Deseret News | Sunstone speaker attempts to explain LDS 'aversion' to cross

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Sunstone speaker attempts to explain LDS 'aversion' to cross

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RenoLDS | 12:29 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Very thought provoking article. I feel, as a comededian once put it, that a cross would be the last thing Christ would want to see. Think about it, it is a symbol of death, torture and murder. I was taught at an early age to celebrate Christ's life and resurection, and not his death. my two cents.

Aversion? | 2:09 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

As an LDS man, I have no aversion to the cross, but I just think there are better ways to remember the Lord! How about living as he taught (and currently teaches) us? That would be a good symbol wouldn't it? Our Christlike lives? Which do you think He would prefer?

Anonymous | 2:10 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

There is no LDS aversion to crosses. Our emphasis is on his life, not death. A better symbol might be the stone that was rolled away.

A cross to me brings up images of pain and suffering and death, but my Mormon Christ lives and wouldn't want us to dwell on those things, except perhaps to humble us and remind us what we don't have to go through for our sins because he did.

Comments continue below

Bot | 8:25 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Why would the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) want to use a battle symbol that allowed the Emperor Constantine to defeat his adversaries and claim jurisdiction over the Holy Roman Empire? The cross didn't become a common Christian symbol, until well after Constantine in the Fifth Century A.D.

Clem | 8:36 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

There is a clear adversion to the cross, as is evident every time a church member gives the evil eye to a cross wearer. This is simply one more example that too many LDS members do not understand the difference from practice and doctrine. There is absolutely nothing in church doctrine that prohibits the wearing or displaying of crosses by church members--it has simply become a practice that no one thinks about any more.

Convert | 8:37 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

As an adult convert from the Methodist Church (1976) ...the cross represents something far different to me than what Mormons typically see in it. The Catholic Church uses the Crucifix as a great symbol of Christ's atoning sacrifice for us. Protestants took that symbol and changed it to the empty cross to symbolize the Resurrection. "Christ is not here, He is risen" is the message of the empty cross.

I have always been perplexed at the Church's aversion to the cross. Yes, we can call it a weapon of hate and death. But why not view it for what it is: a symbol of Christ's renewal, love and the Atonement, like the Protestants?

We often dwell on and constantly review the negatives in past Christian history: Nephi's persecution at the hands of others, Abinadi's death, Joseph Smith's trials, the pioneers' hardships. If the cross is a negative to you, then elevate it above all those other stories and symbols. We should not have an aversion to it.

jzw | 8:47 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I am LDS and embrace the symbol of the Cross. I feel that it can (like other religious symbols) draw us closer to the Savior. I especially like the empty cross. I would love to wear one, but it sends such mixed messages to my fellow members who may not feel the same way. I hope someday we will be more tolerant to this symbol and perhaps use it or at least not frown on those who members who may want to.

jzw

RoseAnne | 8:49 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I like the cross, and there are some very beautiful ones out there, to be worn as jewelry, and i like to be known as a Christian. It also reminds me daily to keep in mind how much Christ suffered for me.

Mark My Words | 9:02 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I would not be at all surprised to see the LDS church start using crosses as it panders to be be recognized as a Christian church, much like it recent effort to pass Proposition 8 was an attempt to do the same.

DDD | 9:07 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Each to his own. Anonymous 2:10a.m. called it HIS MORMON Christ, so I suppose that means MORMONS have their own CHRIST??? As for me I believe in the Christian Christ who died for all mankind. I don't backbite, lie, cheat as do some MORMONS and I wear a cross with great reverence for OUR savior.

Kyle from AZ | 9:11 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

While I do not detest the symbol of the cross, I am glad we do not have the cross as the main symbol of our church. It makes us different than all the other conventional Christian churches out there. We need to stand on our own as a separate division of the great religious movements in history. We as a church have for years been trying to be accepted into the "club" of Christian denominations only to have it thrown back in our face by our "Christian" brothers. We are a peculiar people and should stand alone as such in our own unique history and heritage.

Power of God | 9:39 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

(1 Cor 1:18)For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The cross is a symbol of the gospel for those that beleive in the death of death through the death of Christ.
Mormons have Moroni

Idaho girl | 9:48 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

When i joined the LDS church I brought my family tradition with me by wearing a gold Celtic cross. I was snubbed by LDS church members for doing so. Finely some man in our ward came up to me and ask me to get rid of my killer cross, and that Mormons look down on crosses and people who wear them. He proceeded to tell me how out of place i was for wearing a cross. I never went back to church again.

re: DDD | 9:50 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

What a way to take a message out of context!
If you knew ANYTHING about the LDS church you would realize how boorish your words were

And for your information - I am glad that you are so perfect.. but I know LOTS of people OUTSIDE as well as inside the LDS that cannot say the same thing. I am certainly glad that you did not add "non judgemental" to your list of things that you are not, cause that would certainly make you have to cross off not being "liar" off your list.

