2005 — What Happened to The Cross? Distinctive LDS Teachings — Robert L. Millet

What Happened to The Cross? (2005) By Robert L. Millet

Good condition, dust jacket with some slight scuffing and discoloration. Brown hard cover with gold embossed letters and small blemishes. Clear text with no markings.

What Happened to the Cross? is a short explanatory work by Robert L. Millet that addresses a question frequently asked about Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Why do Latter-day Saints not emphasize the cross as a religious symbol the way many other Christians do?

Millet’s Main Argument

Millet explains that Latter-day Saints do not reject the cross or the Crucifixion, but historically they chose not to use the cross as the central symbol of their faith. Instead, the faith emphasizes:

• the living Christ

• the Resurrection

• the entire Atonement of Jesus Christ, including Gethsemane and the empty tomb.

In this view, the cross is an instrument used to kill the Savior, rather than the defining emblem of Christianity.

Historical Background

Millet points out that the cross was not always the universal Christian symbol it later became. In the earliest centuries of Christianity, believers often used other symbols such as:

• the fish (Ichthys)

• the shepherd

• the lamb

• the empty tomb

The cross gradually became dominant centuries later.

Early Latter-day Saint Attitudes

Millet explains that early Latter-day Saints in the 19th century sometimes viewed the cross differently from other Christians. Because they were surrounded by Protestant traditions that emphasized the cross heavily, they often avoided it as a symbol and focused instead on the reality of the resurrected Christ.

This perspective was reinforced by leaders such as Gordon B. Hinckley, who once summarized the LDS approach by saying:

“For us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the Living Christ.”

Theological Emphasis

Millet stresses that the doctrine of the Crucifixion itself is fully accepted by Latter-day Saints. What differs is mainly the symbolic focus. LDS teaching highlights the entire redemptive mission of Christ:

1. suffering in Gethsemane

2. death on the cross

3. resurrection from the tomb.

Because of this broader emphasis, the Church traditionally avoids adopting a single symbol such as the cross.

Millet’s Conclusion

Millet concludes that nothing “happened” to the cross in LDS belief. The Crucifixion remains a central part of the doctrine of the Atonement. The difference lies primarily in how the faith chooses to represent its message visually and symbolically.

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