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

Dear Young Women-

Tomorrow I was to teach the lesson, "What does it mean to take upon myself the name of Jesus Christ?" However, with all of you young women out of town I will not have that opportunity. I still wanted to share a few thoughts regarding the lesson.

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

Let's look in the scriptures to see what we can find regarding that question...

Why it is important to take upon ourselves the name of Christ: (Mosiah 5)

 1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken to his people, he sent among them, desiring to know of his people if they believed the words which he had spoken unto them.

 2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.

 3 And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite goodness of God, and the manifestations of his Spirit, have great views of that which is to come; and were it expedient, we could prophesy of all things.

 4 And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.

 5 And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken by the angel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.

 6 And now, these are the words which king Benjamin desired of them; and therefore he said unto them: Ye have spoken the words that I desired; and the covenant which ye have made is a righteous covenant.

 7 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.

 8 And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

 9 And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.

 10 And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God.

 11 And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the name that I said I should give unto you that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts.

 12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.

 13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

 14 And again, doth a man take an ass which belongeth to his neighbor, and keep him? I say unto you, Nay; he will not even suffer that he shall feed among his flocks, but will drive him away, and cast him out. I say unto you, that even so shall it be among you if ye know not the name by which ye are called.

 15 Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.

When we choose to enter into a covenant with God that we will do his will and be obedient to his commandments all the days of our lives, then we have taken upon ourself the name of Christ. Taking upon ourself the name of Christ, serving him to the end of our days, is the only way we may obtain eternal life.

Some things to think about....

When has the Spirit touched your heart and you had no more desire to do evil (like the people of King Benjamin)?

Are your thoughts and actions in accordance to what our Heavenly Father and the Savior would have you do?

 Do you understand the importance of covenanting to take upon the name of Christ?

We should strive to be like Jesus Christ: (3 Nephi 27:27)

27 And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

Some things to think about....

What could you do to be a better example of Jesus Christ?

Taking upon ourselves the name of Christ is part of our baptismal covenant and the ordinance of the sacrament: D&C 20: 37, 77

37 And again, by way of commandment to the church concerning the manner of baptism—All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and 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, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church. 

 77 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

Some things to think about....

If you have not yet been baptized, would you like to be?

When you partake of the sacrament each week do you remember the covenant you have made to take upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ?

How can you use the sacrament each week to better fulfill your covenant?

 When we are baptized, we covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. We renew this covenant when we partake of the sacrament. We fulfill this covenant by putting the Lord first in our lives, by striving to think and act as He would, and by standing “as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places”.

I hope you girls know that I love you and am willing to do anything to help you improve your relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I love them and have learned through this lesson the importance of taking upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. I hope I can be a better example for you as one who follows the Savior.

Love, Sister Chambers

Girl's Camp-June 2014 "Keepers of the Flame"

Sisters in Zion!

Keepers of the Flame......

All-American Girls!

United in Faith....

Beautiful Daughters of God!

It has been a pleasure to attend Girl's Camp with such an inspiring, amazing, and wonderful group of young women!  Thank you for your Christlike examples, your loving service, and your burning testimonies as you remain "Keepers of the Flame".  I love you all very much! Love, Sister Higgins

A Daughter of God

Dear Young Women,

I am so grateful I could spend some fun time with you yesterday at Youth Conference. While there I had a strong impression of how special you daughters of God are. I hope that you understand your divine identity and always live up to it. 

The title of the Youth Conference was "Leave the World Behind You". I hope that you WILL leave the world behind you because the world cannot offer you anything more than what you can inherit as a daughter of God.

You are such wonderful young women and I love being with you and soaking up your goodness. I know you are daughters of God with a divine mission and purpose.

Love, Sister Chambers

Sustaining our Church Leaders

Dear Young Women,

Again, I always enjoy teaching a lesson because I learn so much. I am always able to recognize in my own life changes that I need to make in order to be closer to my Heavenly Father and to have the Holy Ghost to always be with me. This past Sunday was no exception.

Thank you for your participation during the lesson and for the insights you shared. Unfortunately we were only able to make it through about 50% of the lesson so I wanted to re-cap what we discussed and share with you what else I was going to share in my lesson.

What does it mean to you to SUSTAIN someone in their calling?

I think that we came to the conclusion that sustaining someone who has been called means that we support them. We also understand that they have the right to inspiration regarding their calling. We decided that one of the best ways to sustain someone in their calling was to have a good attitude and be willing to help if called upon, and when called upon to do your best in your assignment. We also discussed that perhaps we could set a goal to pay better attention to those released and called and that we might after sacrament meeting let them know that we are willing to help them serve in their calling. 

Rejection of Church Leaders

In the scriptures we read of Laman and Lemuel who rejected their older brother Nephi as their church leader. 

 While on the boat sailing to the promised land they tied him up and began to make themselves merry. As a consequence of this, their compass did not work correctly and a terrible storm came upon them and they were driven back on the sea.

We also read of the Children of Israel. Moses was their church leader and he tried to teach them the gospel but they rejected him. Consequently he was taken from them and so was the priesthood. 

As we analyzed these two stories, we had a good discussion.

