“In My Name”

When the Savior’s disciples on the American continent asked Him what they should call His church, He responded by reminding them that they had taken His name upon themselves:

Whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name;

3 Nephi 27:6-7

He went on to explain that naming the church after even a very good person can distract us from Him:

How be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

3 Nephi 27:8

The Apostle Paul warned the saints in Corinth that an excessive allegiance to specific church leaders created divisions among them and distracted them from their true focus:

Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

1 Corinthians 1:12-13

And in their vision about life after death, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw that some people would fail to receive all of the blessings of Christ’s atonement because of this kind of distraction:

These are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas.

These are they who say they are some of one and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;

But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:99-101

President Russell M. Nelson has reminded us to intentionally maintain our focus on the Savior. One way to do this is by using the correct name for the church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Nelson said, “When we discard the Savior’s name, we are subtly disregarding all that Jesus Christ did for us,” and “when we omit His name from His Church, we are inadvertently removing Him as the central focus of our lives” (“The Correct Name of the Church,” General Conference, October 2018).

Today, I will keep the Savior as my central focus. I will be grateful for the positive influence of prophets, church leaders, and other people I admire, but I will remember that I am first and foremost a disciple of Jesus Christ.