New Church Logo of Jesus in a Bell Jar?

[Kishkumen]

People walk past the Hyde Park Chapel in London and pay little mind to Mormon Christus as he beckons folks from the corner of a window.



Seriously, the Christus gives the illusion of a staggering drunk man in a window.

The knotted hair looks awful.



Don't fall!

He looks like a store mannequin!

[Shulem]

He looks like a store mannequin!

Yes, it does look like a store mannequin representing religion rather than clothing.



The Church is obsessed with displaying the brand name. Everyone knows that Mormons believe in Christ and can be rightly termed as Christians. The difference, however, is the role and origin of Mormon Christ compared to beliefs held by traditional Christians. Mormons are determined to flash the name of the Church from any and every direction:

LOOK! We believe in Jesus!!

Okay, alright, good for you!

[Shulem]

President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Symbolically, Jesus Christ is standing under an arch. The arch reminds us of the resurrected Savior emerging from the tomb on the third day following His Crucifixion.

Reminds "us"?

Since when does the "arch" remind us of the resurrected Savior emerging from the tomb?

When was this symbolic reference to the arch being a reminder of the resurrection first announced? Nelson's announcement doesn't harmonize with official church art depicting the tomb and neither is it consistent with his own that represent a SQUARE tomb entrance:






Where is the arch?

The arch reminds us of the resurrected Savior emerging from the tomb

"The arch reminds us of the resurrected Savior emerging from the tomb"



Search images of the tomb at the church website and you'll find that the overwhelming majority depict the tomb entrance as a square -- NOT an Arch as President Nelson prescribed in his announcement pertaining to the new Church Logo.

I believe this is proof that the Church is just making stuff up on the fly and doesn't really believe or practice this viewpoint in the art it depicts.

The Church Logo is a failure and so is the description by its Church President of what it represents.

[Shulem]

The Church Logo is a failure and so is the description by its Church President of what it represents.

Never has the so-called tomb arch been mentioned in General Conference or has symbolism of a tomb arch been taught in Church curriculum. President Nelson's description of the tomb arch serving as a reminder of Christ emerging from his tomb is entirely a new concept and something he adopted anew for the logo. Church leaders have never said anything about a tomb arch being symbolic of Christ's rising from the tomb.

As I said earlier, President Nelson made this stuff up on the fly in order to try and find meaning to the new logo. If this symbolic teaching really were a reminder of Christ rising then it would have been mentioned previously by other Church leaders and art depicted on the Church website would reflect tomb scenes having an arch. But as it is, nobody has ever thought or taught this concept expressed by Nelson until he came up with the idea in General Conference.

There is one occasion wherein Nelson, many years prior (October 1987) mentions the arch in a symbolic fashion with reference to the priesthood but it has nothing to do with the Garden Tomb:

Thus, priesthood is the power of God. Its ordinances and covenants are to bless men and women alike. By that power, the earth was created. Under the direction of the Father, Jehovah was the creator. As Michael, Adam did his part. He became the first man. But, in spite of the power and glory of creation to that point, the final link in the chain of creation was still missing. All the purposes of the world and all that was in the world would be brought to naught without woman—a keystone in the priesthood arch of creation.

The only time an "arch" is ever mentioned by General Authorities in conference is when referencing the keystone of the Book of Mormon but never the Garden Tomb in which Jesus was buried. Thus, the above reference to Nelson symbolically using the the word "arch" is proof that he is willing to make something up on the fly without having precedent or something in which members of the Church would be reminded about something previously taught.

Nelson introduced an entirely new symbolic concept in attempting to associate the Garden Tomb with the new Church Logo but as we can clearly see he was simply making it up on the fly and the Church (including himself) is not on record for supporting this symbolism let alone depicting arched tomb entrances in artwork sponsored and used by the Church.

Therefore, nobody need be reminded that a tomb arch reminds anybody of anything.

[Moksha]

[Shulem]

GOD in a window?

Would Moses have approved of a GRAVEN IMAGE of Jehovah?



The making of Graven Images in which Christians have succumbed to, and Mormons likewise, will be examined in this thread.

I think everyone here will agree not to bow down and worship graven images of Jesus which would make Moses and Jesus very unhappy. This is common ground everyone shares. But what of the uncommon ground? The making of graven images raises certain questions that precede the Catholic Church since the early days of Christianity into the Dark Ages.

Is the making of graven images of Jesus a sign of apostasy from original Christianity? I think it is.

[Shulem]

One of the great commandments given by Moses was to prevent Jehovah's witnesses from offending their jealous God who insisted that there be no other gods before him, period. Worshippers were commanded to abstain from idolatry and to "not make any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth". The Israelites were forbidden to make idols of any kind and to not bow down to them, nor serve them. The command to refrain from any form of idolatry was so strict that the Israelites did not make images of Jehovah wherein graven images of an anthropomorphic (or otherwise) similitude representing Jehovah was strictly forbidden. Old Testament prophets were careful to steer clear from making any image, or any likeness of Jehovah as an object of worship or reverence:

Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? . . . . To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

With that said, what evidence is there that graven images of Jehovah should be made in New Testament times or in modern times by Mormons or Catholics alike? It seems perfectly clear that the making of images of Jehovah is a violation of the spirit of Old Testament law that prohibits idolatry in any form. There is no biblical reference that justifies the making of a graven image of Jehovah for any purpose whatsoever.

It seems, the Mormons have violated the law of God. What scriptural precedent might suggest otherwise? When did Jesus ever command that statues of *him* be fashioned by the hand of man out of respectful reverence to his assumed image? Like Catholics and Christians in general, the Mormons have assumed to take upon themselves to craft images of Christ and adore them as works of art representing the Savior. When did Jesus ever authorize that?

The answer is absolute, Jesus did not authorize the making of graven images to represent his Person which would have reversed Old Testament law pertaining to idolatry.

[Shulem]

Would Jehovah or Moses approve the fashioning of stone into an image of the LORD?

No, they would not and did not!

Here we see that the Mormons have fashioned another statue (graven image) to add to their collection of stone figures of Jesus in order to admire and show their belief in him. Given my understanding of the New Testament to include the sayings of Jesus, I hardly think God would approve of this graven image or any other for that matter. It is, at minimum, a first step towards the practice of idolatry. It goes against principles expressed in Old Testament law which were specifically given to keep Jehovah's people from making images of God.

[Shulem]

Here is a representation of the First Vision crafted in glass in the Holy of Holies of the Salt Lake Temple, commissioned by the First Presidency in 1892. What started out as a window scene for Wilford Woodruff's personal pleasure has been set in stone in modern times through Thorvaldsen's Danish Christus that has been adopted by the Mormons as their official statue and logo.



First comes a window
Second comes a statue
Third comes idolatry

[Shulem]

I can't imagine Moses fashioning a graven image of Jehovah God while admiring it in the presence of priests who are outside the faith of the House of Israel. Neither can I imagine Peter or Paul demonstrating their break from Judaism by fashioning a statue of Christ as a symbol of the new Church. Catholicism and Mormonism certainly differ from biblical prophets who abstained from the practice of setting up graven images representing the LORD.