JDD | 10:39 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I have exchanged emails with this particular Sunstone speaker. While it may be true that some Mormons have an "aversion" or "contempt" for the cross, the simple fact of the matter is that most Mormons simply don't see it as a symbol of their faith. No contempt or aversion, just a sense of foreignness, or, as one LDS scholar put it, "ambivalence." I could not convince the speaker to even perform a survey to determine whether or not "aversion" was an accurate descriptor. He refused to consider the possibility that he might have mischaracterized the Mormon viewpoint. I'm not sure what agenda he is trying to push, but in my experience he is hardly objective. I do know that he is no longer a member of the church, but can't assess whether or not that has colored his view of it.

The Living Chirst | 10:43 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Mormons believe in and look to the "LIVING CHRIST" which is NOT symbolized by the cruel symbol of this death - the cross. The Atonement of Jesus Christ (his suffering , death and resurrection) is the central corner stone to LDS theology but that Atonement is not symbolized by a cross but instead is an inward commitment to try to live and keep his commandments by repenting daily and improving our lives as best we can. Mormons believe that Christ suffered for the sins of all who take advantage of his Atonement.

Wow | 10:50 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Growing up in a predominantly non-LDS area and being the only members of our extended family, I grew up with the cross and it never was a problem. I simply don't wear one. My grandma hung hers on her bedroom wall in our house with her rosary, palm leaf, and picture of Christ with a heart, and it was cool. I understood that we don't typically use the cross to signify our belief in Christ, but I don't recall members ever vilifying it, either. It seems to me that if someone's main concern is the wearing or displaying of a cross by another, then it's that person's personal problem. I apologize to anyone who may have been offended by an ignorant member. Most of us do know better and try to be Christlike, cross or not.

@ (9:50 | 10:57 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Don't throw a tizzy fit! LOL!

Tootie | 10:57 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

And Mormons wonder why they are shunned by other Christian denominations?

Re : DDD 9:50 | 11:01 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

The cross is central to Christianity,When one realizes that Jesus did everything on the cross and focus on him,you will get it,(the only thing we add to our salvation is sin.) you don't need anything more. Moroni, not!

Brian | 11:23 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

In a movie from some years ago - Brian was depicted as a young man who lived in Jesus' day. In one scene he is found to be fleeing from a crowd. While in flight, he looses a sandal. A small group stop and become worshipers of the "Lost Sandal". Upon bumping a cart another group stops and becomes worshippers of the "Fallen Gourd".

I would rather worship Chist and not "symbols" from his life, including the cross. But that is not an aversion.

AB | 11:35 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

If I was murdered by someone who shot me between the eyes with a big gun. I would only hope that my friends and loved ones would remember me by wearing the exact replica of the gun I was shot with around their necks....

Brian Johnson | 11:42 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

"Ambivalence" is too kind a word to describe how most LDS feel toward the symbol of the cross. There is ample evidence historically as well as today of "good" LDS people cringing and reacting with hostility to those among them who try to wear or display a cross.

Generally speaking, for Catholics, for whom the most important thing about Jesus' atonement was the suffering he did on the cross to pay the price for their sins, the cross is the symbol of that proxy suffering.

For Protestants, for whom the resurrection is the most important aspect of Jesus' atonement, the "empty cross" is the symbol that "he lives".

Even the comment by "The Living Christ" above shows a twisted, misinterpretive, condemning attitude toward the symbol!

I hope the author of this interesting work does not back down and use the flaccid term "ambivalent" to describe LDS attitudes toward the cross. It is inaccurate.

There was | 11:48 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

. . . a movement a few years ago amongst charismatics to re-adopt the original Christian symbol of faith -- a fish. You'd see it all over, on license plate rings and bumper stickers.

A few Darwinian evolutionists appropriated that symbol, however, putting legs on it and metamorphosing it into an amphibian, and their secular jibe at Christians. Since then, you see the ichthys symbology a lot less.

If one were to assert this reveals some demonic departure from evangelical orthodoxy, however, he would be wrong.

Just as one is wrong who asserts our use of symbols other than a cross reveals some demonic inclination on the part of Mormons.

Alex | 11:59 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009

A cross does not a Christian make. If you understand that, then whether or not you wear a cross is merely a matter of taste.

I am glad that, overall, the LDS Church are ambivalent to the cross. The only religious symbols that I wear all of the time are on the garment. My garment is a greater and more powerful symbol of my relationship to the Savior than the cross anyway.

