I am so excited about the new emphasis on the name of the church!
“Jesus Christ directed us to call the Church by His name because it is His Church, filled with His power.”
Living in an area where there are few members, it is difficult for non members to distinguish what we believe. They have so many incorrect sources telling them this and that! But the most difficult one for me is that we don’t believe Jesus Christ to be the Savior and the head of our church. By calling the Church by correct name, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, and not using nicknames, we will be able to dismiss many false beliefs!
Being a business owner, I fully understand the importance of representing who we claim to represent. My employees are the face of our business, how they dress, how they talk, and how they treat customers reflects 100% of what our business represents. They are literally the image of our business. In fact, we have found that customers give you one chance and one chance only, if they are not pleased they will never come back, they just move on to another business! We live in a day and age, where there is plenty of competition for any business out there.
Religion is no different. The options are endless. It’s super confusing and hard to decipher what is true and what isn’t. Those who are not members, base there opinion of the church fully on the members they meet. We are on constant display, and fully representing Jesus Christ! As we start to eliminate all nick names, and to be known completely as THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, those things we do, say, wear, act, and treat people, will be the reputation of who Jesus Christ is. At baptism, when we take his name upon us, we are literally taking Jesus Christ as our partner, and promising to represent him with kindness, charity, faith, honesty, purity, and courage!
“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.”
2 Nephi says it perfectly …(30) “The Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love, and except they should have charity they were nothing.”
Wow!!! We can have all the truth that exists on earth, yet if we don’t have charity, the pure love of Christ, we have nothing. That’s an extremely strong statement. Why? Because the truthfulness of Christ and His church is nothing short of perfect love. Every principle and ordinance is full of love for us. His example was perfect love for every living human being! Charity is Jesus Christ and we are his representatives. Once we have put Christ at the center of our lives, and surrendered our weaknesses to him, he will fill us with charity! Luckily, if we fall short, we just need to remember who we are and what we stand for..and carry on!!
(2 Nephi 25:26) “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
My prayer is that we live in a way that all who come in contact with us, will know that we follow Christ! … that we live in a way that makes others want to follow him as well!
-Sherri
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