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Recently, the teacher shared a lesson on the importance and power of  a name, particularly within our religion and our beliefs. We give baby blessings that put our children’s names upon the records of the Church; God asked Adam to name all the beasts of the field, and even Eve; and we, of course, are quite particular about the name of our Church.

If you have ever watched old Church commercials (pre-1990′s) you will see at the end the Church’s name and then the tagline “The Mormons.” This has evolved over the past few decades, and now you don’t see the word “Mormon” attached to the official Church name. Rather, you see a strong emphasis on the name of Jesus Christ. If you see a missionary badge (or any official literature of the church) you will notice that the font of “Jesus Christ” is four times bigger than the rest of the name of the church.

Understanding this, the teacher gave us a handout breaking down the name of the Church and showing the meaning behind it. This comes straight out of the Book of Mormon manual (see 3 Nephi 27:8), but I had never read it before so I thought I would share it here.

The Church

“The first two words of the name the Lord chose for His earthly organization are The Church.

“Note that the article The begins with a capital letter. This is an important part of the title, for the Church is the official organization of baptized  believers who have taken upon themselves the name of Christ (see D&C 10:67–69; 18:21-25). . . .

“The Church is the way by which the Master accomplishes His work and bestows His glory. Its ordinances and related covenants are the crowning rewards of our membership. While many organizations can offer fellowship and fine instruction, only His church can provide baptism, confirmation, and the ordinances of the temple—all bestowed by authorized priesthood power. That power is destined to bless all children of our Heavenly Father, regardless of their nationality” (in Conference Report, Mar.-Apr. 1990, 20; or Ensign, May 1990, 18).

Jesus Christ

“By divine directive, the title of the Church bears the sacred name of Jesus Christ, whose church this is (see D&C 115:3–4). . . .

“We worship God the Eternal Father in the name of His Son by the power of the Holy Ghost. We know the premortal Jesus to be Jehovah, God of the Old Testament. We know Him to be ‘the chief corner stone’ upon which the organization of His church is based (Ephesians 2:20).  We know him to be the Rock from whom revelation comes to His authorized agents (see 1 Corinthians 10:4; Helaman 5:12) and to all who worthily seek Him (see D&C 88:63)” (in Conference Report, Mar.-Apr. 1990, 19; or Ensign, May 1990, 17).

Latter-day

“It is true that scriptures foretell the final days of the earth’s temporal existence as a telestial sphere. The earth will then be renewed and receive its paradisiacal, or terrestrial, glory (see Articles of Faith 1:10). Ultimately, the earth will become celestialized (see Revelation 21:1, D&C 77:1; 88:25-26). But its last days must be preceded by its latter days!” (in Conference Report, Mar.-Apr. 1990, 18; or Ensign, May 1990, 17).

Saints

“A saint is a believer in Christ and knows of His perfect love. The giving saint shares in a true spirit of that love, and the receiving saint accepts in a true spirit of gratitude. A saint serves others. . . .

“A saint ‘refrain[s] from idleness’ (Alma 38:12) and seeks learning by study and also by faith. . . .

“A saint is honest and kind, paying financial obligations promptly and fully, treating others as she or he would want to be treated. . . .

“A saint is an honorable citizen, knowing that the very country which provides opportunity and protection deserves support, including prompt payment of taxes and personal participation in its legal political process (see D&C 134:5).

“A saint resolves any differences with others honorably and peacefully and is constant in courtesy—even in traffic at the rush hour.

“A saint shuns that which is unclean or degrading and avoids excess even of that which is good.

“Perhaps above all, a saint is reverent. Reverence for the Lord, for the earth He created, for leaders, for the dignity of others, for the law, for the sanctity of life, and for chapels and other buildings are all evidences of saintly attitudes. . . .

“A reverent saint loves the Lord and gives highest priority to keeping His commandments. Daily prayer, periodic fasting, and payment of tithes and offerings are privileges important to a faithful saint.

“Finally, a saint is one who receives the gifts of the Spirit that God has promised to all His faithful sons and daughters (see Joel 2:28–29; Acts 2:17–18)”  (in Conference Report, Mar.-Apr. 1990, 18; or Ensign, May 1990, 16-17).

General Petraeus laughing with BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson. Image Credit: Jason Olson

General Petraeus’ Top 10 reasons BYU grads make good soldiers:

10 — They have already been on many a mission.

9 — Army chow is no problem for folks accustomed to eating green Jell-o and shredded carrots.

8 — It’s not a problem if they don’t know what rank someone is, they just refer to them as Brother or Sister so-and-so.

7 — They never go AWOL. They just call it being less active.

6 — They will seize any objective swiftly if you tell them refreshments will be served.

5 — They know how to make things happen. In fact if you ever need a base built quickly in a barren wasteland, stride out to where you want them to start, plant your walking stick down and say in a loud voice, “This is the place.”

4 — They have innovative ideas for handling insurgents — like assigning them home teachers.

3 — They always have a years’ supply of provisions on hand.

2 — They are the world’s most reliable designated drivers.

1 — They understand how far Iraq has come over the last seven years, and they think that Iraq’s old spot in the “Axis of Evil” can now be filled by the University of Utah.

Source: Deseret News

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I thought you all might be interested in this—an account of the Chile earthquake from the Santiago Temple President’s wife.
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…we heard from our Santiago Temple President, Tom & Cheryl Lyon, written by his wife, Cheryl:

Thanks to all of you who have emailed your concern for us. We can state unequivocally that we’re fine. We can also state with the same emphasis that riding through that quake in our rocking fourth-floor apartment was for me the scariest experience I’ve ever been through!

I was sure we were about to die – that either the ceiling would fall on us or that we’d collapse through the floor. It truly was an emotion I’d never experienced before. My whole body shook for the next two hours, and after that I couldn’t stop crying.

