Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Elder James G. O. Fantone · Of the Seventy · Sunday Morning Session
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Taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ is more than adding His name to ours; it is a covenant we keep by a lifelong determination to serve Him, which we do by serving the people around us.
Skip the Bethlehem comparison and the Joseph Smith, History 1:19 warning, and keep the missionary story to a short retelling so the class has time to discuss.
Before Sunday
Sunday: what it means to take His name
This Sunday we will discuss Elder James G. O. Fantone's talk "Take Upon Us His Name" from the Sunday morning session. Read it or listen to it if you can, and look for the story about signing his daughter's school form. Moroni wrote that people were baptized only if they took upon them the name of Christ, "having a determination to serve him to the end" (Moroni 6:3). Ponder this: where in your week does keeping that promise actually happen?
Pick one opening
At baptism, and again each week at the sacrament, we promise to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. Think about the people you live with, work with, or minister to. What would they see you doing on an ordinary Tuesday that shows you have taken His name? Take a moment to think before anyone answers.
At baptism, and again each week at the sacrament, we promise to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. Think about the people you live with, work with, or minister to. What would they see you doing on an ordinary Tuesday that shows you have taken His name? Take a moment to think before anyone answers.
Elder Fantone was turning in his daughter's school enrollment papers. The registrar asked him to write his daughter's name and sign above it. He was distracted, so he wrote his own name, James Fantone. Then he noticed the mistake. His daughter's name is Amanda James Fantone, so he just wrote "Amanda" in front of his name and the form was fixed. Later he asked himself a question: what's in a name?
As a mission president, Elder Fantone interviewed new missionaries who cried and said the days were long and they didn't know if they could last. They prayed, put on their name tags, and went out to serve anyway. A year later the same missionaries said they loved the people and that time was going too fast. Elder Fantone asked himself whether time had changed. He said it had not. The missionaries had changed.
Teach this first
Elder Fantone contrasts his quick fix on the form, adding one name to another, with the Savior's invitation. Taking Christ's name is not a label we add to ourselves. Moroni teaches that it comes with a determination to serve Him to the end, and King Benjamin teaches that we serve God by serving the people around us (Mosiah 2:17).
Elder Fantone taught that the Savior's invitation is not for us to merely add His name to our names, but to take His name by covenant and serve Him by lifting, loving, and serving our fellow men.
Ask the class
If time remains
Time did not change for the homesick missionaries; they changed as they kept serving. Elder Fantone connects this to the mighty change of heart Alma describes (Alma 5:14), which is real conversion and not just a passing good feeling.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, before you take the sacrament, choose one specific person you will serve in the coming days, and then follow through as one way of keeping your promise to take His name.
Elder Fantone testified that as we lose our lives in the Savior's service, we will find Him and we will find ourselves.
Your witness: Share briefly how serving someone helped you know the Savior better, or what taking His name has come to mean to you.