Mosiah 5:6–15

“Take upon You the Name of Christ”

Names can have great meaning. What does it mean to take upon yourself the name of Christ? Mosiah 5 contains the conclusion of King Benjamin’s address to his people when he gathered the people together to give them a name (see Mosiah 1:11). This lesson can help you understand the significance of taking upon you the name of Jesus Christ.

A new name

Imagine an orphan with no one to help or care for them who eventually comes to know a loving, stable family that offers to adopt them.

• What are some reasons the orphan may want to be adopted and take the name of their new family?

• What blessings could their new mother and father offer that the orphan could not provide on their own?

• How might the orphan feel about their new family?

In his great address to his people, King Benjamin said, “I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ” (Mosiah 5:8) and be called “the children of Christ” (Mosiah 5:7). Some of King Benjamin’s people were Nephites, and others were descendants of Mulek. King Benjamin wanted all the people to be united under a single name like in a family.

As you study the scriptures today, ponder ways you may be like the orphan in the situation above and the Lord like the new parent.

To help you understand what King Benjamin taught, copy the following chart in your study journal.

Blessings of taking upon us the Savior’s name	How I take the Savior’s name upon me

Recall that in Mosiah 5:1–5, the people testified that the Spirit of the Lord had made “a mighty change” in them and that they were “willing to enter into a covenant with … God to do his will” (Mosiah 5:2, 5).

Read Mosiah 5:6–10, looking for words and phrases that you can write under the two columns of your chart. It may be helpful to know that the right hand of God suggests symbolic favor and that the left hand symbolizes disfavor.

1. Answer the following questions:

   • What blessings do you want in your life that only the Savior can provide? (Consider using phrases you identified from King Benjamin’s speech to answer this question.) Why do you want these blessings?

   • How can the Savior be like a loving parent to us?

   • According to King Benjamin, how had the people become children of Christ, or taken upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ?

How we take the name of Christ

One truth we can learn from King Benjamin is that as we make and keep sacred covenants, we become children of Christ and take upon ourselves His name.

Read the following statement by President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency to clarify how we take upon us the Savior’s name.

Following the scriptural pattern, persons who are baptized witness before the Church “that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.” (D&C 20:37; see also 2 Ne. 31:13; Moro. 6:3.) When we partake of the sacrament, we renew this covenant and all the other covenants we made in the waters of baptism. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 1985, 80)

• How have making and keeping covenants brought you closer to the Savior?

To help you to continue to deepen your understanding about taking the name of Jesus Christ, read Mosiah 5:11–13, 15, looking for more counsel from King Benjamin about taking the name of Jesus Christ upon yourself.

You may want to watch the video “Name of Christ” (3:51), located on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, for additional ideas on what it means to take upon yourself the name of Christ.

Name of Christ

Think of examples you have seen in your life of people who have taken upon themselves the name of Christ.

• What do they do that shows that they have taken upon themselves His name?

• What role can the sacrament play in helping us do this better?

The name of Jesus Christ

2. To help you evaluate how well you have taken the Lord’s name in your own heart, answer at least one of the following questions:

   • What are some ways you can demonstrate that you have taken upon yourself the name of Christ?

   • What blessings have come by taking upon yourself the name of Christ?

Consider the thoughts and impressions you have received from the Holy Ghost as you studied today. Think about what you can do to more fully take upon yourself the name of Christ.

Optional: Want to Learn More?

What does it mean to take upon ourselves the name of Christ?

In his talk “Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ” (Ensign, May 1985, 80–83), President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency explained different meanings of taking Christ’s name upon us.

Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ

How should taking His name affect us?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency shared some things we can do to show that we have taken upon ourselves the Savior’s name.

We promise to take His name upon us. That means we must see ourselves as His. We will put Him first in our lives. We will want what He wants rather than what we want or what the world teaches us to want. (Henry B. Eyring, “That We May Be One,” Ensign, May 1998, 67)

What does it mean to be willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught:

Try, Try, Try

I have wondered what it means to be willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ.

President Dallin H. Oaks explains: “It is significant that when we partake of the sacrament we do not witness that we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. We witness that we are willing to do so. (See D&C 20:77.) The fact that we only witness to our willingness suggests that something else must happen before we actually take that sacred name upon us in the most important sense” [Dallin H. Oaks, “Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 1985, 81].

The statement that we are “willing to take upon [us]” His name tells us that while we first took the Savior’s name when we were baptized, taking His name is not finished at baptism. We must work continually to take His name throughout our lives, including when we renew covenants at the sacrament table and make covenants in the Lord’s holy temples. (Henry B. Eyring, “Try, Try, Try,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 91)