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Acting in the name of the Lord

Footnotes

Calling on the name of the Lord

The scriptures are full of the injunction to “call on the Lord’s name.”1 All too often, this phrase is interpreted as a synonym for prayer. To call on the name of the Lord means more than to pray to him,2 especially given that most prayers are focused on asking for what we want instead of finding out and advancing what God wants.

To call on the name of the Lord is to actively seek additional understanding and application of the Lord’s character in your life. To call on the name of the Lord is to fully live and apply the name of the Lord in every aspect of your life3 while fully expecting him to reveal more of himself to you.4 It is to seek to see yourself, others, and the world more like God does in order to enumerate changes you can make to more fully think, feel, and act as he would in your place. Calling on the name of the Lord is the means of obtaining outcomes through faith by actively recognizing situations in yourself, your family, and the world that are out of alignment with his character and doing all you can to reconcile them to his will. Calling on the name of the Lord means more than simply praying and asking for what you want. To call on the Lord is a matter of studying the scriptures, considering your experiences with God, and even asking those whose relationships with him exceed your own in order to:

  1. Find out the will of God,
  2. Make a plausible path to advancing God’s will, and
  3. Patiently, joyfully, and fervently work in a systematic and consistent way to advance God’s will.

We are instructed to continuously call upon the Lord for blessing in all that we do.5 We should do nothing without first calling on the name of the Lord by comparing our options for action against our model of what Jesus would do in our place.6 We are instructed to call “on the name of the Lord daily,” proactively considering God’s goodness, our own nothingness, and pursuing his purpose in all we do.7 Subjecting our choices to God’s will is not arbitrary compliance; long-term wellbeing is a function of alignment with the will of God. Calling on God’s name will result in universally better outcomes compared to any alternative.8

When you call on the name of the Lord, God will answer you, and through obtaining and living up to the information he provides in interactions of increasing frequency and intensity,9 you will come to more fully know the abundance of his peace and the value of his truth.10

Asking in the name of Jesus

Prayer “in the name of Jesus” does not mean ending a prayer by saying “in Jesus’ name.” Instead, it means that you know something about the Lord’s will and your prayer is focused on advancing it. Asking in Jesus’ name requires proactively seeking to discover and achieve his will on earth. Asking in his name means learning everything you can about what Jesus wants, then doing everything you can to bring his will to pass in all things. To ask in the name of Jesus is to ask God for what will advance his purpose.11

Most Christians treat prayer as if God is a genie standing ready to fulfill any wish they might contrive, and then wonder why God does not answer their prayers.12 When we focus our prayers on what we need to accomplish the purpose of Jesus, we are much more likely to receive what we ask for.13 God answers prayers that pursue the purpose of Christ.14

When you fail to receive what you ask in prayer, there are only a few possibilities:

  • You are failing to live up to God’s character as far as you believe it to be in your life.15
  • You lack sufficient reasons to believe God will grant what you are asking.16
  • You have not done what you can yourself to obtain it.17
  • You do not desire what you are asking for enough for God to give it to you.18

In each case, more work on your part is needed before you comply with the conditions God has set for giving what we ask.

You can’t pray in Jesus’ name while living in a way that contradicts his character. You can vastly increase your confidence in what you pray for by always thinking, feeling, and doing as he would in your place.19 Those who serve God the most know him the best. You cannot get to know God except through spending a great deal of time and effort developing a deep love for him through perfect obedience to him. The more you learn about Jesus and immerse yourself in his purpose, the more accurate your idea of his will becomes, and the more confident you will be in what you ask for.20 God does not grant special requests to those who are not living “in his name,” according to how they understand him to be, any more than he does to the wicked.21 However, he answers the prayers of those who have learned about and live like him.22 Jesus said: “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

The Lord will answer the prayers of all who are abiding in his purpose,23 but this obviously presupposes that they know what his purpose is24 and that they are asking in accordance with it.25 You can’t pray in Jesus’ name when you ask for something other than you think he would or for reasons other than you think he would.26

Effectual prayer requires a reason to believe that what you are asking for is according to God’s will and in alignment with his righteous purpose. Doubtful prayers are seldom answered.27 The power of asking in the name of Jesus comes from having confidence in your idea of God’s character and your similitude to him, as far as you understand.