While we may never tie up a church leader to a boat, there are several other things we might do to show that we do not sustain him or her. Such as: not following through with an assignment given by that person, talking bad about that person, rejecting their counsel and following the precepts of men.

Also, as we choose not to follow their counsel we will find that in a sense, we become tossed about on the sea and we may lose our way. Leaders are chosen by our Heavenly Father and through inspiration of the Holy Ghost called. We know that the prophet will never lead us astray. If we are unsure of counsel by a church leader we should pray to know for ourselves if what they say is true. Always include Heavenly Father as you sustain your church leaders.

We will never have the prophet or priesthood taken from us, but we may, like the Children of Israel enter into a state of personal apostasy.

In a conference address in 2005 Elder James E. Faust shared that when he was called to serve with the twelve apostles he was counseled to be "one with the bretheren". He always remembered that counsel and has recognized through his time of service how important it is to sustain leaders. He also shared in that talk the examples of two men, former members of the Quorom of the Twelve Apostles, who rejected the prophet Joseph Smith and apostasized from the church. 

It was not sustaining their church leaders which led them on the road to personal apostasy. In their own words, each shared what sorrow had entered their lives once they left the church. Each also admitted later on that they were wrong to not follow the prophet and wished they could take it back. One did come back to the Church in full-fellowhip after being excommunicated. Do not allow pride to enter your heart and reject your leader's teachings. There are blessings for those who sustain their church leaders.

Following Church Leaders

In the scriptures again, there are two examples of those who followed their church leaders.

The widow of Zarepath was asked by the prophet Elijah for food. She told him she only had enough meal and oil to make a small cake for her and her son and then they would have no more food and die. He promised if she would make it for him than she would not perish and it was so. Her barrel of meal and cruse of oil did not go empty but stayed full as she obeyed the prophet.

Naaman was a leper and was told to wash 7 times in a filthy river.

 At first he refused because he was unhappy that Elisha had not given him the directions himself, but sent a servant, and that the river was dirty. But a servant persuaded him that it was an easy thing and that he should do it. He did, and was cured of his leprosy. 

 Blessings always come to those who obey their church leaders. Consider what might prohibit you from following your leaders completely. How can you get rid of those things so that you can receive blessings that come from obedience?

As I studied this lesson it was clear to me that to be able to sustain a church leader fully:

You must have a testimony that callings come from our Heavenly Father.

You must have a testimony that our Latter-day prophet is the Lord's mouthpiece.

You must have a testimony that the Bishop is called to receive inspiration for the ward.

Follow the steps for obtaining a testimony if you struggle with any of these.

A great quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland from his conference address, "Lord, I Believe"

"...be kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women. Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we. And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work. As one gifted writer has suggested, when the infinite fulness is poured forth, it is not the oil’s fault if there is some loss because finite vessels can’t quite contain it all. Those finite vessels include you and me, so be patient and kind and forgiving."

I love you girls and want to be a better example of sustaining our church leaders for you.

Love,  Sister Chambers

The Pre-camp Hike...Tuesday May 27, 2014

Thanks to Bro.Higgins for being our guide!

And the journey begins!

Resting at the half way mark....Bridge #10

What cute young women!

So proud of these girls....what troopers they were!

FamilySearch

Dear Young Women,

I have a new addiction- familysearch.org

I first took the ward family history class a year ago. I was interested in family history, but with a newborn I didn't find the time to do much with what I was learning. A few months ago I got the "itch" to do family history but needed a refresher course on the website and what I had learned in the class, so I asked Sister Higgins to help me. When I took the course at church- she was the teacher, the ward family history consultant. It only took a half an hour and I felt ready to search at home on my own.

I love it and spend many early morning and late evening hours on there searching family lines. I love looking at how far some of the family lines go back! How wonderful to know so many people from my family. I love seeing that so so many of these family members have had their temple work done for them. My heart swells when I find that someone has temple work that I can do for them!

I have now reserved and printed work that I can complete for many of my ancestors. I am so excited to go to the temple and do temple work for those of my own family. 

I am sad to see how many lines don't go back very far. I have written to a great-aunt to help me get some information about those missing pieces. I am hopeful she has the information I am looking for.

 Because "the celestial organization of heaven is based on families" it is important for families to be sealed together. YOU can be part of this too!

I cannot wait for you to feel the excitement I feel for family history. I believe if you don't get excited about genealogy/family history/temple work- then you must be doing it wrong! It really is thrilling to find those you can bless with the ordinances of the gospel.

I am so looking forward to this summer when we will have several activities devoted to family history. It REALLY will be fun. Of that I can promise.

Stake Temple Week, Day 7

Dear Young Women,

How I have loved this week as I have taken the opportunity to have a temple experience each day, as encouraged by our stake presidency. I hope that you will also attend stake conference this evening and tomorrow. Great blessings will be yours as you attend the meetings intended for you. I would urge you to treat it as a meeting specifically for you and go with a question or questions in mind and see how the Holy Ghost answers those questions for you.

 I wanted to end this special temple-focused week with my most favorite temple video I have seen. In this video a young women reflects on the blessings of walking the covenant path as she makes her journey to the temple. I think of each of you as I watch this video.

To watch the video, Standing in Holy Places, click here.

Love, Sister Chambers