Thomas | 12:12 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Brian is right. The Living Christ is the symbol of faith, not the method of his death. The cross can have meaning for some, but it is a living, resurrected Savior whom we worship.

Anonymous | 12:13 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I am LDS and have a cross which my Catholic dad made and gave me. His cross sits in a predominant place in our home and it means so much to me. Its small and simple rosewood. He makes crosses for all his friends who are very sick or dying. I can't tell you how much the cross means to those who receive them. Its truly touching to see my dad's simple little rosewood cross included in the casket of those who have passed.

John Pack Lambert | 12:40 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I think Rees notions of ambivalence come closer than Read's notions of taboo and aversion to the truth.
I also think that Read has avoided considering the effects of Evangelical Christians who use the cross boldly and openly and at the same time make denigrating attacks on the Church, exclude Mormons from Christian assoications of various kinds, walk out on anti-pornography campaigns if Mormons are present, and related activities as a source of ambivalence towards the cross.
When it is the most visible symbol of the groups that most viciously attack you, can you love it?

John Pack Lambert | 12:45 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I have to admit I have never thought that there is a symbol of the empty cross before. It is an intriguing idea.
I guess part of it is that I grew up in an area where most people are Catholic, and Iraq born Catholics wear what my younger brother describes as "big cross bling". I always figured a cross without Jesus was just one that was not elaborate enought to show his bleeding body, but the commentators here have given me a new perspective on the matter.

Karen | 12:48 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I also kept my cross that my mother bought me as a kid for my communion along with my rosary. I don't EVER intend to throw any of them away because I joined the LDS church. And Brian, I do not worship them-- I worship God.

wallofvoodoo | 12:53 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Nothing wrong with wearing a cross if you are LDS. It is your choice & last time I checked God is big on that. I don't wear them, but I wouldn't presume to judge someone who does.

I have experienced people who didn't like women wearing pants in church. It created more problems to say something. What does it matter what someone wears? Wear your best, & don't worry about what others wear.

Anonymous | 12:54 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Ask yourself, if Mormons believe in and look to the "LIVING CHRIST" which is NOT symbolized by the cruel symbol of this death - the cross, have THEY ever seen face to face the living Jesus Christ in person, does he exist is he real?.

John Pack Lambert | 12:55 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

To the 11:01 commentator,
In the Latter-day Saint view, most of Christ's suffering for our sins was done when he bled from every pour in Gethsemene. I would say sometimes members are too dismissive towards the suffering on the cross, but this is because they percieve the true heart of the suffering as having been in Gethsemene. I think we may at times forget the cruel cross too much.
This is an issue that Read and even Rees seems to have ignored. The fact that the prefered image of the atonment in Mormon circles (at least based on my retroactive thoughts on the matter) is that of Christ bent over the tree and bleeding in Gethsemene, and not of Christ on the cross, indicates that Mormons generally percieve Christ's suffering for us in Gethsemene.
However, thinking deeper, there are images invoked in the temple of Christ's suffering that specifically point to the Cross as the place of the atonment, so the issue is conplexed, and I will not explain more clearly, because I have said as much as I dare on the matter.

Alex | 12:57 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

There is no wrong answer on this thread. You can't argue with what a person values. If you wear the cross and hold it as a sacred symbol, then you hold it as a sacred symbol. It is that simple.

As for me, I don't wear the cross. The cross does not do for me what it might do for you. I have other sacred symbols that are more powerful to me that remind me more of the sacrifice of the Savior.

Now as an institution, I believe the LDS Church is right to only use the symbols associated with sacred covenants. Symbols like the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, Baptism, the Endowment, as well as the individual garment are associated with specific covenants we make with God. The cross has no such covenant associated with it. Therefore, it should not be elevated above the other symbols that do have direct covenant associations.

Until we are clothed with the cross as well as the garment in the temple, then I choose not to wear it, not because I have an aversion to someone wearing it, but out of respect for the symbols I already have.

John Pack Lambert | 1:01 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I would have to agree that some Church members see the cross as a symbol of a different religion and they feel that stopping to wear the cross is a neccesary outward sign of conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I think this view is flawed. This was the background which lead to a friend I had in high school griping that the bishop was urging her to stop wearing her cross, but no one seemed to be urging a recent Jewish convert to stop wearing his star of David. Of course this has as much to do with Jews as the chosen people and Jewishness accepted as being ethnic while Catholicism being classified as a religion than anything else.
However the fact that Latter-day Saints take the emblems of Christ's suffering every week clearly shows that accusations of being not Christians are false.
Also, the claims that the Church is trying to become more mainstream are shown to be a-historical by the fact that in 1916 the Church was trying to build a huge cross.

