Statue installed at slc temple “Jesus Christ Carrying the Cross”

[sock puppet]

Well, it can't be said that Mormon Jesus doesn't change his mind frequently.

[Shulem]

Well, it can't be said that Mormon Jesus doesn't change his mind frequently.

The decision was President Nelson's to have the disgusting statue of Jesus adorn temple square. We can be sure it won't remain there for long before it's moved elsewhere. It won't last long. It was a mistake made by a man who had little grasp on reality. President Nelson was a dumbass.

[Rivendale]

Well, it can't be said that Mormon Jesus doesn't change his mind frequently.

Continuing revelation excuses all whiplashes and reversals. Its like the excuse McConkie used to Ugene England when he said god allows prophets to teach incorrect doctrines so he can sift and sort out the people who call BS on the fake teachings. People who believe the false teachings are damned. Mormon god uses sucker punches and hide the ball routinely.

[I Have Questions]

For Peterson and all the other gaslighters trying to suggest that the Church has never not embraced the cross symbol, read this…

President Joseph Fielding Smith explained the reason why Latter-day Saints don’t wear jewelry depicting the cross:
To many, like the writer, such a custom is repugnant and contrary to the true worship of our Redeemer. Why should we bow down before a cross or use it as a symbol? Because our Savior died on the cross, the wearing of crosses is to most Latter-day Saints in very poor taste and inconsistent to our worship. Of all the ways ever invented for taking life and the execution of individuals, among the most cruel is likely the cross. This was a favorite method among the Romans who excelled in torture. We may be definitely sure that if our Lord had been killed with a dagger or with a sword, it would have been very strange indeed if religious people of this day would have graced such a weapon by wearing it and adoring it because it was by such a means that our Lord was put to death” (“The Wearing of the Cross,” Answers to Gospel Questions 4:17).

You can gaslight yourself Dan, but you cannot gaslight this board.

[Tom]

One of the sources cited by the Proprietor in defense of the statue states:

In the 1950s a shift began to take place in how some Church members viewed the cross. Much of this shift appears to come from an increased association of the cross with Catholicism. During this decade, President David O. McKay wrote in his private journal that he felt Latter-day Saint girls should not wear crosses.12

When searching general conference talks and other published writings of General Authorities,13 I have been able to locate only three statements that speak about wearing or displaying crosses, although none of them are from official Church publications.

(emphasis added)

The cited article’s author, John Hilton III, then quotes Elder McConkie, President Joseph Fielding Smith, and Elder Ashton.

Here is the full statement from President Smith with the excerpts quoted by Brother Hilton shown in red:

YOUR QUESTION

THE WEARING OF THE CROSS

ANSWERED BY

PRESIDENT JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE

Question: “Having been reared in a Latter-day Saint community, I have never had occasion to give serious thought to this question of the wearing of the cross until I moved to the mission field.

"Many who join the Church who come from a Catholic or Protestant background while trying their utmost to live the gospel, and rid themselves of past habits, unconsciously bring some of the customs of their former environment with them. One of these is the wearing of the crucifix on a necklace, bracelet, or in some other form.

"The teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seem to indicate that this is improper because we do not hold any special reverence for the cross as such, nor do we have crosses in our chapels or homes or wear a crucifix as jewelry. How may we uphold this belief, if my assumption is correct, through the study of the scriptures? Is there some statement that might be given from the General Authorities of the Church which would give me a clear understanding of this question?"

Answer : While we have never questioned the sincerity of Catholics and Protestants for wearing the cross, or felt that they were doing something which was wrong, it is a custom that has never appealed to members of the Church. The motive for such a custom by those who are of other churches, we must conclude, is a most sincere and sacred gesture. To them the cross does not represent an emblem of torture but evidently carried the impression of sacrifice and suffering endured by the Son of God. However, to bow down before a cross or to look upon it as an emblem to be revered because of the fact that our Savior died upon a cross is repugnant to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The use of the cross dates back to a very early time. Its early meaning is somewhat obscure. We are informed that the Egyptians used it as a symbol representing life and fertility of crops. However the general use throughout the Christian world comes from the crucifixion of our Redeemer. This custom of adoring the cross seems to have grown out of the purported vision given to Constantine when it is stated that he saw a cross in the heavens and was told that by it he was to conquer. From that time the use of the cross as an object of reverence grew, and when the rebellion against the Catholic Church commenced, the adoration of the cross continued more or less among the Protestant churches.

