DAMU Dictionary

Contents

((((*name*))))

Hugs

...mo (suffix)

mormon, as in nomo, nevermo, exmo, etc.

AFAIK

As Far As I Know

Anti-Mormon

Hostile opposition to Mormons and Mormonism. Most participants of the DAMU do not like to be called "anti-Mormon," partially because TBMs use the term pejoratively. DAMUites may be critical, but are not usually hostile.

AP

Assistant to the (Mission) President

Apologist

A defender of the Church

ASAP

As Soon As Possible

BAC

Born-Again Christian

BB

Bulletin Board

BF

Boyfriend

BIC

Born in the Covenant (i.e., both parents were sealed to each other in the temple when baby was born)

BIL

Brother-in-law

Bish

Bishop

BKP

Boyd K. Packer

BOA

Book of Abraham -- part of the LDS canon

BOM

Book of Mormon -- part of the LDS canon

BP

Branch President

Breed 'Em Young

A word play on Brigham Young University. Also refers to the alleged high birth rate of BYU

Brethren, The

The LDS leadership -- specifically the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles.

BS

Bullshit

BTW

By The Way

BY

Brigham Young

BYC

Bishop's Youth Council/Committee

BYU

Brigham Young University

CAB

Church Administration Building (seldom used)

CES

Church Education System

Chapel Mormon

A Mormon who embraces the common, traditional notions of the Church. As far as I can tell, Dr. Shades coined the term. [Click here for a more detailed explanation].

CHI

Church Handbook of Instructions -- The CHI is a handbook published by the LDS Church which is, for lack of a better word, a "rulebook" for Bishops, Stake Presidents, and other people in leadership capacity. Among other things, this handbook provides guidelines for disciplinary action of members, and various policies and protocol that the leadership should abide by. Oddly, this book is not available to the lay membership, even though members may face discipline for not following the rules contained in the handbook.

CK

Celestial Kingdom

COB

Church Office Building -- often used to mean LDS Church administration in general

CofC

Community of Christ: formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS)

Cog Dis

Cognitive Dissonance

CoJCoLDS

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Corridor, The

The heavily Mormon-populated region in Northern Utah along the Wasatch Front. It runs from the Logan area in the North to the Provo area in the South.

CotFP

Corporation of the First Presidency

Cultural Mormon

A Latter-day Saint who identifies with the Church because of his/her cultural heritage, but who disbelieves the majority of the Church's foundational tenets.

D&C

Doctrine and Covenants -- part of the LDS canon

DAMU

Disaffected Mormon Underground

DCP

Daniel C. Peterson -- a prominent defender of the Church.

DD

Dear Daughter

DF

Dear Father

DH

Dear Husband

DI

Deseret Industries

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought

"Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought", more frequently known simply as "Dialogue", is a periodical dedicated to Mormon scholarship. Its readership tends to be more liberal, and, in fact, is often read by people gathering information as they leave the LDS Church. Hence, Dialogue tends to be a popular periodical on the DAMU. Nevertheless, Dialogue is very pro-LDS, in the same way that the Sunstone Foundation is (see the entry "Sunstone Foundation" below). Visit "Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought" online at: www.dialoguejournal.com.

Dialogue Mormon

A synonym for "Sunstone Mormon" (see the entry "Sunstone Mormon" below), with the exception that "Dialogue" refers to the journal "Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought" (see entry above).

DIL

Daughter-in-law

DL

District Leader -- a leadership position for LDS missionaries

DM

Dear Mother

DMI

Dave's Mormon Inquiry — a liberal Mormon website/blog.

DS

Dear Son

DW

Dear Wife

EQ

Elders Quorum

EQP

Elders Quorum President

ETB

Ezra Taft Benson -- President of the Church from 1985 - 1995.

Ex-Mormon

1. A former member of the LDS Church who has had their name removed from the records of the Church either by request or by excommunication; 2. A disaffected member who no longer considers himself/herself a member of the Church, even though their name has not been formally removed from the records of the Church (see also, Postmormon).

