The Proper Name of the Church
Doctrine and Covenants 115:1–4
1 Verily thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and also my servant Sidney Rigdon, and also my servant Hyrum Smith, and your counselors who are and shall be appointed hereafter;
2 And also unto you, my servant Edward Partridge, and his counselors;
3 And also unto my faithful servants who are of the high council of my church in Zion, for thus it shall be called, and unto all the elders and people of my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, scattered abroad in all the world;
4 For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
“On the 26th [day] of April [in 1838] the Prophet [Joseph Smith] received a very important revelation of instruction for the First Presidency, the Apostles, the bishop, and the members of the Church. . . .
“The word of the Lord was also to Bishop Partridge and those of the high council who had remained true, that from this time forth they should call the Church by its right name—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ‘for thus shall my church be called in the last days’ [D&C 115:4]. The brethren at times called it the Church of Christ and at other times the Church of the Latter-day Saints, and this was becoming a fixed custom throughout the Church. On this occasion the Lord called the attention of all the councils to the fact that He had given the Church its name and by that name it should be called. It is a very easy matter for us to adopt some other title, apparently for convenience, as the correct name is rather lengthy. For instance we have, in these later days, fallen into the habit of speaking of the Church as the ‘Mormon Church,’ or as ‘the Restored Church,’ setting aside the correct title. It is true that even back in the days of the Prophet the Church was at times called the ‘Mormon Church,’ but this was rare, although we were quite generally referred to as ‘Mormons,’ and we answered to that title. Since the Lord felt it important to remind the councils of the Church of its correct name and inform them that by that name it should be known in the last days, we should endeavor to carry out this commandment more nearly than it is the custom for many of us to do.”
(Church History and Modern Revelation, 2 vols. [1953], 2:85–86.)