You can’t fulfill the requirements of asking the Father in the name of Jesus without confidence that what you are asking for accords with God’s will. When you pray, you ought to first focus on discovering the will of the Lord.28 Until you have high confidence that what you ask for in prayer accords with God’s will, your requests should focus on finding out more about God’s will for you and those for whom you pray.29

You can’t pray in Jesus’ name if you have not yet done all you can to bring to pass what you are asking for. A fundamental attribute of the Lord’s character is that he always does the best he can, not the worst he can get away with. Asking in the name of Jesus is how you engage in your part of his work: you find out what he wants, and you work to help it come to pass. When you merely “ask” God vocally for something, you are engaging in far less than he intended when he commanded us to ask him for things.30 Asking in the name of Jesus requires a full effort to obtain what you request, not just a vocal effort to ask God to obtain it for you. Asking in the name of the Lord is a joint effort akin to calling for air support during an infantry mission: assistance is given to supplement your efforts, not to take their place.

Asking in the name of the Lord requires you to focus your whole soul on what you are asking for. The Greek word translated as ask, aiteó (Strong’s 154), means more than to vocally make a request. There is a strong internal connection in this word that combines the meanings of English words “beg,” “request,” “crave,” “desire,” and “require.”Asking in the name of the Lord results in a prayer with so much sincerity and fervor that it bears no resemblance to the rote and thoughtless routines practiced by most Christians, in particular at prescribed settings.31

Working miracles in the name of Jesus

The power of God flows “in his name,”32 or according to and from his character. The more a person knows about God and the more fully they live their lives as God would in their place, the more of the power of God they will experience.33

The ancients knew that asking God for blessings in accordance with his character was the key to receiving miraculous outpourings of his power. Abraham knew that God would not destroy the righteous with the wicked. He invoked God’s characteristic of justice to spare Sodom and Gomorrah from destruction.34 David invoked the Lord’s characteristic of mercy when God gave him three choices of punishment for having numbered Israel contrary to God’s command.35 Moses frequently leveraged God’s reputation to intercede for Israel. He reminded God that if he destroyed the Israelites, the surrounding people would think less of him, but if he saved them, he would show how merciful he was with his people and how powerful he was to save them.36

If you do not know the character of God, you can’t do miracles in his name. God’s power comes through serving him, but serving him requires you to know what he desires, why he desires it, and how he intends to get it. Those who attempt to exercise God’s power without ascertaining the Lord’s desires, reasons, and plans are more likely to work against him than for him.37 The key to receiving more information about his will lies in living up to what you already know about him.

Your ability to call down miracles from heaven is directly proportional to the completeness of your reconciliation to God. If you have things in your life that are contrary to his will, as you understand it, you will not have his power in your life, and you will suffer unnecessarily. Every aspect of your life that is out of alignment with the character of God increases the impedance of the flow of his power through you. The more fully you live your life as God would in your place, the more God will reveal about himself to you, and the more of the power of God you will experience. Only those who fully dedicate themselves to the will of God through living as they sincerely believe he would will experience the greatest possible measure of God’s power in their lives. As God reveals more of himself to you, God’s power will only be limited by the accuracy of your understanding of how he is and your obedience in living that way yourself. The difference in the magnitude of God’s power revealed in the lives of those who fully dedicate themselves to his will and those who do not is incomparable.

Too many Christians foolishly assume that God will give them magic power to do mighty miracles while they do not yet know him, and have not yet obeyed him. Mighty miracles do not come to those who merely ask God for them. The powers of heaven only operate in accordance with the character of God.38 Who among us would not like to see the sick healed, the dead raised, the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and every other manifestation of God’s power in our lives? Yet, there are few miracles today. This is a critical problem, for “if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.” (Moroni 7:38) Redemption works by the same faith and at the same time as manifestations of God power. If you don’t have the latter, you don’t have the former. The shortcoming in both cases is the same: falling short of full adoption of God’s purpose. The mechanism of miracles—the name of Jesus39 —explains why there are so few miracles today. People do not know the name of Jesus very well, and they do not take upon themselves the portion they do know.40 God’s power works through faith.41 If you do not live as Christ would in your place, as far as you know, you don’t have faith, and you will not have power to work miracles.42

Often, miracles fail to materialize because they are sought for according to the desires of those who ask rather than the desire of God. The purpose of miracles is to advance the purpose of God, not to fulfill the desires of men. When the apostles asked Jesus to help them have more faith, he told them to stop being so concerned with their own will, and start being more concerned with God’s.43 The same advice applies today.

