This week we received this question regarding the use of crosses in the LDS Church. It is a great question, and a very common one that often comes from our protestant Christian or Catholic brothers and sisters. Their wearing of a cross generally demonstrates their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It serves as an outward symbol of their commitment to follow Christ and remember His suffering, death, and atonement. When Christians choose to wear a cross on a necklace instead of the myriads of other jewelry options out there, it says something about them that should be admired: It says they believe in Christ. If it is a good thing, then why don’t Latter-day Saints use crosses on their buildings or wear them as reminders? Here are a few reasons:
One of the primary purposes of the cross is to help us remember Jesus. There are many ways one can remember Christ on a daily basis, and many ways that Latter-day Saints do. We can pray daily in His name, we study Christ’s teachings in the scriptures, and we strive to keep His commandments. As Latter-day Saints, we have been commanded each Sabbath to “go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day” (D&C 59:9). The sacrament serves as a weekly symbol of Christ’s broken body and sacred blood that was spilled to save us from sin and death. Each week, as we partake of the emblems of Christ’s atonement, we covenant to “always remember him” (see Moroni 5:2, D&C 20:77). The sacrament can almost be looked at as the official way Latter-day Saints demonstrate our belief in the Savior’s atonement and our willingness to remember it.
Additionally, the holy temple has become a symbol to Latter-day Saints of our belief in Christ’s divinity, His death and resurrection, and a way to remember Him. President Howard W. Hunter said the temple should serve, “as the great symbol of [our] membership” (Ensign, Apr. 1995, 21-22). Each temple bears Christ’s name, is dedicated in His name, and those who enter it covenant to serve Him and keep His commandments. These temples are beginning to dot the earth as great symbols of Latter-day Saint belief in the eternities: a belief made possible through Christ and His infinite atonement.
Really, when all is said and done, it is what is on the inside that matters more than what we demonstrate on the outside—whether it is a young women’s medallion with a picture of the temple on it, a CTR (“choose the right”) ring, or a cross. We know that the Lord doesn’t look on the outward appearance, but that, “the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). Let us then remember the Lord each day in our hearts, and also remember that there are many ways a believer can express an inward commitment by an outward symbol—not just with a cross.
