I see. So it is a de-materialized kind of memorial. Huh. There might be some Protestant sects who could probably say similar things (after all, it is not uncommon to hear many say that it is a 'memorial'), though even then I suspect that most of the traditional or mainline Protestants, whose roots to older forms of Christianity are more visible than the neo-gnostic types who abhor this kind of physicality in worship, would probably compare the underlying theology and end up rejecting any suggestion that LDS and they worship the same Christ, precisely due to the Mormons' differing beliefs about the Trinity, the nature of God, and so on.
At any rate, I was referring to actual veneration of the cross, of the type explicitly shown in the prayer I shared earlier, the Indian Orthodox video from a few pages ago, etc.. It does not seem that the LDS have anything like that, which is a shame, as it puts them out of step with Christianity in a very big and very obvious way.
I wasn't aware that contrasting and comparing your religion's practices and prayers with those of my own was 'complaining'. If you read the prayer and compare it to the one that you gave as an example of the supposed reverence you give to the cross (which, uh...doesn't mention the cross
), you can probably see what I mean about how different they are, and not just in length.
We do not shy away from the cross. In fact, both the Copts and the Tewahedo, following the recent martyrdom of their people at the hands of ISIS in Yemen, have taken to stating outright "We are the Nation of the Cross", in affirmation of the name that ISIS had meant to give us as an insult, but which we take as the best thing to be. It is an honor for a Christian to count himself or herself among this nation. The Bible verse that ArmenianJohn referenced earlier really is correct about it being foolishness to those who are perishing. It was in the time of the pagan Greeks and Romans when the verse was written, and it is still today to the cross-hating pagans of our time.
The question I have for Mormons is why they find themselves doctrinally more akin to those who similarly revile the cross -- refusing it but to try to put a good face on what you embrace instead in the context of inter-religious discussions such as this one -- than to those who are being persecuted for it? My people, the Christian people, have already shown their willingness to die as witnesses to it at the hands of people who, much like Mormons, think it foolishness to praise what they see as an instrument of death. If Mormons are Christians too, why are they not defending it right alongside the Copts, the Ethiopians, the Armenians, and all the other Christians who take it as so central to our faith that they lay down their lives to protect it. I remember at the funeral for the martyrs of the New Year's day bombing at the Church of the Saints in Alexandria, the people held up crosses and chanted "With our souls and our blood, we will defend the cross!"
Would Mormons ever say the same? From the answers I have received from their apologetics linked to by posters in this very thread, I don't think they would. To them it is a mere symbol, and one that they are decidedly not in favor of, while for actual Christians, it is life. So there is a wide chasm between Mormonism and actual Christianity, and this cannot be bridged because you have a prayer that you say is to the Father and mentioning his son Jesus (when we also know that by those names or referents you are not referring to the same God as we are; cf. our earlier discussion on Mormon errors concerning the Trinity resulting in polytheistic theology).