He Knows You by Name

Remember the Savior through His name and your covenants

Elder Matswagothata begins by reflecting on the meaning of his surname and connects that personal reminder to the greater power found in taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ through sacred covenants, especially the sacrament.

My surname is a reminder to me that the Savior can and will guide us through every season of life—especially through difficult times.

Perhaps this is why our loving Father in Heaven gives us the opportunity every week to make a covenant with Him as part of the ordinance of the sacrament.

He invites us to take upon ourselves the name of His Son, always remember Him, and keep His commandments.

He gives us power to rise above mortality’s challenges.

As much as my surname has brought hope and resilience to my family, I rejoice even more in the name of Jesus Christ, for in and through His name all who come unto Him can be saved.

Through faith in Jesus Christ and by taking upon us His name through the covenants made at baptism, during the sacrament, and in His holy house, we gain access to His enabling power—power that can and will change our lives.

The most eternity-shaping name we can receive is the sacred name of Jesus Christ.

• Personal identity can remind us of spiritual truths, but the name of Jesus Christ matters most.
• The sacrament is a weekly opportunity to renew our covenant relationship with God.
• Taking upon ourselves the Savior’s name brings spiritual power.
• Remembering Jesus Christ helps us rise above mortal challenges.
• Covenants made at baptism, in the sacrament, and in the temple bind us to Him.
• Our deepest and most lasting identity is found in Jesus Christ.

• When has the sacrament helped you feel renewed, strengthened, or remembered by the Lord?
• What does taking upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ mean to you personally?
• Have you had an experience where covenant keeping gave you strength during a hard time?
• How has your family name, heritage, or personal story pointed you toward the Savior?
• When have you felt the enabling power of Jesus Christ help you do something difficult?

Trust that Jesus Christ knows you by name

A central message of the talk is that the Savior knows each person individually. Elder Matswagothata teaches that Christ remembers us personally, just as He called many by name in scripture.

Even as Jesus Christ invites us to always remember Him and take upon ourselves His name, He also remembers us and knows each of us by name.

In the Old Testament, the Lord taught Moses this assuring truth: "I know thee by name."

In Eden’s garden, He called Adam.

At the empty tomb, He called Mary.

On the road to Damascus, He called Saul.

And in the Sacred Grove, He called Joseph.

All by name.

And He knows you and calls you by name too—from crowded cities to quiet villages, in whatever language you speak.

He hears, sees, and knows you.

• Jesus Christ’s relationship with His children is personal, not distant or abstract.
• Scripture repeatedly shows the Lord calling individuals by name.
• The Savior knows people in every place, culture, and language.
• He sees our circumstances fully and perfectly.
• Remembering that the Lord knows us personally brings reassurance and hope.

• When have you felt that Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ knew you personally?
• Have you ever felt seen by the Lord in a specific prayer, scripture, or prompting?
• What scripture story has helped you feel that the Savior knows individuals one by one?
• When has the Lord answered you in a way that felt personal and unmistakable?

Rely on the Savior who understands your pain

Because of His Atonement, Jesus Christ understands every sorrow, burden, pain, temptation, and sickness. He can perfectly succor His people because He has descended below all things.

He knows your joys, and He rejoices with you.

He knows your sorrows, and He can succor and lift you.

Because of His Atonement, He knows your burdens, pain, and silent tears.

He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind.

He will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

He who "descended below all things" knows how to heal your broken heart and make you whole again.

Your pain is not a sign that God does not love you. He truly does.

• The Savior understands both our joys and our sorrows.
• His Atonement includes not only sin but also pain, sickness, affliction, and grief.
• Because He has experienced all things, He knows how to succor us perfectly.
• Suffering is not evidence of God’s absence or lack of love.
• Jesus Christ can heal broken hearts and make us whole.

• When has the Savior comforted you in grief, loneliness, illness, or discouragement?
• Have you ever felt that Jesus Christ understood something others could not fully understand?
• What experience has taught you that your pain did not mean God had abandoned you?
• When have Alma’s teachings about Christ’s succoring power become real to you?

Recognize that the Lord sends people to lift you

Elder Matswagothata shares a personal experience from a painful season of life when a Primary child’s simple words helped him feel seen and loved by the Savior. The Lord often reaches us through others.

Brothers and sisters, many carry quiet burdens—grief, illness, loneliness, anxiety, or prayers that seem unanswered.

When life feels unfair and confusing, in those dark moments when you are tempted to ask, "O God, where art thou?" please remember this powerful truth: He knows you.

Trust His promise that the sun will rise again for you and tomorrow will be better than today.

I felt seen. I felt loved. I felt known. I felt that I was not alone.

To the Savior, we are never lost in the crowd.

He knows how to reach us—through a hymn, a smile, a kind word, and sometimes through people we least expect.

Just as that family prayed for me, there is someone praying for you.

• Many people around us carry hidden burdens.
• In moments of despair, we can remember that God still knows us.
• The Lord often answers prayers through ordinary people and simple acts.
• Feeling seen and loved can come through unexpected messengers.
• We are never forgotten by the Savior, even when we feel alone.

• When has someone’s small act of kindness felt like an answer to prayer?
• Have you ever been unexpectedly strengthened by a child, friend, hymn, or simple comment?
• When have you felt the Lord use another person to remind you that you were not alone?
• Can you share a time when you were the person the Lord used to help someone else?
• What experiences have taught you that quiet burdens are real and that compassion matters?

Choose to get close to God in refining times

The talk teaches that trials should draw us nearer to God rather than away from Him. Elder Matswagothata quotes President D. Todd Christofferson to emphasize faithful trust during adversity.

