“Ye Must Take Upon You the Name of Christ”

Brant Gardner

Jesus’s answer is the important point—not the name of the church but that its members must assume Yahweh-Messiah’s name. Given the context of ancient naming, Jesus’s instructions are extremely important: “Ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name[.] For by this name shall ye be called at the last day.” Jesus came when the twelve “called” him in prayer; similarly, when he “calls” us by our name at the last day, his believers will come. The name is the key to our entry into the kingdom, a point of particular significance to temple-endowed modern Saints. The essential issue is not just the naming of the church, but also the naming of the person: “And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.”

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 5

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