SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 22 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints recognizes that the prosecution of polygamist Warren
Jeffs is generating substantial media coverage and that Jeffs’ group refers
to its members as fundamentalist Mormons. That is causing problems for
reporters trying to help their readers, viewers and listeners distinguish
between Jeffs’ followers and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In the public mind, the word "Mormon" has come to mean something very
specific. It conjures up images of Mormon missionaries on bikes, the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir and Mormon temples. It has become a synonym for members of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Consequently, when "Mormon"
is used to describe polygamist groups, it causes great confusion about our
beliefs among the general public and frustration to our members, which number
over 12 million worldwide.
The Associated Press Stylebook has recognized this difficulty and
specified that the term "Mormon" is a nickname that should be applied
exclusively to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and
that it is not accurately applied to any other person or organization (see
entries on "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The"
and "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints").
Polygamists and polygamist organizations that occasionally make the news
are not dissident wings of the Church or fundamentalists. They have no
affiliation whatsoever with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Most of their members have never had any association with the Church either.
It follows that because Warren Jeffs is not affiliated with the Mormon
church, and since he is not Mormon, reporters should look for more accurate
and less misleading descriptions of him in the media. For example, Court TV’
s Web page never once used the word "Mormon" to describe Warren Jeffs in its
story entitled "Prosecutors to present evidence against polygamist leader
Warren Jeffs in teen-bride case."
We sometimes hear the argument that because Jeffs and his followers use
the Book of Mormon they should be considered Mormons. However, Catholics,
Methodists, Lutherans, evangelicals and a host of other faiths believe in
Jesus and claim the Bible as their own, yet all consider themselves separate
and distinct faiths.
The same is true for all religious groups who believe in Joseph Smith’s
prophetic calling and use the Book of Mormon. For example, the Community of
Christ church claims Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon but changed its name
from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be
recognized as a different faith.
Perhaps the following points will be helpful in your media coverage:
-- Warren Jeffs has never been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, whose members are often referred to as
"Mormons."
-- Polygamy was officially discontinued in The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints in 1890. Any Church member adopting the
practice today is excommunicated. Those groups which continue the
practice in Utah and elsewhere have no association whatever with
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and most of their
practitioners have never been among our members.
-- The Church has long been concerned about the continued illegal
practice of polygamy, and in particular about reports of child and
wife abuse emanating from polygamous communities today.
-- Even in countries where civil or religious law allows polygamy,
the Church teaches that marriage must be monogamous and does not
accept into its membership those practicing plural marriage.
Thank you for your time and attention in what we consider a very serious
matter for our faith. We hope that both reporters and headline writers will
be sensitive to this information.
