With trust and obedience like that, Bryan is destined for the Celestial Kingdom. Many other online commenters have heeded the counsel and changed their handles to their real names. It remains to be seen if MG really does sustain Elder Cook as an Apostle, or not…Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are putting their real names on previously anonymous social media accounts this week on the advice of an apostle.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said Sunday there is a long history of terrible consequences when people speak, act or post messages anonymously.
“One of the reasons we have so much contention in our day is that many people can easily wear camouflage in ways that did not exist in the past,” he said during a worldwide devotional for young adults.
“Enhanced technology and the internet have allowed people to communicate using false identities,” he said. “Because they are anonymous, they say and do things that in the past they would not have done if their true identity had been known.”
Elder Cook asked church members to avoid spiritual camouflage and take off their masks of anonymity.
“Please do not hide in anonymity to say unkind or cruel things,” he said. “Please be a light in every interaction. One of your greatest protections against making bad choices is to not put on any mask of anonymity. If you ever find yourself wanting to do so, please know it is a serious sign of danger and one of the adversary’s tools to get you to do something you should not do.”
By Monday, the names on many Latter-day Saint accounts had changed.
One of those was the man behind the Acts of the Apostles account on the social media platform X. He renamed the account Monday. “Well, I’ve decided to change my X handle to my Christian name and use my actual photo in the profile picture,” Bryan Summers stated Monday in a post explaining the change. “If Elder Cook says it is wise to not be anonymous, I wanna follow him.”
Elder Cook ends with a powerful example
Sadly, and as observed well by Gadianton, MG will likely instead choose to please himself, regardless of the inspired counsel of his Church leaders. He will probably continue to live by convenience rather than by covenant. Fortunately many other Mormons (like Bryan above) have more faith and belief than he does. It is saddens me to see MG sacrificing his birthright for a mess of pottage.Elder Cook said anonymous messaging often makes people feel free enough to abandon the “high road,” which he said has coarsened society today.
He also said anonymity is not a new impulse. He once asked the former national director of the Anti-Defamation League “for counsel on how to avoid the terrible acts that some people commit.”
The late Abe Foxman, who died earlier this year, suggested the importance of being transparent about one’s identity. He used the example of the Ku Klux Klan, an organization that wore identical robes and masks during targeted attacks on Blacks, Catholics, Jews and others in early 1900s America.
The majority of the KKK acted normally without their masks. But Foxman said that hiding their identity behind a mask enabled them to participate in atypical activities that included violence.
