The disciples of Jesus were traveling and preaching “the things which they had both heard and seen,” and were establishing Christ’s church among the many people who had not been present for the first two days of His visit. The disciples were gathered together, “united in mighty prayer and fasting,” when Jesus came to them.
One may imagine the many things that might have been on their minds as the disciples prayed. 3 Nephi 28 indicates that these disciples had experienced rough times during this ministry among the people and were even mistreated. Those who had survived the major catastrophes in which their houses were destroyed and loved ones were lost were likely focused on rebuilding their lives. The people’s reception of the disciples may not have been as positive as they had hoped. It may have been difficult for the disciples to explain the indescribable experience with the Savior to people who had not been there at the Bountiful temple. Possibly, the disciples were praying for a blessing that would allow them to be instruments in recreating what they had experienced. They may also have been praying about a name for the group of followers of Christ. After all, what should they call themselves now?
This appearance was, at a minimum, the Savior’s third time among the people. He asked these disciples, “What will ye that I shall give unto you?” Their request was, “We will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church.” They then added, “for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.”
At this point, the followers of Jesus understood that the Law of Moses had been fulfilled in Christ, requiring them to abandon much of the old tribal-based organization and rules that were essential for living the Law of Moses. For example, followers of the Law of Moses needed to know what family they belonged to in order to fulfill many of the requirements under marriage laws. Knowing a person’s family lineage was necessary for making sense of land and inheritance rights under the Law of Moses. Now, the Nephite people were living in a day of no “-ites.” The people also had all things “in common” rather than in separate tribes. So, this was a different world for them, and naturally an early question that arose was, “Under what name should we now be known?”
These people had different opinions, and there were likely many good suggestions among the followers of Christ as to what to name the church. Someone might have suggested “The Church of the Lamb of God” (see 1 Nephi 14:10–12). Or, “The True Church and Fold of God” (2 Nephi 9:2). Or maybe “The Church of Christ” (Mosiah 18:17), or “The Church of God” (Mosiah 25:18, the name that appears a couple dozen times in Alma and Helaman). Naturally, names are important, for many reasons, and people may have had strong feelings about this question. Previously, as one of his first instructions to the people, Jesus had made it clear that “there shall be no disputations among you” (3 Nephi 11:22). “For … he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me” (3 Nephi 11:28–19). So, they wisely went to him for the answer that would settle the question.
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Must Christ’s True Church Be Called after His Name? (3 Nephi 27:8),” KnoWhy 482 (November 6, 2018).