Maybe you weren’t even aware that Mormons don’t really wear crosses. But if you think about any LDS people you may know, you might realize that you’ve never seen them wear a cross. We also don’t have any crosses displayed anywhere in our church buildings or our temples. It's probably a big reason why many people think Mormons aren't Christians, because they think that a lack of the cross means that we don’t believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. But it’s because of our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior that we don’t use crosses.
Gordon B. Hinckley, a previous prophet, was once asked by a Protestant minister why Mormons don't use crosses. He responded: “For us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ."
We don’t believe that we should focus on just one chunk of the Atonement; His sacrifice on the cross. We believe that while Christ’s crucifixion was an extremely important part of the Atonement, it's not the only part that matters. The suffering He endured in the Garden of Gethsemane was equally, if not more, important.
Returning to that incident with President Hinckley and the Protestant minister, the minister then asked: "If you do not use the cross, what is the symbol of your religion?"
President Hinckley responded: “On Calvary he was the dying Jesus. From the tomb he emerged the living Christ…Because our Savior lives, we do not use the symbol of his death as the symbol of our faith. But what shall we use? No sign, no work of art, no representation of form is adequate to express the glory and the wonder of the Living Christ. He told us what that symbol should be when he said, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments’ (John 14:15)”
People usually keep crosses around their homes, churches, or wear them as jewelry to remind themselves of Christ and His sacrifice for us. But in the LDS Church, we use everything that we do to remind us of Christ. Our thoughts, the things we say, and the things we do in our daily lives should all be ways to continually remind ourselves of the Atonement. In The Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma said: “Have ye received his image in your countenances?” (Alma 5:14). When we receive Christ’s image in our countenances, we try to emanate everything that He represents: love, goodness, charity, patience, compassion, all that jazz. And this is how we remind ourselves of Christ: by becoming like Him and keeping His commandments.
Maybe you’re thinking that because Mormons don’t use crosses ourselves, we look down on those who do. But that's not true! In the 11th Article of Faith, it states that “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” Basically what we’re saying here is that if wearing a cross helps you to remember Christ and His sacrifice for you, by all means, wear one.
