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Gospel Questions: Why Don't Mormons Use Crosses? - Blog Entry

11 Jan 2009 02:17 PM

Readers of this blog may be interested to know that I am currently writing my thesis on the development of the LDS cross aversion (which will be completed within this year). The popular LDS claim that Mormons object to the cross because it is a symbol of death and suffering is a post hoc rationalization that has little to no basis in fact (consider that symbols of Jesus' death and torture are central to both the endowment and weekly sacrament). It is also untrue that Mormons object to the cross because they are not Christian. The real basis for the cross aversion cannot be explained as simply as either of these propositions. It turns out that, contrary to what most people (Mormons and their critics) assume, the LDS cross aversion is a late development in Mormon history that first started at the grass roots level at the turn of the 20th century, and became institutionalized under the direction of David O. McKay in the 1950s, saying that the cross was a "Catholic" symbol. Prior to this time, several prominent Latter-day Saints (including Church authorities) promoted the use of the cross, even in its material form. In 1916, for example, the Church had even petitioned the SLC council to erect a cross monument on Ensign Peak. Granted, the petition failed due to public protest and an obelisk was erected instead, but the proposal clearly shows that the cross aversion had not yet become institutionalized yet.