Each week as we take the sacrament, we make specific covenants. One of those covenants is that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
What does this covenant mean? How can we live this covenant on a daily basis?
It could be said that the whole of the gospel of Jesus Christ revolves around this covenant. The purpose of this post is not to discuss every possible implication, but to discuss broad principles that might better help us to understand the meaning of this important covenant.
I have come to believe that the covenants we make in the sacrament can act as filters through which we should govern all our choices, thoughts, emotions, and desires. As we ponder the covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, we should think about how we can live this covenant day by day, hour by hour, even minute by minute.
The unity of the Godhead as a pattern
In a prior post, I have spoken of the Nature of God. In that post, I discussed a doctrinal exposition issued by the First Presidency in 1916, in which they discussed various uses of the term “Father” as applied to Jesus Christ. In other words, Jesus Christ has acted under the name “Father.” One example is found in the Lord’s appearance to the Brother of Jared, when he said, “Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.”1
As discussed in my prior post, Jesus Christ has authority from the Father, enabling him to act under the Father’s direction and using the Father’s name. This can be a pattern for us to understand what it means for us to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
In his great intercessory prayer, the Savior said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”2 He then prays for his disciples, and for all those who listen to his disciples, saying, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.”3
The Father and the Son are unified, such that the Son has authority from the Father and is authorized to act in the Father’s name. And so, by performing the atonement, Jesus Christ has prayed that we may be one with him as he is one with the Father. The relationship between the Father and the Son can be a pattern for what it means for us to be willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
As we ponder the covenant to be willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, couldn’t this be interpreted as a covenant to do all we can to come to know Christ? Couldn’t this mean that we will work to become unified with him, as he is unified with the Father? Certainly, this is an overarching principle that should govern everything we do, as the word “atonement” literally means “the setting ‘at one’ of those who have been estranged and denotes the reconciliation of man to God.”4 As we ponder the covenant that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, couldn’t this mean that we will work to reconcile ourselves to God, and become one with him through the atonement of Jesus Christ?
Christ’s name is representative of his authority
Just as the Son has authority to act on behalf of the Father, so we can be authorized to act in the name of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the best example of this is when young men and women become missionaries.
The Preach My Gospel, a guide to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, explains the authority given to missionaries:
“You are called and set apart to ‘[proclaim] glad tidings of great joy, even the everlasting gospel’ (Doctrine and Covenants 79:1). Like the sons of Mosiah, you can teach with the authority and power of God (see Alma 17:2–3).
“Under Christ’s direction, the authority to preach the gospel was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. When you were set apart as a missionary, you received this authority. With it comes the right, privilege, and responsibility to represent the Lord and teach His gospel.
“This authority includes a responsibility to live worthy of your calling. Take your setting apart literally. Stay away from sin and from anything that is crude or vulgar. Stay away from the ways and thinking of the world. Follow the standards in Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ. As the Lord’s representative, be ‘an example of the believers’ (1 Timothy 4:12). Honor the name of Jesus Christ by your actions and words.”5
When missionaries are called and set apart, both men and women are set apart and given authority as missionaries. They receive nametags that they are asked to wear, which has their name, and the name of the Church. Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson counseled missionaries at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah to seek revelation, recognize how the Spirit speaks to them, embrace changes in mission life and offer a “mighty change” of heart to the Lord, experience the joy of daily repentance, and do the spiritual work with the faith to seek miracles. She then said, “perhaps you think I have addressed unrelated topics. But there is someone that ties this all together. It is our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose name you wear on your chest. I testify that He lives and loves you.”6
Missionaries wear the name of Jesus Christ on their chests. That is literal and figurative. Their nametages have Christ’s name on them. But they also take his name upon them as they carry with them his authority to share his gospel message.
Can the covenant that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ mean that we will be willing to receive his authority? Does it mean that we will accept church callings when extended? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims that God’s priesthood authority was restored to the earth through Joseph Smith, and through an unbroken chain, that authority and the keys of the priesthood are held by the current president of the Church, who is now President Russell M. Nelson. If being willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ means that we will be willing to receive that authority, doesn’t it mean we will sustain our leaders as they exercise Christ’s authority?
Using the correct name of the Church
President Russell M. Nelson has asked us to use the correct name of the Church. His teachings on that subject give us great insight into the covenant that we make to be willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ:
“What’s in a name or, in this case, a nickname? When it comes to nicknames of the Church, such as the ‘LDS Church,’ the ‘Mormon Church,’ or the ‘Church of the Latter-day Saints,’ the most important thing in those names is the absence of the Savior’s name. To remove the Lord’s name from the Lord’s Church is a major victory for Satan. When we discard the Savior’s name, we are subtly disregarding all that Jesus Christ did for us—even His Atonement. . . .