We didn’t even have the presence of mind to get out of bed during the quake. I felt paralyzed, staring at the ceiling and wondering when the earth would stop rolling. It was the longest two minutes of our lives! We could hear things falling out of cupboards, and pictures falling off the walls. But the sound and the movement was the worst.

Our sturdy building held up fine. Just lots of dust and a few broken dishes. But elsewhere, as I’m sure you’ve seen on the news, people didn’t fare as well. Lots of damage. Virtually no stores open. Most parts of Santiago still have no electricity. Collapsed overpasses have closed major highways. The airport is closed because of damage, and planes have been rerouted to northern Chile or to Argentina. Our new missionary doctor was to arrive this morning, so I don’t know where he and his wife have ended up.

What a joy to walk into the temple and find it in perfect condition. We just had to close a few drawers and straighten a few crooked pictures. It felt so good to be there in that peaceful refuge and find normality. Moroni did lose his trumpet, however! That was the only noticeable damage.

How grateful we are for how well the Church takes care of us. We’ve often thought the 24-hour emergency lights in our building were excessive, but we were surely thankful for them at 3:30 this morning as everyone was evacuating the building – including the missionaries downstairs in the MTC. It was so disconcerting to get out of bed in the dark and stumble over fallen items in the bathroom. We got just a taste of what the Haitians have suffered, though their damage and deaths have been so much more devastating, even though their quake a weaker one. So far here they’re reporting 123 deaths, but we assume the toll will climb.

We had to decide what to do about the temple. We had every session booked for the day, and wondered if people would arrive. We met with one of Tom’s counselors – who had arrived at 5:00 for the early shift, as faithful as ever – and our registrar. We knew it would be difficult for the employees and workers to get to the temple and there was not electricity at the time. One faithful laundry sister came a great distance to help, but there was no gas for the dryers, so she had baptismal clothes from last night lying out all over the laundry.

The temple has an emergency generator which roars into action the second the power goes out. But we learned that it runs on petroleum which lasts only four hours. By 8 a.m. we knew we were about to go dark again, so we made the decision to simply close the temple for the day. Then, just in the second that the lights began to dim, the power came back on! (We’ve learned since that we’re the only section of Santiago that has power yet.) So then we decided to hold just one session, since we had three out-of-town couples staying in the hospedaje who were expecting to receive their endowments and be sealed today. We mustered all the missionary couples, along with a group of faithful sisters who work the late shift on Fridays and then stay over for the Sat morning shift. We had a most moving morning. The quake had brought such a sense of unity to workers and patrons, and the Spirit was amazing. I’ve seldom had such a moving experience at the veil – with three consecutive young sisters who were receiving their endowments.

Right now we’re sleep-deprived, and Tom has already gone back to bed. The stress has left us exhausted – but we’re alive and well! We’re still feeling aftershocks – called “replicas” in Spanish. They’re reported about 25 of them. One just rolled by as I was writing this.

So, that’s the report. After some rest we may venture out and about to see what we can see.

Thanks for your love and concern.

Tom and Cheryl
President of the Santiago Temple

In my institute class we are going through the different parables of Christ found in the New Testament. Below is what we have documented, but there are disagreements among bible scholars on the official count of the parables. Anyway, I asked the teacher to email me the below handout for the benefit of everyone else. All the scriptures are linked to the scripture database at lds.org. May you find your precious coin as you read these.

Parables of Christ in the New Testament

1. Barren Fig Tree – Luke 13:6–9
2. Chief Seats – Luke 14:7–11
3. Empty House – Matthew 12:43–54; Luke 12:24–26
4. Foolish Rich Man – Luke 12:13–21
5. Friend at Midnight – Luke 11:5–13
6. Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25–37
7. Gospel Net – Matthew 13:47–50
8. Great Supper – Luke 14:16–24
9. Hidden Treasure – Matthew 13:44
10. King’s Warfare – Luke 14:31–33
11. Laborers in the Vineyard – Matthew 19:27 – 20:16
12. Leaven – Matthew 13:33
13. Lost Coin – Luke 15:8–9
14. Lost Sheep – Luke 15:1–7
15. Lost (Prodigal) Son – Luke 15: 11–32
16. Man Taking a Far Journey – Mark 13:34–37
17. Mustard Seed – Matthew 13:31–32
18. Pearl of Great Price – Matthew 13:45–46
19. Pharisee and Publican – Luke 18:9–14
20. Pounds – Luke 19:11–27
21. Rich Man and Lazarus – Luke 16:19–31
22. Royal Marriage Feast – Matthew 22:1–14
23. Sheep and the Goats – Matthew 25:31–46
24. Shut Door – Luke 13:23–30
25. Talents – Matthew 25:14–30
26. Ten Virgins – Matthew 25:1–13
27. Treasures New and Old – Matthew 13:51–52
28. Two Debtors – Luke 7:36–50
29. Two Sons – Matthew 21:28–32
30. Seed Growing Secretly – Mark 4:26–29
31. Sower – Matthew 13:1–9, 18:23; Mark 4:1–8, 14–20; Luke 8:5–8, 11–15
32. Uncompleted Tour – Luke 14:25–30
33. Unjust Judge – Luke 18:1–8
34. Unjust Steward – Luke 16:1–13
35. Unmerciful Servant – Matthew 18:21–35
36. Unprofitable Servant – Luke 17:5–10
37. Wheat and Tares – Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43
38. Wicked Husbandman – Matthew 21:33–46; Mark 12:1–12, Luke 20:9–18

Parables of Christ in the Doctrine and Covenants

1. Twelve Sons – D&C 38:26–27
2. Labors in the Field – D&C 88:51–61
3. Nobleman – D&C 101:43–62
4. Woman and Unjust Judge – D&C 101:81–91