How Do We Take The Name of Jesus Christ Upon Us? What I Learned From Following President Nelson's Challenge.

In the October 2018 Women's Session of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our Prophet, President Nelson, gave a challenge to the women:

I invite you to read the Book of Mormon between now and the end of the year. As impossible as that may seem with all you are trying to manage in your life, if you will accept this invitation with full purpose of heart, the Lord will help you find a way to achieve it. And, as you prayerfully study, I promise that the heavens will open for you. The Lord will bless you with increased inspiration and revelation.

As you read, I would encourage you to mark each verse that speaks of or refers to the Savior. Then, be intentional about talking of Christ, rejoicing in Christ, and preaching of Christ with your families and friends. You and they will be drawn closer to the Savior through this process. And changes, even miracles, will begin to happen.

I accepted the challenge, including to mark each verse about the Savior, and I am grateful for the many ways this has blessed my life. About half way through my reading I started to notice how many times the Book of Mormon talks about doing things "in the name of Christ." I wanted to understand better how I could follow this, so I gathered together some of the verses and quotes on this topic. Here is some of what I learned.

     (See also: How to Mark Scriptures about Christ in your Book of Mormon)

All quotes are from Dallin H. Oaks, “Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ,” unless otherwise stated.

 “Our witness that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ has several different meanings. Some of these meanings are obvious, and well within the understanding of our children. Others are only evident to those who have searched the scriptures and pondered the wonders of eternal life.”

1.      When we are baptized in his name

a.      2 Ne. 31:13.take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism, 

b.      3 Nephi 27:1 were baptizing in the name of Jesus

c.       Mosiah 18:10 baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness

d.      “Persons who are baptized witness before the Church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.” (D&C 20:37; see also 2 Ne. 31:13; Moro. 6:3.) When we partake of the sacrament, we renew this covenant and all the other covenants we made in the waters of baptism. (See Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation.)

2.      When we belong to his Church

a.      As a second obvious meaning, we take upon us our Savior’s name when we become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By his commandment, this church bears his name. (See D&C 115:4; 3 Ne. 27:7–8.) Every member, young and old, is a member of the “household of God.” (Eph. 2:19.) As true believers in Christ, as Christians, we have gladly taken his name upon us. (See Alma 46:15.) As King Benjamin taught his people, “Because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you.” (Mosiah 5:7; see also Alma 5:14; Alma 36:23–26.)

3.      When we profess our belief in him

a.      We also take upon us the name of Jesus Christ whenever we publicly proclaim our belief in him. Each of us has many opportunities to proclaim our belief to friends and neighbors, fellow workers, and casual acquaintances. As the Apostle Peter taught the Saints of his day, we should “sanctify the Lord God in [our] hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh [us] a reason of the hope that is in [us].” (1 Pet. 3:15.) In this, we keep the modern commandment: “Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness.” (D&C 18:21.)

4.      When we do the work of his kingdom.

a.      A third meaning appeals to the understanding of those mature enough to know that a follower of Christ is obligated to serve him. Many scriptural references to the name of the Lord seem to be references to the work of his kingdom. Thus, when Peter and the other Apostles were beaten, they rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” (Acts 5:41.) Paul wrote certain members who had ministered to the Saints that the Lord would not forget the labor of love they had “shewed toward his name.” (Heb. 6:10.) According to this meaning, by witnessing our willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, we signify our willingness to do the work of his kingdom.

There are other meanings as well, deeper meanings that the more mature members of the Church should understand and ponder as he or she partakes of the sacrament.

It is significant that when we partake of the sacrament we do not witness that we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. We witness that we are willing to do so. (See D&C 20:77.) The fact that we only witness to our willingness suggests that something else must happen before we actually take that sacred name upon us in the most important sense.

What future event or events could this covenant contemplate? The scriptures suggest two sacred possibilities, one concerning the authority of God, especially as exercised in the temples, and the other—closely related—concerning exaltation in the celestial kingdom.

