiar people meant being part of an ethnic group whose homeland is located in the Intermountain West," she said.
Shipps, a scholar who has spent 40 years studying Latter-day Saints, said the migration of the Mormon pioneeers to the Salt Lake Valley in the mid-1800s and their unique religious practices created a "socio-religious culture" from which "a new Mormon peculiarity emerged, one that had definite ethnic dimensions."
As the church grew through the 19th century and into the 20th century, and "increasing numbers of LDS church members lived elsewhere, practically all of the Saints thought of the Great Basin as their homeland. Moreover, while tithing, keeping the Word of Wisdom, and having large families all became badges of being a peculiar people, the process that turned the Saint's holy nation into a Mormon homeland made the Saints' connection to the land the critical element of the new LDS peculiarity.
"One result of this was that as outsiders started regarding the Saints as an ethnic group, their Christian-ness nearly disappeared under the cloak of being Mormon."
The church has battled claims throughout its history that it is non-Christian. The most recent barrage came during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Salt Lake City in 1997, when leaders of that denomination produced a video detailing how LDS beliefs differ from historic Christianity.
In an effort to emphasize its Christ-centered theology, the church several years ago changed its own name logo, upsizing the words "Jesus Christ." It also adopted a change to the title page of the Book of Mormon, emphasizing that it is "another testament of Jesus Christ."
Several books and pamphlets have been published by the church and its publishing company, Deseret Book, detailing the Christian beliefs of the church. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve also recently released a statement of testimony as "special witnesses of Jesus Christ."
The latest re-emphasis to the media on the church's formal name also comes as reporters from around the world are asking questions in preparation for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games to be held in Salt Lake City. Press materials given to reporters always emphasize the formal name of the church.
Contributing: Associated Press
E-mail: carrie@desnews.com