The concept of taking Christ's name upon oneself is mentioned all over the Book of Mormon. What exactly does this mean? I thought about times we "take" someone else's name upon us. For instance - when you adopt someone, s/he takes on your surname. When a woman marries, usually (but not always) she takes on her husband's surname. Taking on someone's surname can be seen as a symbol of linking or joining two people together.
Here are four ways you take Christ's name upon yourself.
Joining His Church
You take Christ's name upon yourself by becoming a member of His church - a Christian.
"...And it came to pass that whosoever were desirous to take upon them the name of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God." Mosiah 25:23
Becoming His Child
You take His name upon yourself when you become one of His children through spiritual rebirth (similar to the adoption example above - taking on your father's surname).
"And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters." Mosiah 5:7
Emulating His Character
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word "shm" is usually translated as "name," but in ancient Hebrew culture, it meant far more than just a way to identify someone. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon (AHL) defines "ShM" as breath: "The breath of a man is character, what makes one what he is." (link) So another way you take Christ's name upon yourself is by emulating His "shm," or character. This involves doing what He would do, saying what He would say, and serving as He would serve.
Saving and Delivering Others
The AHL definition of "ShM" continues: "The name of an individual is more than an identifier but descriptive of his character or breath." So a name represented character, but the definition of the name also was supposed to describe that person's character. The meaning of Jesus's name, Yeshua, is "deliverer or savior." You also take His "shm" upon you when you submit your will and desires to His, uniting with Him to save and deliver others.
Showing posts with label spiritual rebirth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual rebirth. Show all posts
Atonement Application Program - Step Two: Hope
Step Two: Come to believe that the power of God can restore me to complete spiritual health.
Healing is associated with conversion or spiritual rebirth (among other terms) several times in the scriptures. It appears that the first person to link the two ideas was Isaiah, quoting Jehovah:
"Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed" (Isaiah 6:10).
Jesus quoted or paraphrased this scripture Himself multiple times (see Matt. 13:15, 3 Ne. 9:13, 3 Ne. 18:32, D&C 112:13). John wrote that the people refusing to believe Jesus despite all the miracles He performed was a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (John 12:40). Paul also felt like Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled during his own ministry (Acts 28:27).
I've read a lot about being spiritually reborn over the last year. It's a topic Mike Stroud (podcasts #8 and #45) and John Pontius (both on his blog and in his books1) have taught about. I was pretty surprised to learn that being converted (aka being spiritually reborn, being baptized by fire, and many other terms) was an event, not a process like I'd been taught much of my life. I did some reading in the scriptures to determine the truth for myself, and learned the idea of conversion being a process is not scriptural!!!2 No wonder Jesus taught "Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14, 3 Ne. 14:14, 3 Ne. 27:33), because most members of the church aren't actively seeking a remission of their sins through receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. They either think their sins were remitted at baptism (as if their sins were left behind in the water) or that they received the Holy Ghost when they were confirmed (which rarely is the case). If you don't realize you don't actually have the gift of the Holy Ghost, you probably aren't seeking after it.
In my research online, I've read dozens of stories of normal, everyday members of the church being baptized by fire. It's not just limited to prophets and GAs! Those who have borne testimony of their own spiritual rebirth have given me so much hope that it can and will happen to me too! I look forward to the day when I also can testify that it's possible for average church members to receive this great blessing; to testify that conversion truly is an event, not a process; and to give others hope that it's attainable for them too.
1 As usual, no kickbacks.
2 See Enos, Mosiah 4-5, Alma 36:10-24, Hel. 5:21-52, and 3 Ne. 19:9-14. Frequently we quote 3 Ne. 9:20 to argue that you can be converted and not know it, but that verse is referring to the story found in Hel. 5. The dissenters clearly knew something had happened to them, but didn't know what it was. There is a footnote on Hel. 5:45 linking to 3 Ne. 9:20. Before the 1981 edition of the Book of Mormon, there was a footnote on 3 Ne. 9:20 linking in the other direction back to Hel. 5:45. Had that footnote remained, perhaps the idea of imperceptible conversion would never have taken hold in the church.
Healing is associated with conversion or spiritual rebirth (among other terms) several times in the scriptures. It appears that the first person to link the two ideas was Isaiah, quoting Jehovah:
"Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed" (Isaiah 6:10).
Jesus quoted or paraphrased this scripture Himself multiple times (see Matt. 13:15, 3 Ne. 9:13, 3 Ne. 18:32, D&C 112:13). John wrote that the people refusing to believe Jesus despite all the miracles He performed was a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (John 12:40). Paul also felt like Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled during his own ministry (Acts 28:27).
I've read a lot about being spiritually reborn over the last year. It's a topic Mike Stroud (podcasts #8 and #45) and John Pontius (both on his blog and in his books1) have taught about. I was pretty surprised to learn that being converted (aka being spiritually reborn, being baptized by fire, and many other terms) was an event, not a process like I'd been taught much of my life. I did some reading in the scriptures to determine the truth for myself, and learned the idea of conversion being a process is not scriptural!!!2 No wonder Jesus taught "Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14, 3 Ne. 14:14, 3 Ne. 27:33), because most members of the church aren't actively seeking a remission of their sins through receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. They either think their sins were remitted at baptism (as if their sins were left behind in the water) or that they received the Holy Ghost when they were confirmed (which rarely is the case). If you don't realize you don't actually have the gift of the Holy Ghost, you probably aren't seeking after it.