5.      Using the authority of God, especially as exercised in the temples

a.      From Sinai came the commandment, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” (Ex. 20:7, Deut. 5:11.) Latter-day revelation equates this with using the name of God without authority. The Lord declares in a modern revelation, for “many there be who … use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority.” (D&C 63:61–62.)

b.      The Old Testament contains scores of references to the name of the Lord in a context where it clearly means the authority of the Lord. Most of these references have to do with the temple.

c.       Similarly, in modern revelations the Lord refers to temples as houses built “unto my holy name.” (D&C 124:39; D&C 105:33; D&C 109:2–5.) In the inspired dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith asked the Lord for a blessing upon “thy people upon whom thy name shall be put in this house.” (D&C 109:26.)

d.      All of these references to ancient and modern temples as houses for “the name” of the Lord obviously involve something far more significant than a mere inscription of his sacred name on the structure. The scriptures speak of the Lord’s putting his name in a temple because he gives authority for his name to be used in the sacred ordinances of that house. That is the meaning of the Prophet’s reference to the Lord’s putting his name upon his people in that holy house. (See D&C 109:26.)

e.      Willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ can therefore be understood as willingness to take upon us the authority of Jesus Christ. According to this meaning, by partaking of the sacrament we witness our willingness to participate in the sacred ordinances of the temple and to receive the highest blessings available through the name and by the authority of the Savior when he chooses to confer them upon us.

6.      Exaltation in the celestial kingdom.

a.      Another future event we may anticipate when we witness our willingness to take that sacred name upon us concerns our relationship to our Savior and the incomprehensible blessings available to those who will be called by his name at the last day.

b.      Mosiah 3:17;  “There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.”

c.       Acts 4:10, 12 Peter proclaimed “the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” to the leaders of the Jews, declaring that “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

d.      Alma taught that Jesus Christ, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, would come “to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.” (Alma 5:48; Alma 9:27; Alma 11:40; Hel. 14:2.)

e.      Mosiah 5:9 “Whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.”

f.        3 Ne. 27:5–6 “ye must take upon you the name of Christ. For by this name shall ye be called at the last day; And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.”

g.      Mosiah 26:24 “For behold, in my name are they called; and if they know me they shall come forth, and shall have a place eternally at my right hand.”

h.      Thus, those who exercise faith in the sacred name of Jesus Christ and repent of their sins and enter into his covenant and keep his commandments (see Mosiah 5:8) can lay claim on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Those who do so will be called by his name at the last day.

i.        In these great scriptures from the Book of Mormon, we learn that those who are qualified by faith and repentance and compliance with the laws and ordinances of the gospel will have their sins borne by the Lord Jesus Christ. In spiritual and figurative terms they will become the sons and daughters of Christ, heirs to his kingdom. These are they who will be called by his name in the last day.

j.        According to this meaning, when we witness our willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, we are signifying our commitment to do all that we can to achieve eternal life in the kingdom of our Father. We are expressing our candidacy—our determination to strive for—exaltation in the celestial kingdom.

How Else Do We Use His Name?

1.      General

a.      Mosiah 25:23 desirous to take upon them the name of Christ

b.      Mosiah 26:18 blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name

c.       3 Ne. 27:5 take upon you the name of Christ

d.      Ether 4:19 blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name,

e.      Moro. 4:3 (D&C 20:37) willing to take upon them the name of thy Son 

2.      Faith on His Name

a.      if they will not repent and believe in his name, 2 Ne. 9:24.

b.      heaven is open … to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, Hel. 3:28.

3.      Praying in His Name

a.      3 Nephi 27:2 And Jesus again ^ashowed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name

4.      His Church Should Be Called in His Name

a.      3 Nephi 27:3,5 And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the ^aname whereby we shall call this church;

b.      I shall give this people a name, Mosiah 1:11.

c.       this is the name that I said I should give, Mosiah 5:11.

The Trial of Wealth, Prosperity, and Ease and How to Counteract It

Helaman 12:2-3 Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold...; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God – yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity. And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with ... they will not remember him.

Elder David A. Bednar, “On the Lord’s Side: Lessons from Zion’s Camp,” July 2017 Ensign

The leaders of the Lord’s Church clearly have identified some of the collective or generational tests we can expect to encounter in our day and generation. As the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1977, President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) raised a prophetic voice of warning in a meeting of regional representatives. I now quote extensively from President Benson’s message and invite your focused attention on his timely counsel:

“Every generation has its tests and its chance to stand and prove itself. Would you like to know of one of our toughest tests? Hear the warning words of Brigham Young, ‘The worst fear I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution and be true. But my greatest fear is that they cannot stand wealth.’”

