What does the Mormon Church have against the Cross?

Question

I've never seen the Cross displayed at a LDS Church, but i have seen three "poles" displayed in the front of there church, (which reminded me of the three crosses), What do they represent?

Answer 1

Nothing against the cross at all. We just dont want to focus on his manner of death, but rather on his life and the fact that he rose.

Answer 2

We are so deeply, eternally grateful to Jesus Christ for His atoning sacrifice and subsequent crucifixion. We profoundly feel the impact of His saving grace in our lives and we contemplate the pain He endured in our behalf, knowing that we could never do what He did. He was the only One who could accomplish such a mission, because of the depth of His love for us, His overwhelming charity, and His deep desire to see us become exalted in the last day.

However, we also recognize that while He died for us, He also rose again, and that is even more amazing. He set the example for the rest of us, opening the gates so that death need no longer be terrifying. Because He rose again, we can too. We will be reunited with our loved ones on the other side. We will be restored to our former health, or, for those who have never been blessed with good health, we will be healed of all our imperfections.

Additionally, we focus on the Atonement and the fact that we can be forgiven of our sins, that our emotional hurts can be washed away, and that our physical ailments can be eased, all because of what He did for us.

When we see a cross, we immediately think of pain and suffering. Latter-day Saints choose to concentrate on the joy that came after. Thus, we choose to decorate with pictures of Christ, rather than symbols of the implement of His death.

We don't use symbols for worship as we consider it idolatry. And its also somewhat offensive to wear it. It's like displaying the knife you used to kill someone.


EDIT:

The three poles were probably just flag poles. I don't know where Ink is getting info from, but I've been LDS all my life and I've only ever seen one pole which was a flag pole. It could have just been build a long time ago or something.

We do believe in the deity of Jesus Christ and we believe he was the Son of our Heavenly Father. Our official name is The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints. He is God, our Lord and Savior. Maybe you are thinking of a different religion. Don't try to tell us what we believe. You obviously don't know anything about us!

Answer 3

It's funny too because so little of the Bible actually addresses homosexuality. I've seen Christians with TATTOO's of Leviticus 18:22 on their arms and chest. Yet, they never read the next chapter in Leviticus... Leviticus 19:28 "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD." The bottom line is that there will always be people who hate and they will find ways to hate, religious and otherwise. How does it hurt anyone else if two gay people want to be married? How does it affect anyone else? If someone is not confident and secure enough in your own sexuality, why should others suffer because of it? Homosexuality is a minor footnote in the Bible... There are other crimes described in the Old Testament that we would NEVER even think to persecute someone because of... Such as having a tattoo. So really what it comes down to is people who are uncomfortable with their own sexuality and feel a need to strike out at these people for no reason. Homosexuality predates Jesus... In ancient Greece homosexual male love was considered the "PUREST" of all types of love as sex with their women was seen only as a way to procreate. Either way, as ancient as we think Christianity is - we need to look beyond it for the reasons why people hate.

Answer 4

As was said, we prefer to think of a resurrected Christ, not one hanging on the cross. In all honesty, I've never really understood the cross thing anyway. Christ paid for our sins in the garden of Gethsemane and then sealed that price with his death. He didn't do it all on the cross and His ministry certainly wasn't all about dying on a cross.

As to the three poles, I've never seen that before and I've been to so many LDS churches I can't even keep track. It was probably just architectural.

We do believe in the divinity of Christ. Christ is the only begotten son of the Father. It is through Christ we are saved.

Answer 5

We don't mourn that Christ died (which is what we feel the crucifix represents); rather, we rejoice that He lives! The Atonement was not complete until He rose from the grave. We honor the entire period of the Atonement, from Gethsemene through the resurection, not just one part of it.

As for the poles, it's in all likelyhood something architectural - etier flagpoles or lightning rods (three poles placed in a triangle, with a fourth suspended between them) to keep lighning from damaging the building.

Answer 6

The cross was a device of torture and death. Mormons prefer to think of Christ risen.

The cross and crucifix was a Roman Catholic and Orthodox symbol. Protestants chose to inherit it. Not accepting it as a symbol of Christ or Christ's sacrifice should be a non-issue as long as the doctrine of the church holds that Christ died and was risen to pay for the sins of man.

I don't know of any significance of 3 poles in front of LDS churches. They usually just have a spire denoting the fact that this is a church. I would assume that it could be symbols of God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, but that doesn't sound very Mormon. They're big on symbolism in certain areas, but that isn't one of them.

Mormons believe that Christ is God's only begotten son and that he is one with God and the Holy Spirit in purpose; that he died on the cross and was resurrected; that he taught God's word to bring salvation to men. This is the "Godhead" of the Mormon faith. They follow the scriptures of The New Testament in addition to The Book of Mormon... they just don't need a cross to remind them of Christ's sacrafice.

Answer 7

Dear Pete,

Why see the poles and not the play on your user name? or did you see it, Peteycee? sorry, but I'm at a public library, where geeks&nerds feel free to say and do goofy stuff. Do you already now the answer?

the deep answer is how it may be unappropriate to exibit the weapon used to slay our King.
the deeper answer is LDS does not worship icons, nor need icons to worship.
the deepest answer is the cross is only a small clog in the Atonement, the major spiritual battle was fought (and won) on the battle ground of Getheseme.
Death was conquered there, not on the cross.

Answer 8

LDS have nothing against the cross. However we do follow the 6th commandment and have no symbols to appear to worship. Also we believe in following Christ's teachings rather than dwelling on his death. We believe both faith and works are required from us not merely faith.

Answer 9

We prefer to think of Christ as the resurrected, glorified being that He is, and not a dead or dying person. We focus more on the atonement and resurrection. The resurrection being a happy, wonderful thing for us all.

As far as the three poles out front, I've never seen that. It could be in reference to the Godhead, but more then likely, it's just an architectural thing and really means nothing.

We do believe in the divinity of Christ, and in His sacrifice for us all. He is our savior, the Son of God, our friend, our brother. It is only through Him we can hope to gain salvation and exaltation.

Answer 10

Nothing against it at all.

It was the death instrument of Jesus Christ.

We celebrate his resurrection, his life, and the fact that he still lives. We celebrate the atonement for our sins.

My dad died of asbestoses poisoning. I don't keep a vile of asbestoses around my neck to honor him.

The fact that many Christians do this is not repulsive to us, just something that we view slightly differently.