Why was my Blog Name Changed to Leave Out the Word "Mormon"?

Jesus Shows His Wounds (Behold My Hands and Feet), by Harry Anderson 

My blog used to be called "Meditations of a Mormon Mom". Why did I change it? Why did I take out the name "Mormon"? Have I left the faith? 

I feel like Peter when many of Jesus Christ's disciples began to leave Him. What happened is recorded in John 6: 67-69 in the New Testament of the Bible.

"Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?  
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

No. I am not leaving the faith. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the truth. This is Jesus Christ's church which has been restored to the earth. There is no other place to go.

So if I am still "strong in the faith", why would I take "Mormon" out of my blog title? Is it because the Prophet asked members not to use the word "Mormon" any longer? Am I just doing this out of blind obedience?

It is true that in our October 2018 General Conference of the Church, the Prophet did ask us to use the name the Lord Jesus Christ has given for His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, instead of using merely an acquired nickname.  

When our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson's, explained why the Lord Jesus Christ wanted us to use the correct name of the Church, it really made me think. Here are some of President Nelson's words that really impressed me. If you want, you can read his whole address at:   https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct-name-of-the-church?lang=eng

"When we omit His name from His Church, we are inadvertently removing Him as the central focus of our lives."   

"When it comes to nicknames of the Church, such as the “LDS Church,” the “Mormon Church,” or the “Church of the Latter-day Saints,” the most important thing in those names is the absence of the Savior’s name. . .When we discard the Savior’s name, we are subtly disregarding all that Jesus Christ did for us—even His Atonement."

"In the early days of the restored Church, terms such as Mormon Church and Mormons were often used as epithets—as cruel terms, abusive terms—designed to obliterate God’s hand in restoring the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days."

Then President Nelson asked what was for me the deciding question:

"Have we been so afraid to offend someone who called us “Mormons” that we have failed to defend the Savior Himself, to stand up for Him even in the name by which His Church is called?"

That did it for me. I realized that I haven't liked being called by the nickname, "Mormon", anymore than I liked it when my dad called me by his nickname for me, "Butch".  As a cute little girl, I was no more a "Butch", than I have been a "Mormon". Sure Mormon was a great prophet, but so was Moses. Though I respect all true prophets, the head, the leader, of our church is Jesus Christ. This is His church. I thought that it really is time to stand up for what I believe in and not just go along with other people who are trying to leave Jesus Christ out of His own church.  

As I began to make changes in my blog, I was amazed at what a difference it made to use the correct name of the Church. When I began to change post headlines, I saw what the prophet was saying. For example one of my posts was, "Are Mormons Christians?"  Putting in the Church's true name, I rewrote it, "Are Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Christians?" With the real name of the Church in the headline, the question was silly. It was obvious that a church called The Church of Jesus Christ certainly believed in Christ, and it was equally obvious was that my begrudged substitution of the name "Mormon"  was hiding who we really are. It really is time to stand up and be who we really are, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.