To many, like the writer, such a custom is repugnant and contrary to the true worship of our Redeemer. Why should we bow down before a cross or use it as a symbol? Because our Savior died on the cross, the wearing of crosses is to most Latter-day Saints in very poor taste and inconsistent to our worship. Of all the ways ever invented for taking life and the execution of individuals, among the most cruel is likely the cross. This was a favorite method among the Romans who excelled in torture. We may be definitely sure that if our Lord had been killed with a dagger or with a sword, it would have been very strange indeed if religious people of this day would have graced such a weapon by wearing it and adoring it because it was by such a means that our Lord was put to death.

A humble, contrite spirit and sincere prayer of gratitude is a far better means of worship and acknowledgment of our love for the great blessings we receive through our Savior's voluntary sacrifice than to adore the cross. It is through the shedding of his blood that we gain the resurrection; and by our faithfulness, exaltation in the kingdom of God.

Joseph Fielding Smith, “Your Question: The Wearing of the Cross,” Improvement Era, Mar. 1961, 144.

Recall that Brother Hilton claimed that “none of [the three statements] are from official Church publications.” A question for Brother Hilton: when did the Improvement Era become something other than an official church publication?

ETA:I just read IHQ’s comment, which quotes from the same statement.

[Doctor Steuss]

Below is from the April 2005 issue of the Ensign, which I guess we can also now add to non-official Church publications. It's from President Gordon B. Hinkley's First Presidency Message, "The Symbol of Our Faith."

Following the renovation of the Mesa Arizona Temple some years ago, clergy of other religions were invited to tour it on the first day of the open house period. Hundreds responded. In speaking to them, I said we would be pleased to answer any queries they might have. Among these was one from a Protestant minister.

Said he: “I’ve been all through this building, this temple which carries on its face the name of Jesus Christ, but nowhere have I seen any representation of the cross, the symbol of Christianity. I have noted your buildings elsewhere and likewise find an absence of the cross. Why is this when you say you believe in Jesus Christ?”

I responded: “I do not wish to give offense to any of my Christian colleagues who use the cross on the steeples of their cathedrals and at the altars of their chapels, who wear it on their vestments, and imprint it on their books and other literature. But for us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the Living Christ.”

Hinkley's statements from the above Ensign were also repeated in the November 2012 issue of the New Era (which I guess is also now non-official, or something).

[huckelberry]

If I remember correctly LDS engage weekly in eating and drinking a symbolic representation of Jesus's death on a cross. I am puzzled by all this fuss over a different representation of the matter being placed in Temple Square.

[I Have Questions]

If I remember correctly LDS engage weekly in eating and drinking a symbolic representation of Jesus's death on a cross. I am puzzled by all this fuss over a different representation of the matter being placed in Temple Square.

Because embracing the cross symbology is a significant reversal from calling the embracing of the cross symbology “repugnant” etc. It’s a significant U-Turn for the Church. So that’s why there’s a fuss.

[Tom]

Elder Mark E. Peterson, in a BYU devotional address dated 28 September 1980:

The world at large has the idea that the symbol of Christianity is the cross, but it’s no such thing. The cross is the symbol of the cruelest form of torture and execution that the Romans could devise; that is what the cross is for. Christ did not give us the cross as the symbol of his great Atonement. He gave us, instead, the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and told us to partake of that bread and drink of that cup in remembrance of his blood and his broken flesh. Did he not give us that great ordinance emblematic of the suffering on the cross? Of course he did. We get it from no other place. He did not say to venerate the cross, he said to partake of the sacrament and always remember him and pledge to high heaven that we will always keep the commandments of Almighty God.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I know it’s like being astonished that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but is there not an obfuscation or lie DCP doesn’t enjoy? I know I know, he’ll play with some words and claim this or that, or make some disingenuous farcical statement about being the worst of the worst, but I find it a particularly queer Mormon male trait how loosely they play with the truth.

DCP, why don’t you try on the truth for once in your life? Who knows, you might like how it fits.