THE POWER OF A NAME

 

I am pretty certain that Mormon admired Captain Moroni immensely, for how else could he have written that monumental description of him in which he said ‘if all men were like Moroni, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men’ (Alma 48:17). I am equally certain that this admiration extended to the naming of his son. I think Mormon hoped in his heart that his son would become a valiant man like the one he admired. Moroni, the son of Mormon, was a valiant man, in every way, like his predecessor.

Helaman, the son of Helaman, named his two sons Nephi and Lehi. And this is the reason that he gave: “Behold, my sons, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem….so that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and… remember their works and….ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good” (Helaman 5:6). This is the most Helaman hoped for, that his sons would be good. Nephi and Lehi did remember and they far outweighed their father’s expectation (v14). They devoted themselves to preaching the word, made many converts amongst the dissenters (v 17), baptised 8,000 Lamanites in and round about the land of Zarahemla (v 18,19), courageously proceeded to the land of Nephi, where they were imprisoned, divinely rescued and ministered to by angels (v 48). Following their ministry, the Lamanites became a more righteous people than the Nephites (Helaman 6:1).

As Church members, we are more commonly known as Mormons.  Some members of the Church resent being called Mormons because more often than not, this name overshadows the fact that we are Christians to the rest of the world.  However, the rest of the world doesn't know Mormon like we know him. In my opinion Mormon was one of the most Christ-like people to have ever graced this earth. For that reason, being called Mormon to me is just about the same as being called a Christian.  

When President Hinckley was a missionary in England he asked one of his associates how they could get people, including the members, to speak of the Church by its proper name. His associate answered that they couldn’t do it because the word Mormon was too deeply engrained and too easy to say. He said he tried and gave up because he was not ashamed of the nickname Mormon. He then added: “If there is any name that is totally honourable in its derivation it is the name Mormon. And so, when someone asks me about it and what it means, I quietly say – Mormon means more good” (The Prophet Joseph Smith first said this in 1843: Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp 299-300). President Hinckley then went on to pay homage to the prophet Mormon, to his greatness and his goodness and said that ‘while he sometimes regrets that people do not call this church by its proper name, he was happy that the nickname they use is one of great honour made so by a remarkable man and a book which gives an unmatched testimony concerning the Redeemer of the world’ (Gordon B. Hinckley, Mormon Should Mean ‘More Good’, GC October 1990)

In Mosiah 5:7-12, the word 'name' occurs 11 times.  These particular scriptures contain King Benjamin's address to his people who were willing to take upon themselves the name of Christ. By virtue of our baptismal covenant we become Christ's sons and daughters and thereby we take upon ourselves His name, much like we take upon ourselves our earthly father's name when we are born into mortality.  At baptism, however, Christ becomes our spiritual father and we thereby become Christ-ians. What we do with Christ's name speaks volumes about our integrity and our character.

The Saviour will hold us responsible for His name when we face Him at the judgment bar.  As his children, it is our duty to bring honour and glory to his name through the life that we live.  For this He will exalt us so that we can have all that He has and be all that He is.

When in clouds of heaven He appears,

And I stand in the shadow of His frame,

I want to hear the Saviour say:

I love what you have done with my name! 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: With All Thy Heart by Yongsung Kim)

THE NAME BY WHICH WE ARE KNOWN

 

Early this year I heard a really good talk given at Church by one of the women of my new Ward but her name escaped me when I recounted the experience to a friend of mine. My friend was intrigued about this sister so I did my best to describe her: shoulder length brown wavy hair, glasses. How many people do you know that fit that description? Could you guess who I was talking about? Neither did my friend, even though she knows everyone in our Ward. In the end we had to ask someone else who had witnessed the talk to reveal the name of this person.

 

Imagine if we had no names. Imagine if we were known only by our physical description. What a chaotic world that would be. Being known by a name keeps order in our society. Names are very significant in many cultures and naming a child upon birth is a matter worthy of thoughtful consideration. The hope is that the child will grow up to fill the stature of its given name. Both Mary and Joseph were instructed to give the Saviour  the name of ‘Jesus’ (Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31) which is the Greek form of the Hebrew and Aramaic name of Yeshua which means ‘the Lord is Salvation’. But this is just one of the names He is known by. I am always on the look-out for His names when I am reading the scriptures. So far I have recorded 51 but I am sure there is more.

 

When we are born into this world, we take upon ourselves our father’s name. When we are spiritually born through baptism,  we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. We become CHRISTians. King Benjamin explained this means that we become ‘the children of Christ’. He mentions the importance of having Christ’s name 11 times in 6 verses of Mosiah 5. Why is this important? Because, just as we are genetically predisposed to inherit physical and mental traits of our earthly fathers, so we, when we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, and live his teachings, inherit His spiritual qualities. In other words, we become like Him by the virtue of our newly acquired parental bond (Moroni 7:48). This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘you’re just like your father’……Alma took this a step further when he talked about having ‘His image in our countenance’ (Alma 5:14).

 

When I was newly baptised at the tender age of 18,  I had a very significant dream. I was estranged from my parents because I had joined the Church. As you can imagine this was very hard for me to bear. One night I dreamt that I was in a high building with my parents when there arose a lot of commotion on the street and we hurried down to see what was happening. As we reached the ground, a white matter fell on top of us akin to snow. We started burrowing upwards but I was the only one who reached the top. As I did so,  I saw whiteness everywhere that covered everything. I looked to my right and I saw the Saviour coming towards me with His arms outstretched saying: ‘Where are my children?’. I knew then I belonged to Him as only a child could belong to a parent. 

 

In Jeremiah 31:9, the Saviour says ‘…I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn’. 

We are modern day Israel. We are the children of the covenant, we are the children of promise, the redeemed, the beloved, the cherished; His peculiar treasure, we are the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:9,10; Zechariah 2:8; Psalm 17:8); we are the jewel in the bosom of our God. May we forever be grateful to be known by His holy name.

-      - Cathryne Allen,  (Art: David Bowman)