If you step into a Mormon Church or Stake Center, one thing stands out immediately — there is no cross. While historic Christianity has always lifted high the cross as the central symbol of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, the LDS Church deliberately rejects it. Instead, they shift the focus to Jesus’ suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, teaching that this is where the weight of sin was borne. But Scripture is clear: it was the cross — not the garden — that accomplished our redemption.
Paul wrote, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, KJV). To the world, the cross may appear offensive, weak, or even foolish. Yet for believers, it is the very heart of the gospel message.
Jesus Himself declared, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38, KJV). Following Christ means embracing His cross — not avoiding it. The cross is not simply a historical event but the symbol of our discipleship, calling us to die to self and live for Christ.
The Mormon teaching that emphasizes Gethsemane over Golgotha directly contradicts the testimony of Scripture. The Bible says: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24, KJV). Our sins were borne in His body on the cross, not in a garden prayer.
When Christians carry crosses on the streets of Utah, they are not merely holding wooden symbols. They are bearing witness to the central truth of salvation: “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14, KJV).
The absence of the cross in Mormon worship is not a minor difference — it reveals a different gospel. The apostle Paul warned: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8, KJV). True Christians must cling to the cross, proclaim the cross, and glory only in the cross — for it is the place where justice and mercy met, where the blood of Christ purchased eternal redemption.
Walking the streets of Utah with the cross is more than a bold act of witness; it is a living reminder that salvation is found only in Christ crucified and risen.