Taking the name of the Lord in vain

Many people have heard of the commandment God gave against taking his name in vain,44 but far fewer understand what it means. To take the name of the Lord in vain is to profess to be a believer in God while feeling, thinking, or acting contrary to how God would in your place. It is not about saying names of God, but about failing to live up to his character while pretending to believe in him. The Hebrew word used in the phrase “take the Lord’s name” (Strong’s 5375 nasah ) does not mean “speak,” but (among other things) accept, bear, desire, marry, magnify, raise up, respect, wear, and swear. The description of what it means to take the Lord’s name upon you given in the prior chapter should seem obviously relevant to these synonyms.

You take the Lord’s name in vain when you fail to live up to the Lord’s example in front of others, profaning his character instead of helping them see more of his goodness. One reason that God grants his children what they ask for in prayer is to manifest his name to people who otherwise would not know it.45 As you gain knowledge of and power with God, you increase in your capability to more fully demonstrate how God is to others,46 helping them increase the goodness they perceive in him.47 The Lord punishes those who profane his name to preserve the reasons his children have to believe in him.48

You take the name of the Lord in vain when you end a prayer in the name of Jesus, when you lack sufficient information to suggest God’s will, when you know his character or will is opposed to what you are saying, when you have more you can do to bring to pass what you are asking him for, or when you are living differently than you believe he would outside of your prayer. When your prayers are vague, weak, or ineffectual, you make the Lord seem capricious, aloof, and weak, when you could be showing others how to communicate sincerely with God and how doing so results in the outpouring of his peace and power.

When you mindlessly “testify” of something being good or true without actually researching or testing it against alternatives, you are taking the Lord’s name in vain and bearing false witness.

Taking the Lord’s name in vain is a serious sin carrying strict penalties.49 God considers taking his name in vain so seriously because of the harm it does to those who do it and to those in front of whom they do it.50

Swearing by the name of God

In former times, it was common to indicate the seriousness of a commitment by swearing an oath. Both Jesus and James spoke against this practice.51 When you make a specific promise, you are trapping yourself in the event that the conditions under which you made your promise change. You can find yourself in a situation where keeping your promise requires you to do less than your best.

A better approach to making specific promises is to promise that you will always do what the Lord would do in your place, subject to your understanding of his will. By committing to always live as the Lord would in your place, you fulfill an ancient and still valid commandment to serve, cleave to, and swear by the name of God.52 To always act as he would in your place as far as you understand him to be is referred to as the oath and covenant of the priesthood.53

Part of being a Christian is to conduct yourself to the same standards you believe Christ would.54 When you act differently than God would in your place, you profane his name.55 While the stalwart honest example of faithful believers makes a powerful argument in favor of Christianity,56 lackluster examples of professed Christians make it difficult to take the faith seriously. It causes great harm to God’s cause and makes him angry when professed Christians lie, cheat, or steal.57

Coming in the name of the Lord

What does it mean to come in the name of the Lord, and what does it mean to “say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”?

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, crowds of people lined the streets to greet him:

And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Mark 11:9)

Just a few days later, Jesus lamented over their rejection of him:

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23)

Someone who comes in the name of the Lord is someone who is in the character and purpose of the Lord, doing his works in so far as they are able and understand. All believers in Christ are called to come in the name of the Lord through living as Jesus would in their place. Taking the name of God upon you is represented symbolically through accepting robes indicating you are an emissary of the heavenly king.58 High priests demonstrated this lesson by wearing robes representing God’s glory and even wearing the engraved name of God draped upon their forehead.59

Most people—particularly professed Christians—incorrectly believe that they would rejoice at the opportunity to know God better. Most people—including professed Christians—would respond to Jesus the same way the people in his time did if he lived here today.60 These people respond the same way to his servants as they would to him:61 by ignoring, rejecting, and even persecuting those more like Jesus than they are. The principle error made by those who rejected Jesus during his life was appraising his worth in terms of what they thought they already had. What they failed to recognize was that Jesus possessed power,62 wisdom,63 and love64 far beyond their limits. Instead of drawing near to him for what was better than what they already had, they rejected him for differing from it. Do not make the same mistake.

