From his book “Talking with God”, Robert L. Millet writes:
There is a name above every other name that is named on earth or in heaven. It is the name of One sent to bring salvation, the name of one who paid an infinite price to ransom us from Satan. It is the blessed name of Jesus Christ. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,”Paul wrote on another occasion, “of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named. (Ephesians 3:14-15)
To fully appreciate what it means to do all things in the name of Jesus, including to pray in his name, we must grasp and acknowledge our spiritual plight. Because of the fall of our first parents, physical death entered into the world. Mortality itself implies that each of us is born and that each of us in time will face death, which is separation from the presence of God and alienation from things of righteousness (Alma 12:16; 42:9; Helaman 14:18). It is true that each of us is created in the likeness of God, but through the fall, that likeness has been marred. It must be reshaped. The natural man, unredeemed, unregenerate, and spiritually stillborn—must be resuscitated (Mosiah 3:19).
The natural man does not receive or perceive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him (1 Corinthians 2:14). He works against the plan of God, against his own best interests (Alma 41:10). Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature but also needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms.”1 Because of the fall we are alienated from the family of God; in a very real sense we are nameless and without family. To use the graphic language of the King James Version, we are bastards and not sons” (Hebrews 12:8), or “illegitimate and not sons” (New King James Version).
Consequently we must be born again. We must, through Spiritual transformation, be changed from a carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness (Mosiah 27:24-26); we must be redeemed, purchased, bought back from Satan, to whom we have sold ourselves through sin. (Isaiah 50:1). As John the Beloved explained, those who receive Christ are given the power to be called the sons and daughters of God (John 1:12; compare 1 John 3:1-2). Those born of the Spirit reenter the family of God and take upon them the name of Christ, the only name by which salvation can come (Acts 4:12; Mosiah 3:17). They are expected to take upon them that holy name, to become Christians, followers of Christ, in word and deed. They are expected to bear and wear the name with fidelity and devotion, so as never to bring disrespect upon their family name. They are counseled to remember who they are—and Whose they are—and to act accordingly.
Jesus is our Lord and Savior, our Redeemer from death and hell and endless torment. He is our mediator with the Father, our Intercessor (1 Timothy 2:5-6). He pleads our cause in the courts of glory. God, through Christ, reconciles the world to himself. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). Accordingly, Jesus is our way to the Father (John 14:6). Jesus did what no human being was able to do, not the greatest or highest apostle: He kept the law of God perfectly and remained without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Peter 2:21-22). He never took a mortal detour. He never took a backwards step. Thus in His unique position, by virtue of his holiness and merits, he is able to succor (“to run to help”) those who find themselves burdened by sin and its consequences. And so it is that the Master taught his disciples to pray to the Father in the name of the Son (John 14;13; 15:16, Colossians 3:17; 3 Nephi 18:20). ~~ Robert L Millet, Talking with God (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010) p. 23-25 (Continued!)