EXMO

Ex-Mormon

F&T

Fast and Testimony Meeting

FAIR

Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research -- a popular, private organization dedicated to defending the LDS Church from detractors.

FARMS

Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies -- the official apologetic arm of the Church.

FHE

Family Home Evening

FIL

Father-in-law

FLDS

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: one of the largest (if not THE largest) polygamist schism of the Latter-day Saint movement.

FPR

Faith-Promoting Rumor -- These urban legends abound in Sacrament Meeting talks and Priesthood/Relief Society lessons all over the world, and their conclusions are always "faith-promoting". No one knows where they originate, and no one can ever verify their authenticity, but they are often accepted, uncritically, as fact by many credulous Saints, and then repeated over and over, further perpetuating the rumor to a new generation.

Fundies

Slang term for Fundamentalist Christians. Also, the singular, "Fundy", is often used as an adjective, as in "Fundy Christianity".

FWIW

For what it's worth

FYI

For Your Information

*G*

Grin

GA

General Authority

GBH

Gordon B. Hinckley — current president of the LDS Church.

GD

Gospel Doctrine — generally used when referring to the Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class at church.

GF

Girlfriend

Happy Valley

Utah County

Hemispheric Model

The idea that Lamanites and Nephites inhabited the entire Western Hemisphere -- North, Central, and South America. Traditionally, the Nephites were said to have inhabited North America, while the Lamanites inhabited everything south.

HF

Heavenly Father

HP

High Priest

HPGL

High Priests' group leader

HT

Home teacher/teaching

IHOH

International House of Handshakes -- an irreverent reference to the LDS temple.

IIRC

If I remember/recall correctly

IMHO

In my humble (or honest) opinion

IMNSHO

In my not so humble opinion

IMO

In my opinion

Internet Mormon

A Mormon who embraces the newer, non-traditional views (promoted by apologetic organizations like FARMS) of various foundational claims of Mormonism that differ greatly at times from the views held by the more traditional elements of Mormonism (Chapel Mormons). As far as I can tell, Dr. Shades coined the term. [Click here for a more detailed explanation].

IOW

In Other Words

IRL

In real life

Iron-rod Mormon

A conservative, literalist Mormon. The opposite of a Liahona Mormon.

ISL

In Sacred Loneliness, a book by Todd Compton that contains biographical sketches of the 33 known wives of Joseph Smith.

JC

Jesus Christ

JK

Just Kidding

JS

Joseph Smith

KJV

King James Version of the Bible

KWIM

Know what I mean?

LBM

Lead Balloon Moment

LDS

1. Latter-day Saints — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;
2. Latter-day Saint — A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Legacy Mormons

Latter-day Saints who were born into the LDS Church — especially those who come from multi-generational Latter-day Saint lineages.

LGT

Limited Geography Theory -- The notion promoted by apologists of the LDS Church that the Book of Mormon took place in a relatively small limited geographical area, which is very different from the traditional "Hemispheric Model" that says that the Nephites and Lamanites inhabited the entire Western Hemisphere during Book of Mormon times.

Liahona Mormon

A "liberal" Mormon. The opposite of an "Iron-rod" Mormon.

LMAO

Laughing my ass off

LOL

Laughing out loud

MIA

Mutual Improvement Association

MIL

Mother-in-law

MIT

Married in the temple

MMM

Mountain Meadows Massacre

Morg

1. Mormon Organization; 2. A fusion of the words "Mormon" and "Borg" (from the show Star Trek: The Next Generation).

Morgbots

Mormon organization robots -- refers to members of the Church who are perceived as not thinking for themselves and blindly following the directives of the Brethren.

Morridor

A fusion of the words "Mormon" and "Corridor" -- referring to the Wasatch Front area.

MoTab

Mormon Tabernacle Choir

MP

Mission President

MTC

Missionary Training Center

NIV

New International Version of the Bible

NOM

New Order Mormon -- refers to a Latter-day Saint who is active in the Church despite a disbelief in most or even all of its fundamental tenets. The NOM generally, but not always, hides his/her disbelief from the general population of the ward. Synonyms: Cultural Mormon, Sunstone Mormon. See the [New Order Mormon Bulletin Board].

