When we become the children of Christ, he becomes our covenant Father, and every week we remember the sacred covenant by taking upon us the name of Christ. We promise to remember him and obey him, thus showing we have truly taken upon us his name; that is, we become Christian, and our behavior is Christlike. We remember to retain his name written always in our hearts. How? By keeping all his commandments: praying, studying the scriptures, fasting, attending meetings, serving, paying tithes and offerings, maintaining healthy bodies, staying morally clean, and following all of his other instructions. We will recognize his voice to us and the name by which he calls us, which name has sacramental and temple significance.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught: “Willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ can … be understood as willingness to take upon us the authority of Jesus Christ. According to this meaning, by partaking of the sacrament we witness our willingness to participate in the sacred ordinances of the temple and to receive the highest blessings available through the name and by the authority of the Savior when he chooses to confer them upon us… .
“… Our witness that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ constitutes our declaration of candidacy for exaltation in the celestial kingdom.” 19
Verse 7 declares that when we make this sacred covenant with Christ, we become his sons and daughters; with that kind of holy commitment “he hath spiritually begotten you.” Of course, we are first of all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. He gave us our original spiritual birth, clothing our intelligences with spirit bodies. But now, in a new sense, we become “children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters.” In Doctrine and Covenants 25:1, he explains that “all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom” (see also Ether 3:14).
Rather than Jesus Christ being our elder Brother, as he is sometimes called by members of the Church, he has actually become our covenant Father, and we should use this more reverential title. Elder Theodore M. Burton of the Seventy explained why:
“It bothers me a little to hear members of our Church speak familiarly of Jesus Christ. They often refer to him as ‘our elder Brother.’ It is true that Jesus Christ was the Firstborn of all the spirit children of God the Eternal Father. In the spirit world he was known as Jehovah, the Firstborn. In that world, we were justified in referring to him as our elder Brother because we were with him there, and he was indeed our elder Brother in that existence. But that time has passed. We are now living in a new and a different world. Before we came here, we accepted Jehovah to become our Anointed Savior. We shouted with joy at the prospects of receiving him here as our Lord and Savior, our God and King, even our covenant Father.
“When we are baptized, we actually make a new covenant with God the Eternal Father to take upon us the name of his Only Begotten Son. Jesus Christ thus becomes by adoption our covenant Father. It is, therefore, in my opinion, wrong on earth after baptism to refer to him now as ‘our elder Brother.’ He is now our covenant Father, and we have become his covenant sons and daughters. We ought to be more respectful and show our gratitude to him for the opportunity we have to become members of his royal family.” 20
“Ye Shall Be Called the Children of Christ”
When we become the children of Christ, he becomes our covenant Father, and every week we remember the sacred covenant by taking upon us the name of Christ. We promise to remember him and obey him, thus showing we have truly taken upon us his name; that is, we become Christian, and our behavior is Christlike. We remember to retain his name written always in our hearts. How? By keeping all his commandments: praying, studying the scriptures, fasting, attending meetings, serving, paying tithes and offerings, maintaining healthy bodies, staying morally clean, and following all of his other instructions. We will recognize his voice to us and the name by which he calls us, which name has sacramental and temple significance.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught: “Willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ can … be understood as willingness to take upon us the authority of Jesus Christ. According to this meaning, by partaking of the sacrament we witness our willingness to participate in the sacred ordinances of the temple and to receive the highest blessings available through the name and by the authority of the Savior when he chooses to confer them upon us… .
“… Our witness that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ constitutes our declaration of candidacy for exaltation in the celestial kingdom.” 19
Verse 7 declares that when we make this sacred covenant with Christ, we become his sons and daughters; with that kind of holy commitment “he hath spiritually begotten you.” Of course, we are first of all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. He gave us our original spiritual birth, clothing our intelligences with spirit bodies. But now, in a new sense, we become “children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters.” In Doctrine and Covenants 25:1, he explains that “all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom” (see also Ether 3:14).
Rather than Jesus Christ being our elder Brother, as he is sometimes called by members of the Church, he has actually become our covenant Father, and we should use this more reverential title. Elder Theodore M. Burton of the Seventy explained why:
“It bothers me a little to hear members of our Church speak familiarly of Jesus Christ. They often refer to him as ‘our elder Brother.’ It is true that Jesus Christ was the Firstborn of all the spirit children of God the Eternal Father. In the spirit world he was known as Jehovah, the Firstborn. In that world, we were justified in referring to him as our elder Brother because we were with him there, and he was indeed our elder Brother in that existence. But that time has passed. We are now living in a new and a different world. Before we came here, we accepted Jehovah to become our Anointed Savior. We shouted with joy at the prospects of receiving him here as our Lord and Savior, our God and King, even our covenant Father.
“When we are baptized, we actually make a new covenant with God the Eternal Father to take upon us the name of his Only Begotten Son. Jesus Christ thus becomes by adoption our covenant Father. It is, therefore, in my opinion, wrong on earth after baptism to refer to him now as ‘our elder Brother.’ He is now our covenant Father, and we have become his covenant sons and daughters. We ought to be more respectful and show our gratitude to him for the opportunity we have to become members of his royal family.” 20