An extraneous symbol for me | 1:17 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Crosses are more like a non-issue for Mormons. It just isn't a symbol of necessity in the Mormon religion. But Mormons don't have an aversion to it. We believe in letting people "worship how, where, or what they may." We hope for the same understanding.

Some who wear crosses believe just as Mormons do, that power is not in the cross, but rather power is in Jesus Christ. If the cross helps those persons to remember Jesus in that way, then it serves a great purpose for them.

For me, I feel the cross has taken on different meanings for different people and so it just does not best represent my personal beliefs in Jesus Christ.

Beatrice J. | 1:21 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

I see that the LDS do not understand why using the most sacred of Christian sysmbols to 'honor the Mormon pioneers' would be offensive. Roman Catholics
usually use the 'crucifix' which shows Jesus still hanging on the cross. They interpret that as a sacred reminder of the suffering Jesus did for us sinners.
Protestants mostly use the Cross...an EMPTY cross..
to remind them of the Resurrected Jesus.
It is tradition, mostly...neither is wrong, folks...but both are sacred to Christians.
This speech still didn't tell me why the LDS religion has an aversion to the 'Cross'..but I
can guess.

Anonymous | 1:33 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

The only other type of person who does not like the cross are vampires.

Okay, I asked myself | 1:34 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

To Doubting Thomas @ 12:54pm,

“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Jesus also appeared to many others after His resurrection: a multitude of 5,000, the apostles and other disciples, and to the American continent, and to others of the lost tribe's of Israel who had been scattered across the nations. Each bore record of it. This is His gospel, the good news, that He lives!

Don't be a doubting Thomas!

American Citizen | 1:35 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Most commentators spoke of their own belief. I learned more about other's beliefs about the cross and now understand their feelings better. Informative article.

RE: Power of God | 1:47 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

(1 Cor 1:18)For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Amen Power Of God. Mormons just don't get or understand the power of the Cross. If they did, they wouldn't be a mormon.

Ouch! don't burn me man! | 2:14 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

The Devil gets burned when the cross touches him. The cross also leaves a mark on him so he will disintegrate before your eyes. You are always safe to wear a cross if the devil happens to be chasing you.

Alex | 2:40 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

There is no need to try to out-Jesus each other with our symbols. If it is already important for you to wear the cross, then wear it. On the other hand, there is no need to feel obligated to wear a cross to prove your Christianity to anybody.

Evets | 3:13 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Adversion??? Give me a break. In over 60 years of being LDS I have never found members with an adversion to the cross. Growing up in a very Cathloic city it was considered Their symbol. Even the Protestants didn't wear a cross there.
I don't believe in any symbols to keep or show off my faith. I believe what is important is what is in my heart. I am firm in my belief in Jesus Christ and just don't feel I need a symbol to either remind me or tell others.
For the non-LDS commenters: Quit trying to find hidden meaning in LDS beliefs. It just shows how you don't understand our faith.

Vietnam Vet | 3:19 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

In 1970 the U.S. was bombing Cambodia. Our squad was odered to evacuate an Orphanige in a small village, we were getting concerned ,we could not speak Cambodian and if the VC spotted some villager wearing a cross it could be a death sentence. But the LT saw a little 5 foot Catholic nun wearing a crucifix almost as big as she was. Several years later I heard she and another Catholic nun was hung.
Sometimes we are called to die, as a witness.

Charles | 3:20 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

It is questionable that Jesus was nailed to a cross. Historical research indicates He was nailed to plank. Most crusifictions were done on a plank because wood was scarce and costly.

ramper | 3:37 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Re: Convert 8:37

Great post. The symbol of the cross (not crucifix, but that has it's own value to many) as you pointed out does have great significance when viewed as you stated. Thanks for the reminder. Welcome aboard.

Alex | 3:42 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Charles | 3:20 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009:

"It is questionable that Jesus was nailed to a cross. Historical research indicates He was nailed to plank. Most crusifictions were done on a plank because wood was scarce and costly. "

Perhaps, but then again, even if people wore a small plank of wood as a symbol instead of a whole cross or a crucifix, it would still represent about the same thing to those people who wore it.

ramper | 3:42 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

Re: Idaho girl 9:48

Sorry you left. Never allow those who are morons (not real Mormons)dictate where you should be if you really want to be. There is no shortage of people in the church who want to work out everyone's salvation for them because they have an illusion that theirs is guaranteed.

Bea | 3:51 p.m. Sept. 10, 2009

to Charles:
What is your source for saying that Jesus was not nailed to a cross..? First I have heard of this.
The cross of the crucifixtion was on relatively short pieces of 'plank' but still in the shape of
a 'cross'...simply to accomodate a head and outstretched arms. think about it.

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