2.57 Take Upon You the Name of Jesus Christ
Show Notes
Allen Roberds explores Doctrine and Covenants 18:21, reflecting on the profound meaning of what it truly means to "take upon you the name of Christ." This episode challenges listeners to actively consider how this sacred covenant impacts their daily lives, behaviors, and desires, encouraging a deeply personal application of this vital gospel principle.
Key Points
- The instruction to 'take upon you the name of Christ' from Doctrine and Covenants 18:21 is a foundational covenant for all followers of Jesus.
- Listeners are prompted to personally reflect on how bearing Christ's name influences their daily activities, time, conversations, and spare moments.
- The call to live by the name of Christ applies to individuals at every stage of life, from new parents nurturing their children to grandparents guiding their families.
- Actively embracing the name of Jesus Christ transforms one's behaviors, desires, thoughts, and conversations, aligning them with divine will.
- The Lord's counsel in D&C 18:21 is a direct command to 'go and do,' promising spiritual confirmation for those who sincerely strive to live by His name.
Go and do, my friends. And by doing so, you will have the Spirit of the Lord to confirm that the things you do to take upon you the name of Christ are holiness to him.
Episode Resources
Full Transcript
In Matthew 5.13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends.
Great to have you with me. Today, let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. I hope you're enjoying this week.
I love Doctrine and Covenants section 18. And so let's just keep rolling inside of it. I hope you've been able to do some of the activities and do some of the reflective pieces this week.
Today, I've got another one for you because Doctrine and Covenants 18 is not a passive section. So let's dive into it and see what we can reveal for us. Our verse for today is Doctrine and Covenants, section 18, verse 21.
Now before we get to verse 21, really what I'm looking at here is kind of verses 14 to 21. Very, very common verses inside of here. I just about picked you know 15 and 16 which are super common kind of missionary verses about the joy that comes when you're able to preach repentance and find someone that does repent and joins the gospel cause and how happy you're going to be together.
But really 21 kind of sums it up for me. And so let's read it and take a look at it. It says, take upon you the name of Christ and speak the truth in soberness.
Now remember, this counsel is given to Oliver and David and Joseph as the Church is just getting up and rolling. And yet, interestingly enough, we still use this phrase today for those that go and partake of the sacrament week over week to take upon us the name of Christ. So my friends, what does that mean?
What does it mean to take upon you the name of Christ? I wanted you to take some time and reflect into that for you personally. What does it mean for you to take upon you the name of Jesus Christ?
What activities will you do this week as you take upon you the name of Christ? Where will you spend your time? Who will you take time to speak with?
What will you speak with them about? What will you do in your spare time as you take upon you the name of Christ? No matter where we are in our lives, it means something different for each one of us.
And I think that the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the new parent, taking upon them the name of Christ may speak directly into what they're going to do with their babies, how they're going to speak with their, how they're going to spend time with the babies, right? And it's such a precious time.
And yet, interestingly enough, such a vital time to teach them prayer and to teach them scripture reading even when they're tiny so that it's all they've ever known. And then you look at later times in life and maybe there's nobody. And that's what you're left in the house and it's just you and your wife or you and your husband and it's just you guys.
Well, what does that look like to take upon you the name of Christ? What could that be for you as grandparents and the role that you play? I love this activity and an opportunity to reflect for you personally on what it means to take upon you the name of Jesus Christ.
You know, as I look back for me at a time in my life where I was, I was just trying to be a good dad, right? But there was a time where my, my younger girls, as they were just small, I took an opportunity every night to sing a hymn to them, just a verse of hymn. And by the way, I'm, I'm not a singer, full disclosure.
And yet the girls today still talk about the times that I would either kneel next to them or even crawl up in bed next to them or, you know, And now let's take a moment to reflect upon the name of Christ. It will change our behaviors. It will change our desires.
It will change our thoughts. It will change our conversations. And today, the Lord doesn't request it.
He almost says, just do it. Verse 21 doesn't say, please consider the time that you might want to. Instead, it says, take upon you the name of Christ and speak the truth in soberness.
Go and do, my friends. And by doing so, you will have the Spirit of the Lord to confirm that the things you do to take upon you the name of Christ are holiness to him. That's all for today, my friends.
Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants you have made and together we will be savory salt.
This transcript was generated using AI and may contain errors. I do my best to review and edit them when I can.