Why Mormons Don't Wear Crosses

This morning a sweet southern blogger shared this topic with her readers,
and for whatever reason,
I have decided to do the same.

For my friends of other faiths,
perhaps you didn't know this
or maybe you do,
but Latter-Day Saints aka Mormons
do not wear crosses,
nor do we have them displayed in our chapels
or temples,
or our scriptures or hymnals.
Not anywhere.

I will tell you why.

It's not that we don't believe in Jesus Christ.
We do.
He is at the head of our church,
which is formally called,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Let me back up a little and share my personal experience
with wearing a cross--
when I was thirteen years old,
I decided to be baptized into the Baptist church.
For Easter that year,
I had asked for a cross necklace to wear,
and my parents gave one to me.
It was dainty and sterling silver
and it meant alot to me.
I wore it very conscientiously,
almost every day,
until the chain broke as I was pulling weeds in my parent's garden
and it got tugged on by a cornstalk as I tending to a cucumber plant.
My heart sank when the little silver cross dropped in the dirt
and I realized what happened.
I still remember that moment so clearly.

When I got in the house,
I laid it in my small jewelry box,
hoping for the day I would get a new chain.

Years passed by,
and I was introduced to the LDS church by friends
then I decided to become baptized again--
it was at that time, that my mind reflected upon my little cross.
I dug it out of a box and showed it to my missionaries--
and they explained to me why Latter-Day Saints
don't wear crosses:
it's because the cross was used as a cruel, torturous way
to end the life of our Savior.
They said we don't worship the manner in which He died,
but we celebrate that He lives!
And WE as His disciples and how we live,
are the symbols of the faith.

That made sense to me.

I still notice those who wear little crosses around their necks,
and I am careful not to judge their motive for doing so--
I get it.
But then, there are those who use the cross as a fashion statement
or as art in their homes...
and while it might not be as altruistic as other reasons,
a cross symbolizes Christianity worldwide,
so that it is still comforting to me
especially in this world that we now live in.


Former LDS prophet and Church President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910 – 2008) once said:
“I do not wish to give offense to any of my Christian brethren 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.”
Some have said that the symbol of Mormonism is our temples, or even the angel on top of our temples.  Others have said our symbol has become our missionaries, or the unique way that Mormons live their lives.  While all of these may be true, they all point to the true symbol and head of our Church—the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ.  
All Mormon temples have the name of Jesus Christ on them, all Mormon missionaries wear a tag each day that bears the Lord’s name on them, and each member of the LDS Church makes a promise to “take upon [them] the name of Christ, by baptism” (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 31:13).
Jesus Christ is the great symbol of our Church, and all other symbols in Mormonism point to and declare his living reality."



So, there ya go.
That's why Mormons don't wear crosses.

Thanks to Whitney at Southern Hope for the inspiration today.