NT

1. New Testament; 2. No Text, when used to specify that a post contains no text in the body of the message, and that the reader needs only to read the title of the post.

OMG

Oh my God/Gosh

OT

1. Old Testament; 2. Off-Topic

OTOH

On the other hand

PAF

Personal Ancestral File, software provided by the Church to manage geneological information

PH

Priesthood

PM

Private Message

PPI

Personal Priesthood Interview

Po-Mo

Postmormon (see the "Postmormon" entry)

PostMo

Postmormon (see the "Postmormon" entry)

Postmormon

A person who no longer considers himself/herself a member of the LDS Church, whether their name has been formally removed from the records of the Church, or not.

RCC

Roman Catholic Church

RfM

Recovery from Mormonism -- a specific website that is very popular. See the [Recovery from Mormonism board at www.exmormon.org].

RLDS

The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — now known as the "Community of Christ"

RM

Returned Missionary

ROFL

Rolling on (the) floor laughing

ROFLMAO

Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off

ROTFL

Rolling on the floor laughing

RS

Relief Society

SAHM

Stay At Home Mom

SBC

Southern Baptist Convention

SIL

1. Son-in-law; 2. Sister-in-law.

SLC

Salt Lake City

SM

Sacrament Meeting

SP

Stake President

SS

Sunday School

Sunstone Foundation

The Sunstone Foundation was founded in 1974, by a group of graduate students who wanted to start a journal that explored deeper scholarship in Mormon studies than what is typically allowed through Church-sponsored organizations. From there, Sunstone Magazine was born. Each year the foundation sponsors various symposiums in which scholars of Mormon Studies speak on a variety of subjects related to Mormon scripture, doctrine and culture. Because of its very liberal perspective, Sunstone has been at the center of controversy at times. Many conservative Latter-day Saints, including many in the hierarchy, view the Sunstone Foundation as a heretical organization. And, in fact, many people on the DAMU will readily admit that they owe much of their epiphany of the Church, and subsequent disbelief, to articles found within the pages of Sunstone Magazine. However, the Sunstone Foundation is, at heart, very pro-LDS, albeit liberal-LDS. Visit Sunstone online at: [www.sunstoneonline.com.]

Sunstone Mormon

A "liberal" Latter-day Saint. Someone who doesn't view many (or even most) of the foundational claims of the LDS Church to be literally true. A slang, but affectionate, alternative term is "Sunstoner".

SWK

Spencer W. Kimball

TBM

1. True Believing Mormon; 2. True-Blue Mormon

TSCC

The So-Called Church -- this term is in reference to the tendency of many Church leaders to disparage certain types of individuals with the pejorative prefix of "so-called"; for example "so-called scientists", "so-called intellectuals", "so-called homosexuals", etc.

U, the

"The U" refers to the University of Utah.

VT

Visiting Teacher/Teaching

WoW

The Word of Wisdom

WRT

With Regard To

WTF

What the F***

Xian, Xianity

Christian, Christianity

YBU

A rearranging of the acronym "BYU," used to poke fun of Brigham Young University's policies that encourage (and enforce) conformity in the student body and staff over individuality (YBU = "Why Be You?").

YM

Young Men organization

YW

1. Young Women organization; 2. You're Welcome

ZCMI

Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution — originally an organization begun in 1868 by the LDS Church in response to a perceived economic threat associated with the coming of the railroad, it soon evolved into a department store. One of the malls next to the Salt Lake Temple is called the "ZCMI Mall" which used to house a ZCMI department store before the ZCMI chain was sold, along with numerous other shops.

Zion Curtain

Typically used in the phrase, "Behind the Zion Curtain". Refers to Utah.

ZL

Zone Leader -- a leadership position for missionaries.

ZLMB

Zion Lighthouse Message Board -- a popular bulletin board for "Academicians, Apologists, and Skeptics Interested in things LDS." You can visit this forum by clicking here.

Zoobie

A Brigham Young University student