The Name of the Church — Why “Of Jesus Christ”

Christ specifically rebuked naming the Church after men — in 3 Nephi 27

The Question the Disciples Asked

After His resurrection and before His final departure from the Nephites, Jesus appeared to His twelve Nephite disciples as they were gathered together in prayer and fasting. They had a question that had apparently been debating among them: what should they call the church?

This may seem like a minor administrative question. It was not. The name of the Church reflects its ownership, its authority, and its identity. Getting it wrong would be a theological statement as significant as getting the doctrine wrong.

3 Nephi 27:3–5

“And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter. And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day.”

The question is already answered in scripture, He says. The name must be His name. The Church belongs to Him, not to its founders. Its name must declare that.

Christ’s Answer — Bear My Name

Jesus answered directly with a rebuke and an explanation:

3 Nephi 27:7–8

“Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake. And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses' name then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.”

The logic is unambiguous. The name declares the owner. If the church is named after a man, it is that man's church. If it is named after Christ, it is His. There is no way to claim to be Christ's church while carrying a man's name in the title. The name is not a branding decision — it is a theological declaration of ownership and authority.

Every Other Church Name Is Theologically Problematic

This is where honesty requires saying something that will sound uncomfortable but is simply a restatement of what 3 Nephi 27 says: the Catholic Church is not named after Christ. The Lutheran Church is named after Luther. The Methodist Church is named after a method. The Baptist Church is named after a practice. The Presbyterian Church is named after a governance structure.

None of these organizations sinned in choosing their names. Many of them carry the name of their founder or their distinguishing practice because that is how they became distinguishable from other groups. They are sincere, often deeply Christian organizations. The point is not that their members are not followers of Christ. The point is that 3 Nephi 27 sets a specific standard, and by that standard, a church named after a man or a practice or a governance form is not meeting the standard Christ stated.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meets that standard. The full name is not an accident or a marketing decision. It is the name commanded in 3 Nephi 27 — the name of Christ, carried by His church, restored in the last days.

The History of the Church’s Name

The Church was organized on April 6, 1830. Early records refer to it variously as the Church of Christ and the Church of the Latter-day Saints. By 1834, “The Church of the Latter Day Saints” was in use — a name that emphasized the restored nature of the ancient church but lacked Christ's name explicitly.

In April 1838, Joseph Smith received the revelation now recorded in D&C 115:3–4:

D&C 115:3–4

“And also unto my faithful servants who are abroad in all the earth, let the name of my Church be called in these last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

The name was restored. Not invented — restored. The principle of 3 Nephi 27, taught by Christ to the Nephites roughly AD 34, was being applied again in 1838 through a new revelation confirming the same requirement. The Church's full official name has been the same since that revelation.

Why It Was Formally Restored in 1838

The early Church's use of abbreviated names — Church of Christ, Church of the Latter-day Saints — reflected the organic development of a newly organized institution still working out its self-understanding. The 1838 revelation provided the definitive answer. It did not change doctrine — it clarified identity.

The precision of the name — “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” — carries specific theological content in every word. The: this is the definitive article, not an indefinite one. Church of Jesus Christ: the ownership is declared. Of Latter-day Saints: distinguishing the restored church in these last days from the ancient church, while connecting to the same covenant identity of God's covenant people (the saints).

What the Full Name Declares

The full name makes four claims simultaneously:

What “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” Claims

• The — There is one church of Christ; this is it
• Church of Jesus Christ — It belongs to Christ, not to Joseph Smith or Brigham Young or any man
• Of Latter-day — This is the restoration in the dispensation of the fulness of times
• Saints — The covenant people of God, as in Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2 — those called and set apart through covenant

Every word carries weight. The name is not a public relations exercise — it is a statement of what the Church claims to be, grounded in what Christ commanded it to be called in 3 Nephi 27.

Why President Nelson Has Emphasized This

In October 2018, President Russell M. Nelson addressed the use of the name directly in General Conference, asking members and media to use the full name rather than “Mormon Church,” “LDS Church,” or similar shortened forms. The request was not about public relations or brand management. He stated explicitly that the name matters because it is the Lord's name for His church.

President Nelson quoted 3 Nephi 27:8 as the doctrinal basis: if it is named in Christ's name, it is His church. When we substitute “Mormon” or “LDS” for the full name, we are, in a small way, doing what 3 Nephi 27 warns against — naming it after something other than Christ.

This is not legalism. It is discipleship. Names have theological content. What you call something reflects what you believe it is. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a Mormon church or an LDS church — it is the Church of Jesus Christ, restored in the latter days. Calling it by His name is an act of testimony.

Matthew 16:18 records Christ saying “I will build my church.” Not someone else's. Not a successor's. His. The name of the restored church is the simplest possible answer to the question of whose church this is. It is His — and He said so, and He named it Himself.