If you truly desire to learn more about how Jesus is, it is absolutely essential that you get better at correctly identifying those who come in the name of the Lord and improve how you would respond to one if you were to meet them. The best way to achieve both outcomes is to fully live up to what you presently believe about Jesus. When you live up to what you know about Jesus, not only have you chosen to value his character and purpose, as far as you understand it, more than anything else, but you will have the clearest possible picture of your ongoing limitations and lack, and will be best suited to recognize and value the opportunity to learn more about the Lord when he sends you someone who knows him better than you.

Believing on the Lord’s name

The importance of belief in Jesus is attested to by countless scriptures about it and that, for most Christians, belief is the defining quality of whether you are a Christian or not. Unfortunately, Jesus does not define belief this way, nor do the scriptures pointed to by those who do.

Belief in Jesus is not the same as believing in his name. Belief in Jesus can be anything one defines it to be, as attested to by the diversity of beliefs held by those who claim to. Most people who claim to believe in Jesus have no idea what he is like. They’ve never met him, and they don’t bother seeking to learn about him from those who know him, such as by reading the scriptures. For these people, Jesus is a catch-all cosmic idol constructed to be whatever they hope he is like.

Belief in his name is uniquely defined by how he actually is. To believe in the name of the Lord, you must actually find out what he is like, and actually be the same way.65 If you do not act, think, and desire as he did and does, according to the example he gave, you do not believe on his name. You might be able to claim you believe in Jesus while not actually following his example, but you can’t believe in his name while intentionally ignoring and living differently than the example given in the scriptures.66

The degree to which you believe in God is the degree to which you follow his example, as far as you understand it. If you believe on the name of Jesus, you will act, think, and desire as he did and does, as far as you understand him to be. It is through belief in his name, and not in his mere existence, that remission of sins comes.67 If you believe on the Lord’s name, you believe that God is “mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.” (Alma 7:14) If you believe on the Lord’s name, you believe that, through him, you can do anything he shows you he would do in your place: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13) You believe that, in him, you can do all things he commands.68 If you believe on the Lord’s name, you believe he can show you how and why to be sinless.69 If you believe on the Lord’s name, you know that those who do not follow his example are damned.70

If you believe on the Lord’s name, you will do mighty works by following his example in all things. You believe that when he said, “he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also” (John 14:12), he meant it. You believe that when he said, “greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12), he meant that if you believe him enough to seek and obey him, he can put enough of himself into you to do everything he ever did here and more. When you believe in the Lord’s name, you believe all of this in spite of all your weakness, and all your ignorance, and all of your problems, because you know it is about him and how he is, not you and how you think you are.

Glorifying the name of Christ

What is God’s glory? While God’s name is his character, God’s glory is the effect of that character. God’s name describes and dictates his actions, motives, and means, while his glory consists of what results from them. God’s name and his glory cannot be separated. His name causes his glory.

To glorify God means to increase how much of God’s goodness is seen by ourselves and others. To glorify God is to increase understanding and valuation of who, how, and what God is and why he is that way through learning more about him and living more fully as he would in your place.

To magnify the name of Christ or to glorify the name of Christ or to sanctify the name of Christ all refer to slightly different ways of helping others increase the accuracy and depth of their perception of the goodness of God. Nothing you do can make the name of Christ better than it already is. However, you can help others to see more of the greatness of God than they did before.71

The Son glorified the Father by learning and living his character as a man on earth.72 You glorify the Son by learning and living his character in this life.73 You glorify the name of Christ by learning and living it yourself74 and by doing all you can to help others to do the same.75

