Talk Preparation Guide for "Take Upon Us His Name"

Elder Fantone teaches that taking upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ means more than identifying ourselves as His followers. Through covenant keeping and lifelong service, we become more like Him and experience a mighty change of heart. His examples of generous parents and persevering missionaries show how ordinary acts of service express sacred commitments. As you prepare your sacrament meeting talk, consider focusing on one central principle, connecting it with a scripture, and sharing a personal experience that points listeners toward Jesus Christ. Preview questions: What distinguishes taking upon ourselves Christ’s name from merely adding His name to our own? How do our covenants shape our daily choices? How does serving other people help us serve and know the Savior? What changes in our hearts as we persevere in service?

Topics

Take Christ’s Name Through Covenant Keeping

Elder Fantone contrasts adding a name to a document with accepting the Savior’s sacred invitation to take upon ourselves His name. This invitation calls for sincere discipleship and covenant keeping, not merely an outward sign of religious affiliation. Jesus Christ is the only name through which salvation comes.

The Savior’s invitation is not merely for us to add His name to our name like a badge of religious affiliation.

His invitation is for us to take upon us His name. It is an invitation to become more like Him through covenant keeping.

There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

Key Points:

Salvation comes only in and through Jesus Christ.
Taking Christ’s name upon ourselves involves our hearts, not just our words or outward identification.
Covenant keeping helps us become more like the Savior.
The invitation to bear Christ’s name has practical meaning in everyday life.

Experiences:

What experience with baptism or covenant renewal helps you understand what it means to take upon yourself Christ’s name?
When does remembering your covenant relationship with Jesus Christ guide a daily decision?
What example from your life illustrates the difference between appearing religious and sincerely following the Savior?
How does a particular covenant help you develop a Christlike quality?

Serve Jesus Christ by Serving Others

Elder Fantone connects taking Christ’s name with a lifelong determination to serve Him. King Benjamin’s teaching explains that serving other people is serving God. Elder Fantone’s parents illustrate this principle by sharing their modest home with people who need housing and safety.

Taking upon us His name requires a lifelong determination to serve Him.

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made.

Key Points:

Taking upon ourselves Christ’s name includes a determination to serve Him to the end.
Service to other people is service to God.
Elder Fantone’s parents demonstrate generosity by making room in their home for people in need.
Service expresses the nature of an exalted life rather than merely functioning as a task to endure.
Our homes, time, and resources provide opportunities to lift and love others.

Experiences:

Who in your family or ward shows you what Christlike service looks like, and what specific example can you share?
What experience of receiving help deepens your understanding of the Savior’s love?
When does sharing your time, space, or resources help someone feel valued and safe?
What ordinary opportunity to serve helps you see another person as a child of God?

Persevere in Service Through Personal Struggles

Elder Fantone describes missionaries who face loneliness and homesickness yet continue praying and serving. As they persevere, their love for the people and the work grows. Their example shows that meaningful service can continue amid difficulty and can change those who serve.

Yet these valiant missionaries got on their knees, put on their name tags, and went out to serve anyway.

Time did not change—the missionaries did.

The work did not change—the workers did.

His invitation is for us to take upon us His name by covenant and to serve Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength—by lifting, loving, and serving our fellow men.

Key Points:

Faithful disciples can experience loneliness, discouragement, and uncertainty.
The missionaries respond to their struggles with prayer and continued service.
Perseverance in service allows their love for people and the Lord’s work to grow.
The call to serve Christ to the end invites sustained commitment rather than service only when circumstances feel easy.

Experiences:

What experience shows you that prayer helps you continue serving during discouragement?
When does a calling or service opportunity become more meaningful as your love for the people grows?
What helps you honor a commitment to serve when enthusiasm feels low?
What example from missionary work, ministering, family life, or community service illustrates a change in the person serving?

Let Christ Transform Your Heart Through Service

Elder Fantone teaches that genuinely taking Christ’s name and losing ourselves in service brings a mighty change of heart. This change leads to true conversion, not merely a temporary feeling of happiness. Serving the Savior helps us know Him, and Elder Fantone testifies that losing our lives in His service helps us find both Him and ourselves.

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.

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?

I testify that He lives, that this is His restored Church, and that as we lose our lives in His service, we will find Him and we will find ourselves.

Key Points:

Genuine service in Christ’s name can bring a mighty change of heart.
True conversion involves more than personal elation.
Serving the Savior helps us know Him and keep Him in our thoughts and intentions.
Losing ourselves in His service helps us find Him and discover ourselves.
Elder Fantone grounds his invitation in his testimony that Jesus Christ lives and that this is His restored Church.

Experiences:

How does serving someone change your feelings toward that person?
What experience helps you distinguish a temporary good feeling from a lasting change in your desires?
When does service help you understand the Savior’s character more deeply?
How does focusing on another person’s needs help you recognize your purpose as a disciple of Jesus Christ?