“Every Sunday as we worthily partake of the sacrament, we make anew our sacred promise to our Heavenly Father that we are willing to take upon us the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. We promise to follow Him, repent, keep His commandments, and always remember Him.
“When we omit His name from His Church, we are inadvertently removing Him as the central focus of our lives.
“Taking the Savior’s name upon us includes declaring and witnessing to others—through our actions and our words—that Jesus is the Christ. Have we been so afraid to offend someone who called us ‘Mormons’ that we have failed to defend the Savior Himself, to stand up for Him even in the name by which His Church is called?
“If we as a people and as individuals are to have access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ—to cleanse and heal us, to strengthen and magnify us, and ultimately to exalt us—we must clearly acknowledge Him as the source of that power. We can begin by calling His Church by the name He decreed. . . .
“If someone should ask, ‘Are you a Mormon?’ you could reply, ‘If you are asking if I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, yes, I am!’
“If someone asks, ‘Are you a Latter-day Saint?’ you might respond, ‘Yes, I am. I believe in Jesus Christ and am a member of His restored Church.’
“My dear brothers and sisters, I promise you that if we will do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord’s Church, He whose Church this is will pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints, the likes of which we have never seen. We will have the knowledge and power of God to help us take the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.
“So, what’s in a name? When it comes to the name of the Lord’s Church, the answer is ‘Everything!’ Jesus Christ directed us to call the Church by His name because it is His Church, filled with His power.”7
Using the correct name of the Church, which contains the name of Jesus Christ, is a clear example of how we can demonstrate our willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. Doesn’t it mean that we will be bold in proclaiming that we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Doesn’t it mean that we will proclaim ourselves to be disciples of Christ?8 Doesn’t it mean that we will willingly sacrifice and live in a way that we will “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places”?9
There are many ways to live this covenant
As we think of this covenant as a principle that can guide our actions day by day, there are many ways we can live this covenant. For example, the Savior taught that we must “always pray unto the Father in my name.”10 Therefore, couldn’t we say that when we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, we are living the covenant that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ?
President Dallin H. Oaks has spoken many times about the sacrament and the covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. In 1985, he taught: “[O]ur willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ affirms our commitment to do all that we can to be counted among those whom he will choose to stand at his right hand and be called by his name at the last day. In this sacred sense, our witness that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ constitutes our declaration of candidacy for exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Exaltation is eternal life, ‘the greatest of all the gifts of God.'”11
We can become the children of Christ through his atonement
When we take the sacrament, we “witness” that we are “willing” to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. As we consider this covenant as a principle, we can ponder how to live this covenant daily. It means that we will work to become one with Christ, as he is one with the Father. This will require that we do all we can to come unto Christ and receive the blessings of his atonement. It means that we are willing to both acknowledge and receive the authority of Jesus Christ, by sustaining his chosen leaders and accepting callings and assignments when extended to us.
The covenant that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ means that we will act in a way that represents him day by day. In everything we do, we can hold ourselves out as disciples of Christ. The way we act around others, the way we talk to others, our words on social media, the way we act in our families, and all things we do and are should be representative of Christ. We should “stand as witnesses of him” at all times, in all things, and in all places.
By being willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, we are willing to be born again, and to become his sons and his daughters through his atonement: “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; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.”12
References
- Ether 3:14. ↩︎
- John 17:3. ↩︎
- John 17:20-22. ↩︎
- Bible Dictionary, “Atonement,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/atonement?lang=eng&id=p1#p1. ↩︎
- Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 3, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/preach-my-gospel-2023/03-chapter-1?lang=eng&id=p13-p16#p13 ↩︎
- Trent Toone, “President Camille N. Johnson Shares 5 Tips From Her Mission Experiences,” Church News, August 31, 2022, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-camille-n-johnson-shares-5-tips-from-mission-experiences. ↩︎
- President Russell M. Nelson, “The Correct Name of the Church,” Ensign, November 2018, 87-89, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2018/11/sunday-morning-session/the-correct-name-of-the-church?lang=eng&id=title1#title1. ↩︎
- 3 Nephi 5:13. ↩︎
- Mosiah 18:9. ↩︎
- 3 Nephi 18:19. ↩︎
- Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 1985, 83, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1985/05/taking-upon-us-the-name-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng&id=p37#p37. ↩︎
- Mosiah 5:7. ↩︎