Many changes have happened in the Church in recent years, and names and terms have been discontinued along with them. For instance, the terms “home teaching” and “visiting teaching” were retired when it was replaced with ministering, and “family home evening” is now simply referred to as “home evening.” But did you know the Church doesn’t use the term “junior Primary” anymore either?
Here’s a list from the 7th edition of the Church’s style guide of names and terms that are no longer in use by the Church. Take a look and see if any of them surprise you—plus, it helps to be aware of words you may currently be using that you might want to avoid in the future.
Note: If you’d like to see the 6th edition of the Church’s style guide, you can view it here. The 7th edition is not yet available online. According to the style guide, the names and terms listed “may be used in referring to past publications, programs, or activities.” Terms noted in parenthesis are still in use.
- Area Authority Seventy (instead use Area Seventy)
- Area Supervisor (General Authority)
- Assistant to the Twelve (General Authority)
- auxiliary
- bishop’s court (instead use ward membership council)
- bishopric youth committee (instead use ward youth council)
- Church disciplinary council (instead use Church membership council)
- Church-service missionary (instead use service missionary)
- disfellowship, disfellowshipment (this term was replaced by formal membership restrictons in the new handbook)
- Duty to God
- excommunication (this term was replaced by withdrawal of membership in the new handbook)
- Faith in God
- family home evening (instead use home evening)
- First Council of the Seventy (instead use First Quorum of the Seventy)
- general board (instead use general advisory council)
- general women’s meeting (instead use women’s session)
- Gospel Essentials, Gospel Principles, Gospel Doctrine class
- high priests group leader
- homemaking meeting (Relief Society)
- home teaching
- Inspired Version (instead use Joseph Smith Translation)
- junior Primary
- Mutual
- New Beginnings
- personal priesthood interview (instead use priesthood interview)
- Personal Progress
- regional representative
- regional representatives’ seminar
- servicemen’s group (instead use service member group)
- visiting teaching
- welfare committee (stake or ward)
