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The below transcript is based on this video:
Some time after Jesus Christ came and personally ministered among the children of Lehi, the disciples of Jesus were fasting and praying. Jesus appeared to them and said, “What will ye that I shall give unto you?” (3 Nephi 27:2). If the Savior personally appeared to you and said, “What do you want?” what would you ask for? A new house? A million dollars? Or maybe something more significant, like healing for a family member or an unshakeable testimony?
I find it fascinating that what these Nephite disciples responded to the Savior by saying, “Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church” (3 Nephi 27:3). What did they want? To know the name of the church.
Jesus told them they should name the church after him. He said, “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…ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake. And 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 27:5–8).
It’s clear from the Savior’s response that he cares about the name of the church and that it should be named after him—the Church of Jesus Christ.
In August of 2018 President Russell M. Nelson issued statement on the name of the Church in our day. But before we talk about that, let’s go back in time to the 1830s and look at something interesting, that I only recently learned—maybe it will be new for you as well.
In 1830 the Lord referred to the church as “the church of Christ” on multiple occasions in the Doctrine and Covenants (e.g., 20:1, 61, 21:11). So I always thought that the name “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” just added a time period, to the name “The Church of Christ.” But it turns out that church members at a conference at Kirtland, Ohio, voted on May 3, 1834, to change the name of the Church to “the Church of the Latter Day Saints.” You can see new name placed on the Kirtland Temple in 1834, and in the Doctrine and Covenants, published in 1835.
So in 1838, when the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, “For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:4), he wasn’t adding a time period, he was reinserting his name into the Church. To our Savior, the name of Jesus Christ is very important and it needs to be the name of his church.
In the October 2018 General Conference President Russell M. Nelson taught the following about the name of the Church.
“I feel compelled to discuss with you a matter of great importance. Some weeks ago, I released a statement regarding a course correction for the name of the Church. I did this because the Lord impressed upon my mind the importance of the name He decreed for His Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…
“[This] is a correction. It is the command of the Lord…
“The name of the Church is not negotiable. When the Savior clearly states what the name of His Church should be and even precedes His declaration with, “Thus shall my church be called,” He is serious.
“And if we allow nicknames to be used or adopt or even sponsor those nicknames ourselves, He is offended. What’s in a name or, in this case, a nickname? When it comes to nicknames of the Church, such as the “LDS Church,” the “Mormon Church,” or the “Church of the Latter-day Saints,” the most important thing in those names is the absence of the Savior’s name.
“To remove the Lord’s name from the Lord’s Church is a major victory for Satan. When we discard the Savior’s name, we are subtly disregarding all that Jesus Christ did for us—even His Atonement.”
It’s interesting to me that the name of the church was important to Jesus in approximately 30 AD, it was important to him in 1830, 1838, and it remains important to him today. I’m grateful for a living prophet who is reminding us to remember Jesus Christ in many ways—including the name of our church.
