On the occasion of the a centesimal birthday of Russell M. Nelson, we glance back at one in every of the words that may shape his legacy – and the 200-year history of the controversial term.

On September 9, 2024, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will host a broadcast to rejoice the “life and teachings” of Russell M. Nelsonits president and prophet. Nelson, who celebrates his a centesimal birthday today, has asked Church members to rejoice by helping someone in need.

The centenarian was a reactionary reformer: an brisk leader who lean bureaucracy and finished the church centuries-long relationship with the Boy Scoutswhile reiterating his opposition to LGBTQ+ relationships and identitiesHe steered the Church unrepentantly through the storms of public criticism, including accusations that the Church had the worth of its investmentsFor the believers, Nelson God's mouthpiece on earth.

But one in every of his initiatives had an impact that went far beyond the church. In 2018, he surprised observers by explaining his use of the word “Mormon.” a “great victory for Satan”, insisting on using the total name of the church. Individuals must be recognized in line with their institutional affiliationas “members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

The church's name was given by God, and the shortening “erases everything that Jesus Christ has done for us,” Nelson argued. But adherents have long called themselves Mormons, so the renaming felt like a novelty to some members.

As a university lecturer As an instructor of courses on American religion and Mormonism, I used to be one in every of many who struggled with this modification in terminology—and saw the confusion it caused amongst my students and colleagues. For nearly two centuries, the word “Mormon” has shaped the best way Americans take into consideration and discuss the religion.

Birth of a church

The name Mormon comes from the title the Book of Mormona spiritual text unique to the religion. Founder Joseph Smith, who founded the church in 1830, believed he was commissioned by God to revive the true church of Jesus. He claimed an angel led him to find and translate ancient gold plates that detailed the religious history of an ancient civilization within the Americas founded by Israelites who had fled Jerusalem.

Early critics derisively associated the word Mormon with the movement, but Smith insisted that in the unique language of the book The word literally means “more good.'” By the time Smith was killed by a mob in Illinois in 1844, his followers had already adopted the word.

After Smith's death, Mormons split into various factions, with the biggest group traveling by foot and wagon to the far western United States. However, the group's evolving practices continued to generate controversy. Polygamy and the church's political and economic influence contributed to many years of hostility between Mormons and the remainder of the nation.

The United States began to confiscate church property and the imprisonment of polygamous leaders, which forced church president Wilford Woodruff to finish his official support of polygamy in 1890.

A brand new debut

Three years later, on the World Exhibition in Chicago, The church renamed Mormonismby which the Mormon pioneers are portrayed because the embodiment of the values ​​of the American frontier.

Woodruff, then 86 years old, spoke of himself as Utah's oldest living pioneer and of Mormons as a individuals who built the American WestThe Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed on the fair, introducing the Mormons to most people as a cultured and artistic people. The crowd chanted, “Three cheers for the Mormons!” The Chicago Herald wrote, “Mormons and Gentiles came together as friends.”

Nevertheless, many Americans still distrusted the Mormons. In 1903, high-ranking church official Reed Smoot was elected to the U.S. Senate, sparking nationwide outrage and led to hearings within the Senate that lasted until 1907. The hearings substantiated the allegations that the practice of polygamy continued, but exonerated Smoot as a person. As Smoot argued, Mormons were independent of the institutional church and subsequently trustworthy Americans. He convinced his fellow senators that as a Mormon, he would uphold the latter when the church's teachings conflicted along with his conscience or his oath of office.

The church followed Smoot’s example and adopted the characteristics of American patriotism and stepped up its efforts against polygamy. These moves brought the Latter-day Saints powerful political allies, including Theodore Roosevelt, who opposed the institutional church but viewed the Mormons themselves as deeply moral and patriotic.

“Meet the Mormons”

From Jenkins, a racing driver whose records made him a global celebrity within the Thirties, capitalized on this latest image of Mormon individuality and decency. The “Mormon Boy” attributed his success to his clean, church-approved lifestyle. On his automobile, the Mormon Meteor, Jenkins rejected advertisements for alcohol and cigarettes, as an alternative waving an indication that read “Yes, I'm a Mormon.”

For several many years, other Mormon celebrities comparable to the family band The Osmonds and golfer Johnny Miller continued to shape positive public opinion about Mormons – a high point was in 1977, when Gallup found that only 18% of Americans had an unfavorable opinion.

The Church’s efforts to influence social issues, comparable to its decades-long opposition to the equal rights amendmentfinally took its toll. By 1991, public opinion about Mormons had fallen dramaticallywith 37% of Americans having a negative attitude toward them – and officials decided that one other renaming was so as.

The previous 12 months, senior leader Gordon B. Hinckley had admonished members to make use of the word Mormon “shine with additional shine.” When he became president in 1995, Hinckley worked to vary the general public perception of Mormonism, arguing on the tv program “60 Minutes” that Mormons are “not a strange people”.”

The 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics thrust Mormonism into the national highlight, and that very same 12 months the church launched its flagship website, Mormon.org, whose articles and headlines liberally used the term “Mormon.” A media campaign followed a decade later, by which outstanding members declared, “I am Mormon.” Regular members were then encouraged to upload their very own “I am Mormon” profiles to this website and share them on their very own social media accounts.

The nomination of Mitt Romney because the Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election and the recognition of the satirical musical “Book of Mormon” have brought Mormons back into the national highlightIn 2014, the Church produced a documentary film called “Meet the Mormons,” which was shown in theaters across the United States. Apostle Jefferey R. Holland explained that it was designed to “Show people what we really are like.”

In 2017, the “feeling thermometer” of a Pew Research Center survey found that public opinion of Mormons was at the extent of “somewhat warmer“ rating of 54, a rise of 6 points from 2014.

“More good”?

However, the Church's relationship with the word Mormon has all the time been complex. As early as 1990, Nelson warned his fellow brothers that Mormon was “no suitable alternative” for the full name of the church. During the 2002 Olympic Games, the church told the media that The nickname was acceptable for people but not on the institution itself.

Overall, nevertheless, I’d argue that the church has been using the word Mormon to influence public opinion for over a century. Part of this branding downplayed popular fears in regards to the church and its influence – and allowed outsiders to develop positive views of Mormons even in the event that they disliked the institution itself.

In March 2023 a survey by the Pew Research Institute reported a low point in public opinion of Mormons, who for the primary time fell behind all other groups measured. 1 / 4 of Americans had “unfavorable views of Mormons,” while only 15% held a “favorable” opinion.

Mormon was a very important term for appealing to people outside the religion, especially to counter negative perceptions. Nelson's legacy will subsequently have less to do with whether the term disappears from common usage and more to do with how much outsiders associate it with “greater good” – each institutionally and individually.