This is a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it.

The best way to know if the book of Mormon is true is to ask God who gives wisdom and inspiration to those who seek him. Pray sincerely and ask for his guidance on the matter, and you will know if the book of Mormon is true or not !

Anna May,
You are a wonderful sweetheart. Your response was very loving and Christlike. You warmed my heart with smiles!

Furthermore, it was a sin to trim/shave the beard (Leviticus 19:27) but their hair was kept short and likely covered in a sun-protectant turban. The Nazarites (not to be confused with Nazarenes, people from Nazareth) grew their hair long. So all Western depictions of a white Jesus with long hair and trimmed beard are historically inaccurate. I’ve seen Jesus depicted as Hispanic, Black, and Asian. I see those pictures as a way to personify our Savior so as to reach people, and I say go with whatever depictions connect you to Lord Jesus. I personally overlook their inaccuracies and focus instead on the love that shines from within Christ in those pictures. <3

I disagree with you, Jamie. I feel tjones was merely trying to clarify or answer Henry’s concerns. I don’t read her response as defensive as much as having an educated diplomatic discussion and making her point about how various signs mean different things even within the same groups but at different times.

The correspondence between Henry and tjones1971 demonstrates that we can all easily become defensive of our faith and of those things we see as symbolic of them. Although Henry merely made suggestions of LDS faith symbols Christians could question, tjones1971 responded by pointing out another controversial Christian symbol and defending each LDS one that he mentioned. Truly the last sentence of tjones1971’s response could have been all that was said. But everything it was prefaced by took away from it. But I agree fully that we all need to come together to share the Light of Jesus with the world.

Regarding crucifixes and crosses (apparently the first bears the figure of Jesus on it), I grew up in an ultra conservative Fundamentalist Christian church and we did not have pictures of Jesus, nor did our church have any crosses outside or inside. The rationale? We saw the cross/crucifix as symbols equating to ‘idols’. We didn’t even celebrate Christmas with Christmas trees or gift-giving as the tree is seen as a pagan symbol and the gift-giving took away from the sacrifice of Christ.
As to why Jesus is more often than not depicted as ‘White’, is political. If Jesus were truly depicted as he would have been, he’d be very dark-skinned with very Middle Eastern features (Middle Eastern Jew). That would not go over well with a lot of North Americans.

Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Henry. I apologize for the misunderstanding around the comment, “’Oh, she’s a Christian. She’s wearing a cross.’ They would rather people say, ‘She’s a Christian—she lives the teachings of Christ,’” This was in no way meant as a dig on followers of Christ who choose to wear the cross to show their devotion. Mormons do not have a corner on the devotion market.
I don’t believe that Christ cares which symbols we use to show that we follow Him. Our hearts and actions are the true signs of our devotion. Early Christians used the Ichthys, or fish symbol, to show that they were followers of Christ. They also used it to discreetly show the locations of meetings and tombs to avoid persecution from the Roman Empire.
According to Christianity Today, “the fish still carries baggage from the days when pagans used it to represent fertility or, more specifically, the female reproductive organs…I don’t find the pagan argument compelling. No symbol means the same thing to all people at all times. That early Christians succeeded in transforming an already powerful symbol proves their interpretive creativity, not their ignorance or a tendency to syncretism.” (Elesha Coffman)
Likewise, the ancient symbols that can be found on The Salt Lake Temple, do not prove occultism or syncretism in the Mormon faith. These symbols don’t mean the same thing to us as they did in previous generations.
I also don’t think that the type of emblems we use in our sacrament services define us. As long as we take the sacrament while remembering Christ and His atoning sacrifice for us, we will be blessed with His spirit.
Let us come together as disciples of Jesus Christ and share our faith that He is, “the way, the truth, and the life,” with a world that is increasingly in need of His light.