Amelia Young, wife of President Brigham Young, wears a cross in this photograph taken in 1895. Harriet Amelia Folsom Young was a plural wife of LDS Church president Brigham Young, married in 1863.Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. (D&C 19:18-19)
One could say we meditate on Christ's crucifixion each week when we partake of the elements of the sacrament(the LDS term for the Communion), but still I feel I must take up the cross to follow him (Lk. 9:23; D&C 112:14).
Ultimately though, thanks to the sacrament, we do not need the cross as an object to meditate on.
But the cross reminds me not only of Jesus' crucifixion, but my own: my former self is crucified with Jesus (Rom. 6:6). The cross is still a reminder, perhaps the most visceral, of that crucifixion of self and the new life we find in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:20).And here in LDS scripture we find the cross used symbolically, which our critics are unaware of:I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. (1 Nephi 11:33)My Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (3 Nephi 27:14)It was made known among the dead, both small and great, the unrighteous as well as the faithful, that redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross. (D&C 138:35)The Lord said unto Enoch: Look, and he looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross. (Moses 7:55)http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Mormons-and-the-Cross-Jim-Faulconer-05-12-2011And in 1916 the LDS church asked the Salt Lake City Council to allow them to build a huge cross, "the symbol of Christianity," on Ensign Peak. The request read, in part "We would like to construct it of cement, re-enforced with steel, of sufficient dimensions that it can be readily seen from every part of the city." The cross was to honor the Mormon pioneers.And even though the proposal was approved by the City Council, this version of the monument was never built.Michael G. Reed, who has a bachelor of arts in humanities and religious studies and a master of art in liberal arts from California State University, Sacramento, explored at a recent Sunstone Symposium what he called, in rather charged language, the "LDS Contempt for the Christian Symbol."Instead, Reed found the cross all over Mormondom. Brigham Young's wives and daughters used it in their jewelry. It was used in floral arrangements at funerals. It was used in tie tacks on men's ties and watch fobs on men's vests. It appeared on cattle as the official LDS Church brand. Crosses were on church windows, attic vents, stained-glass windows and pulpits. They were on gravestones and homemade quilts. In short, it was everywhere simply because it was part and parcel of Christendom and we as a branch of Christianity, though not formally accepted as such, naturally used the most recognizable symbol of Jesus Christ. The Hawaiian and the Cardston, Alberta Temples were described in a 1923 general conference as being formed in the shape of a cross. Reed said the cross "taboo" was grass roots and began around the turn of the 20th century.In 1916, when LDS Church Presiding Bishop Charles W. Nibley asked the Salt Lake City Council to approve the church plan to construct a eye catching cross to honor the pioneers, he didn't anticipate any opposition. He was however, according to Reed, "quickly criticized, and even accused of succumbing to Catholic agenda."Anti-Catholic feelings ended the effort."While some rejected the symbol," Reed said, "others continued to embrace it." For almost 40 more years this polarization in LDS culture prevailed.David O McKay at one point told Bishop Wirthlin that crosses were "purely Catholic and Latter-day Saint girls should not purchase and wear them. ... Our worship should be in our hearts."http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705378769/Sunstone-speaker-attempts-to-explain-LDS-aversion-to-cross.html?pg=3Go to Google and search Mormons and the cross and see what comes up. Amongst other things you fill find hateful rhetoric that “proves” we are offended by the cross and we hate the cross and therefore we aren’t as Christian as we claim. Because we differ in the use of a symbol, seriously? Taking the sacrament is my favorite part of Church. I feel the forgiveness of God and of Jesus and I meditate on that throughout the rest of my day.I have no problem with the cross, I have one and wear it on occasion, (it has sentimental value as an acquaintance gave it to me for a Nirvana CD I had and his 5 year old daughter carved it for him personally and I received it in the Hospital so it was a reminder of healing and moving on in my life just as the cross was something Jesus was healed from and moved past toward his eternal glory) but as President Gordon B. Hinckley said "the lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship.”That is why the cross doesn’t take on such an overriding meaning for me; our lives must be the representation of our faith, not only to our fellow man but to our God and to our redeemer.
