Jack Mormon
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The term Jack Mormon is a slang term that originated in the 19th century. It was used to describe somebody who was not officially a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or LDS Church), but who was friendly to Church members and Mormonism, sympathized with them, and/or took an active interest in their belief system. In today's Mormon culture, the term "dry-Mormon" is its equivalent. Sometime in the early to mid 20th century, the term changed culturally to refer to someone deemed by LDS adherents to be an inactive or lapsed member of the LDS Church who maintained good relations with and positive feelings toward the Church. It has also been used humorously to describe Church members who were registered Democrats in the early 1980s.
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[edit] Origin of the term
The first recorded use of the term was by Thomas C. Sharp, editor of the Warsaw Signal, who also coined the term "Jack-Mason" to refer to those who were sympathetic toward Masons in the Anti-Masonic political movement; however, many LDS historians believe that the term was used prior to Sharp's mention, and has ties to sympathetic Democrats in Jackson County, Missouri.
The traditional belief is that the term originated in Missouri, during the Kirtland period of LDS Church history, circa 1834. When Church members were expelled from Jackson County by a mob, many fled to Clay County, where local citizens, mostly Democrats, were sympathetic and friendly toward the Mormons. These citizens were pejoratively labelled "Jack" Mormons by the citizens of Jackson County.
[edit] Political usage
The treatment of the Latter-day Saints by Jack Mormon Democrats in Clay County, and later in Quincy, Illinois, is one reason why LDS Church membership was made up predominantly of liberal-leaning Democrats until the early 1900s, when conservative issues such as prohibition, drug use, family values and the protection of religion from state interference caused most Latter-day Saints to shift to the Republican Party by the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the Church took a stand against the Equal Rights Amendment, and many members who were registered Democrats were called "Jack Mormons" at that time, not as a negative term, but to distinguish them as traditional liberal Democrats. Because of the negative connotation of the term's modern context, this usage was short-lived.
[edit] Change in terminology
The term is now used to describe a baptized member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that rarely or never practices the religion, but is still friendly toward the church. Often such members reject the prohibition against tobacco and/or alcohol. Some Jack Mormons still support the goals and beliefs of the Church, but for various reasons choose not to attend services or participate in church activities. They are also colloquially known as Cultural Mormons, the LDS equivalent of a "Christmas and Easter Christian" or a "Yom Kippur Jew."
It is unclear how or why the meaning of the term changed to its current usage, which is almost the reverse of its original meaning. Preston Nibley, a celebrated LDS Church writer during the mid-20th century, who had a large impact on Mormon culture and folklore, used the term in its modern context during the 1950s, and possibly before.
[edit] Use in pop culture
The term "Jack Mormon" was used by author Edward Abbey in his novel The Monkey Wrench Gang to describe a character, Seldom Seen Smith, who was a Mormon and had many wives, but was not active in the LDS Church or its belief system.
