Elder Paul B. Pieper of the Seventy said in October 2018 conference: “Our Heavenly Father wants to make it absolutely clear that the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, is not simply one name among many. The Savior’s name has singular and essential power. It is the only name by which salvation is possible. By emphasizing this truth in every dispensation, our loving Father assures all of His children that there is a way back to Him. But having a sure way available does not mean that our return is automatically assured. God tells us that our action is required: “Wherefore, all men [and women] must take upon them the name which is given of the Father.”5
In order to access the saving power that comes only through the name of Christ, we must “humble [ourselves] before God … and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits … and [be] willing to take upon [us] the name of Jesus Christ” and thereby qualify, like my eight-year-old friends, to “be received by baptism into his church.”6
All who sincerely desire to take the Savior’s name upon them must qualify for and receive the ordinance of baptism as a physical witness to God of their decision.7 (below) But baptism is just the beginning.
The word take is not passive. It is an action word with multiple definitions. 8 (below) Likewise, our commitment to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ requires action and has multiple dimensions.
For example, one meaning of the word take is to partake of or receive into one’s body, such as when we take a drink. By taking upon ourselves the name of Christ, we commit to take His teachings, His characteristics, and ultimately His love deep into our beings so that they become part of who we are. Thus the importance of President Russell M. Nelson’s invitation to the young adults to “prayerfully and vigorously [seek] to understand what each of [the Savior’s] various titles and names means personally for [them]” 9 and to feast on the words of Christ in the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. 10
Another meaning of the word take is to accept a person in a particular role or embrace the truthfulness of an idea or principle. When we take upon us the name of Christ, we accept Him as our Savior and continually embrace His teachings as the guide for our lives. In every meaningful decision we make, we can take His gospel to be true and obediently live it with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength.
The word take can also mean to align oneself with a name or a cause. Most of us have had the experience of taking on responsibility at work or taking up a cause or a movement. When we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, we take upon us the responsibilities of a true disciple, we advocate His cause, and we “stand as witnesses of [Him] at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in.”11 President Nelson has called upon “every young woman and every young man … to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel.”12 And all of us are grateful to take up the prophetic call to profess the name of His restored Church as revealed by the Savior Himself: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.13
In the process of taking the Savior’s name upon us, we must understand that the cause of Christ and of His Church are one and the same. They cannot be separated. Similarly, our personal discipleship to the Savior and active membership in His Church are also inseparable. If we falter in our commitment to one, our commitment to the other will be diminished, as surely as night follows day.
Some are reluctant to assume the name of Jesus Christ and His cause because they regard it to be unduly narrow, limiting, and confining. In reality, taking upon us the name of Christ is both liberating and enlarging. It awakens the desire we felt when we accepted God’s plan through faith in the Savior. With this desire alive in our hearts, we can discover the real purpose of our divinely given gifts and talents, experience His empowering love, and grow in our concern for the welfare of others. As we take upon us the Savior’s name, we truly lay hold upon every good thing and become like Him.14
To access Elder Pieper’s complete talk, click… ‘All Must Take upon Them the Name Given of the Father’
7.President Dallin H. Oaks has taught: “We take upon us our Savior’s name when we become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. … As true believers in Christ, as Christians, we have gladly taken his name upon us” (“Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ,” 80).
8. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary lists 20 meanings of the transitive form of the verb take, which is the form in which the verb is used in the phrase “take upon us the name of Jesus Christ” (see merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take).
