Last August, Latter-day Saints embraced their prophet’s mandate to use the faith’s official name — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — as a public and private push to recognize the Savior who they believe leads their church.
Outsiders, researchers and reporters respected the religion’s right to self-identity, and many strived to follow its preferred style guide, some even eschewing the popular term “Mormon” to describe the 16 million members.
Recently, though, the Utah-based church replaced its official website, lds.org, with a new domain name, simply churchofjesuschrist.org, without the “Latter-day Saints” ending — a move some Christians find confusing, curious or downright offensive.