Pergunta: Quantas vezes foi o nome da Igreja mudou através da revelação?

Índice

  NEEDS TRANSLATION  

Question: How many times was the name of the Church changed through revelation?

Criticisms regarding the name of the Church

Critics of the Church ask: Why did the Church change its name twice during its history? Shouldn't the name have been given by revelation? In 1834 the name of the Church was changed to “The Church of the Latter Day Saints”. Why would Joseph remove the name of “Jesus Christ” from the name of his Church? In 1838, the name of the Church was changed to "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (there was originally no hyphen in the name). Why was the name of the Church changed again?

O nome da Igreja foi mudado através da revelação apenas uma vez

Cristo instruiu Joseph a mudar o nome da Igreja por revelação apenas uma vez, como descrito em D&C 115:3. Antes disso, a Igreja foi conhecida por vários nomes diferentes, incluindo "The Church of Christ" ("A Igreja de Cristo"), "Church of Jesus Christ" ("Igreja de Jesus Cristo"), "Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints" ("Igreja de Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias"), "The Church of God" ("A Igreja de Deus") e "The Church of Latter Day Saints" ("A Igreja dos Santos dos Últimos Dias"). O único nome estabelecido por revelação para a Igreja é aquele mencionado em D&C 115:3.

...pois assim será chamada, e a todos os élderes e ao povo de minha Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias, dispersos por todo o mundo.

Nenhum dos outros nomes pelos quais a Igreja foi conhecida haviam sido estabelecidos por revelação.

David Whitmer disagreed with the change in the name of the Church and it was one of the reasons for his disaffection

It is interesting to note that the change in the name of the Church bothered David Whitmer. Whitmer insisted that the original name of the Church, the "Church of Christ," was the only proper one, and claimed that it had been given by revelation. There is no known revelation to support this claim however, unless you count the Book of Mormon itself. Whitmer appears to be using the Book of Mormon to support this claim (the Book of Mormon uses "Church of Christ".)

It should also be noted that, according to Whitmer, Joseph didn't promote the name change from the "Church of Christ" to the "Church of the Latter Day Saints." Whitmer claimed that it was Sidney Rigdon who pushed to change the name to "Church of the Latter Day Saints":

In June, 1829, the Lord gave us the name by which we must call the church, being the same as He gave the Nephites. We obeyed His commandment, and called it THE CHURCH OF CHRIST until 1834, when, through the influence of Sydney Rigdon, the name of the church was changed to "The Church of the Latter Day Saints," dropping out the name of Christ entirely, that name which we were strictly commanded to call the church by, and which Christ by His own lips makes so plain. (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ by a Witness to the Divine Authenticity of The Book of Mormon (David Whitmer: Richmond, Virginia, 1887), 72. ISBN 1428611134. off-site)