Please remember: Your pain is not a sign that God does not love you. He truly does.

So, as President D. Todd Christofferson taught, "In the midst of [the] refiner’s fire, rather than get angry with God, get close to God."

• Trials can become spiritually refining experiences.
• It is natural to struggle in suffering, but we should resist turning away from God.
• Choosing closeness to God in hardship brings strength and perspective.
• God’s love remains constant even in painful seasons.

• When has a trial helped you become closer to Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ?
• What practices have helped you stay near to God during discouragement or loss?
• Have you seen a difference between reacting to hardship with resentment versus faith?
• What could you share about how prayer, scripture study, or temple worship helped you in a refining season?

Walk deliberately with Jesus Christ

The Savior not only knows us; He invites us to know Him and His Father. Elder Matswagothata urges listeners to follow Christ deliberately and consistently rather than casually.

Not only does the Savior know you, but He also wants you to come to know Him and His Father.

This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

He is the Good Shepherd, who leads us to green pastures and still waters.

He is the Light of the World, who lights our path so that we need not walk in darkness.

The question should never be "Will the Savior walk with me?" He will. The real question is "Will I walk with Him?"

As we choose to walk with Jesus Christ, everything begins to change.

He is no longer a casual acquaintance but a trusted heavenly friend.

May I invite you to choose to remember Him and follow Him—not casually or occasionally but deliberately and always.

• Eternal life is to know the Father and the Son.
• Jesus Christ is both Shepherd and Light, guiding and protecting us.
• The Savior is always willing to walk with us.
• Discipleship requires our choice to walk with Him.
• Deliberate discipleship transforms our relationship with Christ from distant to deeply personal.

• When did Jesus Christ become more than a distant figure and more like a trusted friend to you?
• What daily choices help you walk more deliberately with the Savior?
• Have you had an experience where following Christ changed the direction of your life?
• What does it look like in your life to follow the Savior deliberately rather than casually?

Follow prophetic counsel and daily discipleship practices

Elder Matswagothata teaches that peace and joy come as we listen to the Savior through scripture, follow living prophets and apostles, repent daily, and accept His invitation to come and follow Him.

May we become the kind of disciples who notice, reach out, and lift as the Savior did.

As we listen to His voice in the scriptures, follow the teachings of living prophets and apostles, repent daily, and heed His invitation to "Come, follow me," we will find peace in this ever-tumultuous world.

We will feel of His Spirit and experience joy even in our most trying moments.

We will find strength to trust in Him and His promises of a better tomorrow.

• True disciples notice and bless others as the Savior did.
• Scripture study helps us hear the Savior’s voice.
• Living prophets and apostles provide divine guidance for our day.
• Daily repentance keeps us close to Christ.
• Following Jesus Christ brings peace, the Spirit, joy, and strength even in difficult times.

• When has counsel from living prophets or apostles brought peace or direction to your life?
• How has daily repentance changed your heart or brought you closer to the Savior?
• Can you share a time when scripture study helped you hear the Lord’s voice?
• When have you felt joy in Christ even while facing a hard situation?
• What experience could you share about noticing and lifting someone as the Savior would?

Receive the Savior’s enabling power through covenant identity

The talk teaches that through faith in Jesus Christ and covenant connection to Him, we receive enabling power to move forward. Christ does not only know the way; He is the way.

"Getting out of a difficult situation" is more than a family name to me. It is a witness of an eternal reality.

Through faith in Jesus Christ and by taking upon us His name through the covenants made at baptism, during the sacrament, and in His holy house, we gain access to His enabling power—power that can and will change our lives.

I know that in His time and in His way, there is always a way forward.

Because He not only knows the way; He is the way.

Whether your name represents the first generation in the Church or a multigenerational heritage of faith, the most eternity-shaping name we can receive is the sacred name of Jesus Christ.

We honor those who came before us, but above all we honor Him, for in His name we are bound through covenant identity.

• Faith in Jesus Christ opens access to His enabling power.
• Covenants connect us to divine strength and transformation.
• There is always a way forward in the Lord’s time and way.
• Jesus Christ is not merely a guide; He is the way itself.
• Covenant identity in Christ matters more than family background or generational standing in the Church.

• When has the Lord made a way forward for you when no clear path seemed possible?
• How have baptism, the sacrament, or temple covenants changed your life?
• What experience has shown you the enabling power of Jesus Christ?
• How has your identity as a disciple of Christ become more important than other labels or roles in your life?

Testify of the restored Church that bears His name

Elder Matswagothata concludes with a testimony of Jesus Christ, His healing power, and His restored Church, which bears His name and offers the fulness of the gospel through ordinances and covenants.

I testify that Jesus Christ restored His Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It bears His name and contains the fulness of His gospel, with ordinances and covenants that bind us to Him.

I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Prince of Peace.

He will renew our strength and bring us joy, for He comes "with healing in his wings."

He reaches for us again and again because He desires to lead us home—one by one, by name.

• The restored Church of Jesus Christ bears His sacred name.
• The fulness of the gospel is found in His restored Church.
• Ordinances and covenants bind us to Jesus Christ.
• Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace who heals and strengthens His people.
• He seeks to lead each of us home personally and individually.

• What experiences have strengthened your testimony of the restored Church of Jesus Christ?
• When have ordinances or covenants helped you feel more closely bound to the Savior?
• How has Jesus Christ brought peace or healing into your life?
• What personal witness could you share that the Savior leads His people one by one?