President Benson continues: “Ours then seems to be the toughest test of all, for the evils are more subtle, more clever. It all seems less menacing and it is harder to detect. While every test of righteousness represents a struggle, this particular test seems like no test at all, no struggle and so could be the most deceiving of all tests.

“Do you know what peace and prosperity can do to a people—It can put them to sleep. The Book of Mormon warned us of how Satan, in the last days, would lead us away carefully down to hell.

Elder Oaks – 2017 Mission President Seminar

“The most important thing I can say to you by way of introduction is that we are in an unusual and extremely important transition in our missionary work in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” he said.  This transition is due to several reasons:

1.      Convert baptisms have plateaued. “We must find new ways to do missionary work that will bring the increases in missionary baptisms of which we are capable.”

2.      Significant advancements in technology can accelerate the work, “but we haven’t yet learned to use them effectively.” These technological advances “are begging to be used in the work of the Lord and we are overdue in finding ways this can be done to advance the effectiveness of our missionary work.”

3.      There is a need to protect our youth from “the powerful worldly influences that detract from their spiritual preparation and from their missionary effectiveness.” The rising generation is subject to increasing temptations and distractions—including technological distractions, decreased opportunities for youth to learn how to work, and family disunity.

4.      The greatly increased diversity in mission circumstances is a final example of new complications in the supervising, calling, training, and oversight of missionaries, he said. The Church now has 422 missions that encompass more than 160 countries.

How to Counteract this Trial

Dale G. Renlund – Facebook June 27 at 11:39am · 

At the mission presidents’ seminar this week, the following quote was shared more than once.

President Boyd K. Packer famously said: “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior” (Oct. 1986 general conference).

As you evaluate your own behavior, have you ever asked yourself, “What specific doctrine, correctly understood, would motivate me to accept and make necessary changes in my life?”

Once you have identified that doctrine, then you have a clear indicator of where your personal scripture study should effectively focus. Then your increased understanding can lead you to necessary behavior modifications.

For missionaries or any of us who want to see a loved one make necessary changes in their lives, the added step to this process is once you correctly understand the doctrine, then you carefully, clearly, and lovingly teach that doctrine.

Elder Robert D. Hales, “Coming to Ourselves: The Sacrament, the Temple, and Sacrifice in Service,” April 2012

As our spiritual desires increase, we become spiritually self-reliant. How, then, do we help others, ourselves, and our families increase our desires to follow the Savior and live His gospel? How do we strengthen our desires to repent, become worthy, and endure to the end? How do we help our youth and young adults let these desires work in them until they are converted and become true “saint[s] through the atonement of Christ”?3

We become converted and spiritually self-reliant as we prayerfully live our covenants—through worthily partaking of the sacrament, being worthy of a temple recommend, and sacrificing to serve others.

Helaman 3:29 We see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked.

Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into our Lives - President Russell M. Nelson’s Challenge

Related Posts:
Promises of Daily Reading the Book of Mormon as Given by Prophets and Apostles in General Conference

Recently the Prophets and Apostles Have Emphasized that We Should Study “The Living Christ.”

Back in January, President Nelson challenged the young adults to learn more about the Savior by reading the scriptures which refer to Jesus Christ as found in the Topical Guide. So, I bought a new set of paperback scriptures and I started President Nelson’s challenge for myself. I plan to put a small check mark next to each scripture in Jesus Christ as found in the Topical Guide. I feel like I learn more while studying scriptural topics if I color-code the verses I study. Here is what I hope to learn as I read:

Jesus Christ in the Scriptures

·         Attributes of Christ

o   Faith, Hope, Charity, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, Obedience, Leadership & Teaching, Discernment

·         The Strengthening aspect of Jesus’ Atonement (Grace)

·         The Redeeming aspect of Jesus’ Atonement

·         Christ’s doctrines, laws, and parables

·         The Life of the Savior

·         Symbolism & Prophecies, His Mission, Creator, Antemortal

·         Christ’s Second Coming

·         Divine Sonship, power & authority, titles of Jesus Christ

·         Rejecting the Savior

·         How we can draw the power of Jesus Christ into our lives .

 (1)  We begin by learning about Him.

 (2)  We choose to have faith in Him and follow Him.