In my research online, I've read dozens of stories of normal, everyday members of the church being baptized by fire. It's not just limited to prophets and GAs! Those who have borne testimony of their own spiritual rebirth have given me so much hope that it can and will happen to me too! I look forward to the day when I also can testify that it's possible for average church members to receive this great blessing; to testify that conversion truly is an event, not a process; and to give others hope that it's attainable for them too.
1 As usual, no kickbacks.
2 See Enos, Mosiah 4-5, Alma 36:10-24, Hel. 5:21-52, and 3 Ne. 19:9-14. Frequently we quote 3 Ne. 9:20 to argue that you can be converted and not know it, but that verse is referring to the story found in Hel. 5. The dissenters clearly knew something had happened to them, but didn't know what it was. There is a footnote on Hel. 5:45 linking to 3 Ne. 9:20. Before the 1981 edition of the Book of Mormon, there was a footnote on 3 Ne. 9:20 linking in the other direction back to Hel. 5:45. Had that footnote remained, perhaps the idea of imperceptible conversion would never have taken hold in the church.
Resource: Phil McLemore - Meditation
Two of the many search terms I used in my research were "Christian meditation" and "Mormon meditation." LDS Perfect Day's
blog showed up in the search results several times. I followed his instructions on several occasions but got frustrated because they didn't do anything for me. I had done some
mindfulness meditation in previous years but felt like I hadn't benefited
much. I wondered if there was some sort of Christian- or
Mormon-specific way to meditate, but eventually dropped the subject.
Months later I came across a guy named Phil McLemore. He wrote a number of very good articles in Sunstone1 and has been featured on many podcasts2. Some of the things he's taught really resonated with me. He talks about how some members of the church feel spiritually stagnant, like they're not making any progress, and feel underfulfilled by their religious practice. I could totally relate to that! That was exactly how I felt! He says we feel like we need to make the natural man a saint through willpower and checklists as opposed to "crucifying" the natural man by being spiritually reborn as a saint. (I'm also quite guilty of the checklists and to do lists.) He discovered years ago that practicing transcendental meditation helped him spiritually transcend the level he had been stuck on for years. Meditation allowed him to commune with God and learn for himself what kind of Being God is, and he found himself becoming a more Christlike person without checklists and willpower.
Phil has an online meditation course that he charges for.3 I felt like his website was kind of scammy, so I dismissed the idea of taking it. Then I came across someone who had bought the course and felt like it was helpful. I was intrigued and bought it ($49). I learned a LOT. He provides some guided meditations to get you started till you're able to do unguided on your own. I like using them once or twice a day and have liked his style of meditation better than mindfulness meditation.
I'm only two months in, so I can't say I've experienced anything profound. Phil said it took him many months. But I feel pretty certain that what he teaches is right and I will eventually have a breakthrough. I wish I had started meditating with Phil right from the beginning. If I had started last spring, I would have been much further along right now!
1 Hindering the Saints, Becoming the Beloved of the Lord, Mormon Mantras, The Yoga of Christ
2 Mormon Stories, Mormon Matters, there are also some MP3s of presentations he's given at Sunstone symposiums floating around the internet
3 I'm not shilling for him or getting any kind of kickback for the link. He gives the basics on how to meditate in the Mormon Mantras article for free.
Months later I came across a guy named Phil McLemore. He wrote a number of very good articles in Sunstone1 and has been featured on many podcasts2. Some of the things he's taught really resonated with me. He talks about how some members of the church feel spiritually stagnant, like they're not making any progress, and feel underfulfilled by their religious practice. I could totally relate to that! That was exactly how I felt! He says we feel like we need to make the natural man a saint through willpower and checklists as opposed to "crucifying" the natural man by being spiritually reborn as a saint. (I'm also quite guilty of the checklists and to do lists.) He discovered years ago that practicing transcendental meditation helped him spiritually transcend the level he had been stuck on for years. Meditation allowed him to commune with God and learn for himself what kind of Being God is, and he found himself becoming a more Christlike person without checklists and willpower.
Phil has an online meditation course that he charges for.3 I felt like his website was kind of scammy, so I dismissed the idea of taking it. Then I came across someone who had bought the course and felt like it was helpful. I was intrigued and bought it ($49). I learned a LOT. He provides some guided meditations to get you started till you're able to do unguided on your own. I like using them once or twice a day and have liked his style of meditation better than mindfulness meditation.
I'm only two months in, so I can't say I've experienced anything profound. Phil said it took him many months. But I feel pretty certain that what he teaches is right and I will eventually have a breakthrough. I wish I had started meditating with Phil right from the beginning. If I had started last spring, I would have been much further along right now!
1 Hindering the Saints, Becoming the Beloved of the Lord, Mormon Mantras, The Yoga of Christ
2 Mormon Stories, Mormon Matters, there are also some MP3s of presentations he's given at Sunstone symposiums floating around the internet
3 I'm not shilling for him or getting any kind of kickback for the link. He gives the basics on how to meditate in the Mormon Mantras article for free.
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