Footnotes

  • 1. But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; (Alma 13:28) ↩
  • 2. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. (Psalm 145:18) ↩
  • 3. ...O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. (D&C 4:2) ↩
  • 4. For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. (2 Nephi 25:23) ↩
  • 5. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you. (Alma 34:19-27) ↩
  • 6. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul. (2 Nephi 32:9) ↩
  • 7. And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. (Mosiah 4:11) ↩
  • 8. And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. (2 Nephi 32:8) ↩
  • 9. But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all longsuffering; (Alma 13:28) ↩
  • 10. Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not....Behold, [I] will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. (Jeremiah 33:2-3, 6) ↩
  • 11. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10) ↩
  • 12. Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God. (Mormon 9:28) ↩
  • 13. O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. (Mormon 9:27) ↩
  • 14. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. (1 John 3:22-24) ↩
  • 15. You can’t work “...a miracle in the name of Jesus save [you are] cleansed every whit from [your] iniquity.” (3 Nephi 8:1) “Every whit” means in totality. ↩
  • 16. The Lord said: “all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22) ↩
  • 17. Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. (D&C 123:17) ↩
  • 18. When two blind men cried to the passing Lord, the crowd tried to silence them. They responded to the opposition by crying even more: “And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” (Matthew 20:30-33) ↩
  • 19. Our knowledge of God’s will and our obedience to it in all things is our confidence with God; it is how we know what to ask from him and how we know that he will give us what we ask. (1 John 5:14-15, Author’s Reflection) ↩
  • 20. And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you. (Moses 6:52) ↩
  • 21. For behold, thus saith the Lord: I will not show unto the wicked of my strength, to one more than the other, save it be unto those who repent of their sins, and hearken unto my words. Now therefore, I would that ye should behold, my brethren, that it shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent. (Helaman 7:23) ↩
  • 22. And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done. (D&C 50:29) ↩
  • 23. Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day. (Alma 37:36-37) ↩
  • 24. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7) ↩
  • 25. And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. (Moroni 7:33) ↩
  • 26. ...Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it. (Enos 1:15) ↩
  • 27. Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth. (Mormon 9:21) ↩
  • 28. See 2 Nephi 32:9, previously cited. ↩
  • 29. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8) ↩
  • 30. Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. (D&C 9:7) Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. (D&C 123:17) ↩
  • 31. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7) ↩
  • 32. And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to do many mighty works in his name; (Alma 19:4) ↩
  • 33. I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life. (D&C 45:8) ↩
  • 34. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. (Genesis 18:22-32) ↩
  • 35. Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men. And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing place of Araunah the Jebusite. And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house. (2 Samuel 24:12-17) ↩
  • 36. ...the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. (Numbers 14:13-19) ↩
  • 37. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. (Luke 11:23) ↩
  • 38. That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. (D&C 121:36) ↩
  • 39. And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the sick, and raise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and all manner of miracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were in the name of Jesus. (4 Nephi 1:5) ↩
  • 40. And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done. (D&C 50:29) ↩
  • 41. ...wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever. (Moroni 10:7) ↩
  • 42. Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings. (Mosiah 8:18) ↩
  • 43. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. (Luke 17:5-10) ↩
  • 44. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power]. (Exodus 20:7, AMP) ↩
  • 45. And whatever thing ye ask the Father in my name, I shall do this thing, that the Father be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13, Wycliffe Translation) ↩
  • 46. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. (John 2:11) ↩
  • 47. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) ↩
  • 48. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. (Ezekiel 36:23) ↩
  • 49. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7) ↩
  • 50. For this is a day of warning, and not a day of many words. For I, the Lord, am not to be mocked in the last days. Behold, I am from above, and my power lieth beneath. I am over all, and in all, and through all, and search all things, and the day cometh that all things shall be subject unto me. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega, even Jesus Christ. Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips—For behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority. (D&C 63:58-62) ↩
  • 51. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. (Matthew 5:33-37) But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. (James 5:12) ↩
  • 52. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. (Deuteronomy 10:20) ↩
  • 53. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. (D&C 84:39) ↩
  • 54. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. (Deuteronomy 6:13) ↩
  • 55. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:12) ↩
  • 56. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people. (Jeremiah 12:16) ↩
  • 57. Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. (Isaiah 48:1) ↩
  • 58. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 22:11-13) ↩
  • 59. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. (Exodus 28:38) ↩
  • 60. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. (John 16:2) ↩
  • 61. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. (John 15:19-21) ↩
  • 62. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. (Matthew 12:27) ↩
  • 63. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:42) ↩
  • 64. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13) ↩
  • 65. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life. And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits. (Helaman 14:8, 13) I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one. (D&C 35:2) ↩
  • 66. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:46) ↩
  • 67. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts 10:43) ↩
  • 68. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever. (Alma 26:12) ↩
  • 69. And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits. (Helaman 14:13) ↩
  • 70. And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it. (2 Nephi 9:24) ↩
  • 71. Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. (Deuteronomy 32:3) ↩
  • 72. Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name. (3 Nephi 9:15) ↩
  • 73. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word....For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me....I am glorified in them. (John 17:6, 8, 10) ↩
  • 74. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:8) ↩
  • 75. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:13) ↩
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