 (3)  We make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision.

 (4)  We reach up to Him in faith.

Update: After President Nelson's April General Conference talk, I also wanted to mark in my scriptures the four keys of drawing the power of Jesus Christ into my life, as taught by President Nelson. I have learned for myself over the years that President Benson's promise is true: “There is a power in the Book [of Mormon] which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book.” So my gospel study time begins each day with at least 10 minutes in the Book of Mormon, and then I move to other scriptures or study topics. 

To accommodate this 10 minutes in the Book of Mormon, I began reading in First Nephi and I am marking each of the colored topics listed above, including the four keys to drawing the power of Jesus Christ into my life. This takes more pondering to consider if a verse fits those four keys.

President Russell M. Nelson, "Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives Today," April 2017

 I would like to speak about how we can draw into our lives the power of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

(1)    We begin by learning about Him. 

a.      The more we know about the Savior’s ministry and mission7—the more we understand His doctrine8 and what He did for us—the more we know that He can provide the power that we need for our lives.

b.      Earlier this year, I asked the young adults of the Church to consecrate a portion of their time each week to study everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the standard works.9 I invited them to let the scriptural citations about Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide become their personal core curriculum. 

c.       I read and underlined every verse cited about Jesus Christ, as listed under the main heading and the 57 subtitles in the Topical Guide. When I finished that exciting exercise, my wife asked me what impact it had on me. I told her, “I am a different man!”

d.      It is doctrinally incomplete to speak of the Lord’s atoning sacrifice by shortcut phrases, such as “the Atonement” or “the enabling power of the Atonement” or “applying the Atonement” or “being strengthened by the Atonement.” The Savior’s atoning sacrifice—the central act of all human history—is best understood and appreciated when we expressly and clearly connect it to Him.

(2)    We choose to have faith in Him and follow Him.

a.      As we invest time in learning about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice, we are drawn to participate in another key element to accessing His power: we choose to have faith in Him and follow Him.

b.      True disciples of Jesus Christ are willing to stand out, speak up, and be different from the people of the world.

c.       They are undaunted, devoted, and courageous.

d.      There is nothing easy or automatic about becoming such powerful disciples. Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel.

e.      It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought.15 But when we do, our doubts and fears flee.16

f.        Faith in Jesus Christ propels us to do things we otherwise would not do. Faith that motivates us to action gives us more access to His power.

(3)    Make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision. 

a.      Our covenants bind us to Him and give us godly power.

b.      Covenant-keeping men and women seek for ways to keep themselves unspotted from the world so there will be nothing blocking their access to the Savior’s power. 

(4)    Reach up to Him in faith. 

a.      Such reaching requires diligent, focused effort.

b.      Many of us have cried out from the depths of our hearts a variation of this woman’s words: “If I could spiritually stretch enough to draw the Savior’s power into my life, I would know how to handle my heart-wrenching situation. I would know what to do. And I would have the power to do it.”

c.       When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours.

d.      When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.21

e.      When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you have ever done before, then His power will flow into you.

f.        And then you will understand the deep meaning of words we sing in the hymn “The Spirit of God”:

The Lord is extending the Saints’ understanding. …

The knowledge and power of God are expanding;

The veil o’er the earth is beginning to burst.

President Russell M. Nelson’s Challenge from the 2017 Devotional for Young Adults

·         Study everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the Old Testament.

·         Study His laws as recorded in the New Testament.

·         Study His doctrine as recorded in the Book of Mormon.

·         Study His words as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants.

From LDS.org Blog:   President Russell M. Nelson’s Challenge to Study About the Savior

I promised those listening that if they would proceed to learn all they can about Jesus Christ, their love for Him and for God’s laws would grow beyond what they could currently imagine.

On December 1, 2016, I obtained a new set of scriptures and proceeded to begin the same assignment that I would later extend to young adults in January. When I finished the assignment six weeks later, I had looked up and marked more than 2,200 citations from the four books of scripture.

As I mentioned at the devotional, in a coming day, you will present yourself before the Savior. You will be overwhelmed to the point of tears to be in His holy presence. You will thank Him for strengthening you to do the impossible, for turning your weaknesses into strengths, and for making it possible for you to live with Him and your family forever. His identity, His Atonement, and His attributes will become personal and real to you.