Will they now believe we are serious about pushing the name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

If I had to say what was the most widely covered in the general media change done to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under President Russell M. Nelson I would have to say it is the reemphasis of the name of the Church.

The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ that is at the heart of the Church has too often by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints been abbreviated into "Mormonism". In fact the whole edifice of Mormon Studies has troubling failures to engage with the faith content of the Restored Gospel, and often failings to seriously engage the teachings of the Book of Mormon.

Even Brigham Young Universitiy's Neal A. Maxwell Institute does not focus on the study of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as such. This is partly because of trying to figure out how to dance in both academic and faith circles. I clearly see the validity of disagreements by people such as Dan Peterson with the current course of the Neal A. Maxwell institute.

So in some ways do those who have ultimate control. Elder Holland in an address to the institute last fall basically told them they needed to embrace the course and direction that President Nelson was ignaugurating with the reemphasis of the name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I first noticed the overuse of the term "Mormonism" at the religious freedom conference broadcast from Columbus Ohio last September. Specifically I noticed it in Hannah Clayson Smith's talk. We had moved a long way from the conference at the Wayne State University Law School that included the lawyer for Honna-Tabor Lutheran Church, a church in Redford Township, Michigan that had its case eventually go to the Supreme Court. Sister Smith was the counsel for the Becket Fund in assiting that Church with its case before the Supreme Court.

The Hosana Tabor decision stands out as the biggest victory for the autonomy of religious institutions from government control, and much of the claims of "misapplication" show a continued failure to understand what the decision in Amos v. Corporation of the Presiding Bishopric means. That decision means that a Church can in fact fire a janitor for religious reasons. At the Wayne State meeting one of the lawyers lamented that firing janitors would be a poor outcome. I still wish I had thought to ask them how they thought that would be a bridge not to cross when in fact it had been upheld by the Supreme Court in the Amos decision.


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