I read an article this week from the Ensign about taking the name of Christ upon us. It reminded me of President Uchdorft's talk this last General Conference, "Waiting on the Road to Damascus." It was an amazing talk that helped me to re-evaluate myself and to re-commit myself daily by taking the name of Christ upon me. There are a few points President Uchdorft shares with us to help us to continue to rely on our Savior and being the example He wants us to be! He says, "Those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle—one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience, we see that the Savior had indeed come to be with us—not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed."The more we learn of Christ, the more we come to know of Him personally and to know how we can take His name upon us. So "What does it mean to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ?" Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles helps answer this question:
- As we take the sacrament, we can willingly renew the covenant we made at baptism--to remember the Lord and keep His commandments.
- We can proclaim our belief in Him to others.
- We can serve Him by doing the work of His kingdom.
As we diligently seek to know of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord will reveal to us what things we can do to be more Christ like. When we follow the promptings of the Spirit and respond, as Saul did on his road to Damascus, "Lord what wilt thou have me do?" we can obtain the knowledge and wisdom that we need to fulfill our purpose as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. This experience of a missionary has touched me in so many ways and has motivated me to do better and recommit each day to take the name of Christ upon me.
"A few weeks into my mission, I began to feel lonely and a bit homesick. I loved being a missionary, but the work was much harder than I had anticipated. I missed my friends, my family, and all the familiar things I'd left back home. During my personal study one morning, I sat quietly, turning my missionary name tag over and over in my hands, thinking about how I longed for familiarity. I wished I could just hear somebody call me by my first name. As I looked at my name tag, I noticed that although my first name was absent from the tag, I saw my family name, the name of the Church, and the name of the Savior printed on it. Suddenly I recognized something that changed both my outlook and my attitude. I realized that as a missionary I wasn't there to represent myself. Instead I was serving to represent my family back home and, most important, I was representing my Savior and His Church."
A name tag or not, we are all disciples of Christ when we accept Him and His gospel. The promises that we make at our baptism and the temple are real and most important. Taking the name of Christ upon us we will feel more of His love, our testimony will be strengthened, and you will find peace and joy in your lives. I know that Christ lives and He is my Savior. He loves you and me. He is the great exemplar and as we take His name upon us, we will be filled with His great love. As King Benjamin taught, "I would that Christ...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." (Mosiah 5:8-9) Finally, our 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.” (D&C 14:7.)
