Take Upon Us His Name
James G. O. Fantone, of the Seventy
Elder Fantone urges us to take Christ’s name upon ourselves through covenants and service.
Open talk in Gospel LibraryIdeas for Opening the Lesson
- Write two phrases on the board: “Add His name” and “Take upon us His name.” Invite class members to consider the difference, then read Elder Fantone’s statement that the Savior invites us to become more like Him through covenant keeping. Explain that the discussion explores how this invitation shapes everyday choices.
- Briefly summarize Elder Fantone’s enrollment-document story, in which adding “Amanda” before his own name fixes an administrative mistake. Ask, “Why does taking upon ourselves the Savior’s name require more than adding a name?” Read Mosiah 3:17 as quoted in the talk to introduce the sacred significance of His name.
- Read Mosiah 2:17 as quoted in the talk. Invite class members to silently recall someone whose service helps them feel the Savior’s love, then invite a few voluntary responses. Connect their observations to Elder Fantone’s teaching that serving others expresses our determination to serve Jesus Christ.
- Write “Time did not change—the missionaries did” on the board. Briefly describe the contrast between the missionaries’ early homesickness and their later love for the people and the work. Ask class members what this contrast suggests about the Savior’s ability to change our hearts through service.
Topics
Take Christ’s Name Through Covenant Keeping
Elder Fantone distinguishes taking upon ourselves Jesus Christ’s name from merely displaying religious affiliation. The Savior invites us to become more like Him through covenant keeping, with hearts that draw near to Him rather than words alone. Taking His name therefore involves both sacred commitments and daily discipleship.
His invitation is for us to take upon us His name. It is an invitation to become more like Him through covenant keeping.
- What difference do you see between identifying yourself as a follower of Christ and truly taking upon yourself His name?
- How does Elder Fantone’s enrollment-document story help you understand the Savior’s invitation?
- What helps you keep your heart close to the Savior rather than honor Him only with your words?
- When does remembering your covenants help you make a more Christlike choice?
- What everyday action can you change this week to better reflect the name of Jesus Christ?
Serve Christ by Serving Others Throughout Life
Drawing on Moroni’s teachings, Elder Fantone explains that taking Christ’s name requires a lifelong determination to serve Him. King Benjamin identifies service to others as service to God. President Marion G. Romney’s teaching further presents service as the substance of an exalted life, not merely a requirement to endure.
Taking upon us His name requires a lifelong determination to serve Him. And King Benjamin provided the divine key: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).
- How does viewing service to another person as service to God affect your attitude toward that person?
- What does a determination to serve Christ “to the end” look like in ordinary daily life?
- How does President Romney’s description of service challenge the idea that service is simply a task to complete?
- What helps you sustain a desire to serve when your efforts feel repetitive or go unnoticed?
- What small, sustainable act of service can you make part of your discipleship in your current circumstances?
Make Room for People in Need
Elder Fantone presents his parents’ willingness to share their modest home as an example of Christlike service. They respond to a student’s need for housing and vulnerable children’s need for safety with generous action. Their example invites disciples to consider how they can use available resources to lift and love others.
Desiring to help him fulfill his potential, my parents opened our home and offered him the boys’ room.
- What stands out to you about the way Elder Fantone’s parents respond to the needs around them?
- How can we become more attentive to people whose opportunities are limited by unmet practical needs?
- What can making room for someone look like besides providing a place to live?
- Who exemplifies generous service in your life, and what do you learn from that person’s example?
- How can you use your time, abilities, or resources to help someone while honoring your responsibilities and circumstances?
Let Service Change Your Heart and Deepen Conversion
Elder Fantone describes missionaries whose loneliness gives way to love for the people and the work as they continue serving. He teaches that genuine service in Christ’s name brings a mighty change of heart that leads to conversion, not merely personal happiness. As disciples lose their lives in His service, they come to know the Savior and find themselves.
When we genuinely take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ by losing ourselves in the service of others, something miraculous happens. We experience what Alma the Younger referred to as a “mighty change” in our hearts (Alma 5:14)—the kind of change that leads to true conversion and not merely personal elation.
- What do you notice about the missionaries’ choices before their feelings about the work change?
- How does service help us move beyond simply feeling good toward becoming more deeply converted to Christ?
- What experience helps you understand how serving someone can change your heart toward that person?
- How does King Benjamin’s question in Mosiah 5:13 connect serving the Savior with knowing Him?
- What opportunity to serve can you approach with greater willingness, and what change of heart do you hope the Savior helps you experience?
Additional Discussion Questions
- How does Mosiah 3:17 help explain why the Savior’s name is more than a label of religious belonging?
- What connections do you see among covenant keeping, service, and becoming like Jesus Christ?
- How can your approach to ministering better express your covenant to take upon yourself Christ’s name?
- What habits help you notice a need and respond rather than assume someone else will help?
- How can a quorum or Relief Society support meaningful service without making it feel like a checklist?
- What can we learn from the missionaries’ perseverance without assuming everyone’s challenges resolve in the same way?
- How can we serve with love when we do not see immediate gratitude, results, or changes in our own feelings?
- What does serving with all your heart, might, mind, and strength look like within your present abilities?
- How can we teach children or newer disciples the meaning of taking Christ’s name through our example?
- As you reflect on the promise that we find Christ and ourselves in His service, what specific invitation from this talk do you feel prompted to act on?
