Taking the Saviors Name upon us as we partake of the sacrament and what
this means
Introduction
Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon
his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
During this
month every year, individuals in society put down their pitchforks of politics
and controversy and greet each other with warm hugs and friendship. We sing
carols of joy and happiness, exchange gifts to one another and forget our
differences as we enjoy the spirit of Christmas. During this unique time of
year we commemorate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is a time of
meditation, of gratitude and commitment.
In the 2011
Christmas Devotional, President Monson declared, “There is no better time than
now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the
principles taught by Jesus Christ. Because He came to earth, we have a perfect
example to follow. As we strive to become more like Him, we will have joy and
happiness in our lives and peace each day of the year. It is His example which,
if followed, stirs within us more kindness and love, more respect and concern
for others.”
I want you to
imagine being one of the shepherds or wise men who traveled across the lands to
behold the Christ child, “wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
Imagine the joy you felt as you returned to your home land, “glorifying and
praising God for all the things that [you] had heard and seen, as it was told
unto [you].”How marvelous the experience, how joyful your testimony!
President
Uchtdorf, in the same devotional quoted from previously, stated, “Christmas and
some of the cherished traditions of the season remind us that we, like the Wise
Men of old, should seek the Christ and lay before Him the most precious of
gifts:” Now please take note the gifts that he points out here: “a broken heart
and a contrite spirit. We should offer Him our love. We should give Him our
willingness to take upon ourselves His name and walk in the path of
discipleship. We should promise to remember Him always, to emulate His example,
and to go about doing good”.
The meaning of taking His name upon us
One of these
gifts is our “willingness to take upon ourselves His name”. What exactly does
that mean, and how do we do this? The scripture you may have first thought of
was just recently read during the blessing of the Sacrament. In D&C 20: 77
one part of the prayer for the bread reads, “that they may eat in remembrance
of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that
they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son…”
Something
interesting I hadn’t noticed until preparing this talk was the specific phrase
“willing” to take upon them. Dallin H. Oaks expanded on this in the April 1989
Ensign, stating, “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. 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.” That someone else, he later clarifies is our “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.”
This concept isn’t new to just the Latter-day
Saints. In Alma 46: 15 it reads, “And those who did belong to the church
were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took
upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were
called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.”
Some verses in Mosiah
5 state,
“And it shall come to
pass that 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.
10. And now it shall come
to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be
called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on
the left hand of God.
12. I say unto you, I would that
ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that
ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice
by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.
John Tanner in
the same Ensign Article quoted previously, states, “We who have taken upon
ourselves the name of Christ, first at baptism and then weekly with the
sacrament, may also be worthy to be embraced by the Lord. But first we will
have to make an accounting of what we have done with his name, the only name
under heaven through which salvation comes.”
How we take His name upon us
Christmas time
is a great opportunity to take His name upon us! The LDS Youth article about
covenant keeping gives us many examples of ways to do this! They present a list
of ideas, including: “Find[ing] opportunities to serve others for Him, Fulfill[ing]
your callings and Church assignments, Ponder[ing] what it means to be a
Christian and mak[ing] your faith known by sharing your testimony with friends
and family and posting gospel-related messages on social media.”
Finding service
opportunities is one of the more popular ways we can take His name upon us. A
well-known phrase in Matthew 25:40 declares, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me.” I wish to further emphasize the significance of this concept.
One issue I have
noticed in the church is this idea that the type of calling we have represents
how righteous or prepared we are, or how much the Lord loves us vs others. Your
calling may seem insignificant, like the librarian or relief society greeter. This
thought process can be heard in some Conference talks that share amazing
stories of how someone converted to the church, but then emphasizes how they
later got married and became a Bishop or Stake President. I am not discrediting those in leadership
callings at all, because as Elder Wong in the November 2014 General Conference
stated, “In order to assist the Savior, we have to work together in unity and
in harmony. Everyone, every position, and every calling is important. We have
to be united in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
But what I am saying is that we should not judge each
other based off of our callings in the Church. My friend [name removed], a
return missionary, suggested, “I always believe God does things for more than
one reason. Yes, we are given certain callings because we need to learn. But I
also believe that no matter what, someone else can learn from us in our
callings. No matter how "good" or "bad" you do it.
...always do your best of course, but no matter the total outcome, people are
effected. Lives are touched. That is how God works.”
So the next time
someone says “oh, you’re the Assistant
Librarian?” point them to Sister Bonnie Oscarson’s talk in the 2014 Christmas
Devotional, where she boldly stated, “The Savior of the world did not come to
earth at that time with a great show of power and majesty—He came as a helpless
baby. This Christ child was certainly one of “the greatest forces in the
world,” and yet He was born in a simple stable with straw in a manger for His
bed. “Through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants
thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.” And yet, according to
tradition, He shared His birthplace with sheep and oxen. He would become the
Savior of all mankind, yet there was no room for His expectant mother and her
anxious husband in the inn. He is the Redeemer of us all, yet His first
visitors were humble shepherds”.
You can also
reference D&C 122: 8, which says “The Son of Man hath descended below them
all. Art thou greater than he?”
Sharing your
faith and beliefs on social media has been another popular way to take His name
upon us. We can see in the past decade members of the church including Lindsey
Stirling proclaiming their love for their Savior by using their talents on the
Internet. While most of us may never become a YouTube sensation, just remember,
if you have done “it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done
it unto me.”
I do not have
time to cover all the suggestions provided for us in great detail, but a few
others mentioned included “Mourn with those that mourn.”, “Have a determination
to serve Him to the end.”, “Stand as a witness.” and “Always remember Him.”
Staying faithful when others are not
After we witness
our willingness to take upon us His name, do we feel ashamed? President Monson
in the October 2011 Conference, warned “In Lehi’s vision of the tree of life,
found in 1 Nephi 8, Lehi sees, among others, those who hold to the iron
rod until they come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, which
we know is a representation of the love of God. And then, sadly, after they partake
of the fruit, some are ashamed because of those in the “great and spacious
building,” who represent the pride of the children of men, who are pointing
fingers at them and scoffing at them; and they fall away into forbidden paths
and are lost. What a powerful tool of the adversary is ridicule and
mockery! Again, brethren, do we have the courage to stand strong and firm in
the face of such difficult opposition”?
Matthew 6: 24 states: “No man
can serve two masters: for either he will hate the
one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Part of Mosiah
18: 9 reminds us that we need to, “stand as witnesses of God at all times and
in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death”.
Feeling a bit
worried about not being perfect enough to fulfill this expectation? Take
comfort in President Uchtdorf’s message in the 2011 Christmas devotional, where
after sharing a story of how he set his family’s living room curtains on fire,
he said, “We cannot offer Him the gift of perfection in all things because this
is a gift beyond our capacity to give—at least for now. The Lord does not
expect that we commit to move mountains. But He does require that we bring as
gifts our best efforts to move ourselves, one foot in front of the other,
walking in the ways He has prepared and taught”.
We may not be
able to do everything perfectly right now, but we can do our best, “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a
little and there a little” as taught in 2nd Nephi 28.
Conclusion
Brothers and Sisters, don’t
be a Scrooge, rejoice! Monson reminds us in the 2011 Christmas Devotional, “Because
He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence. Because He came, we know how
to reach out to those in trouble or distress, wherever they may be. Because He
came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again
because He came. Because He came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity
to gain eternal life.”
