57. The Blessing of a Name

An edited version of a thought I gave in the weekly devotional of the Missionary Department on Tuesday morning, October 16, 1984, and later published in the November 1984 issue of the Family Journal. Our eighth child and sixth daughter, Mary Elizabeth Cleverly, had been born two weeks earlier on Monday, October 1, 1984. She was our final child.

The pattern in recent months in these devotional talks has been to give some background about ourselves. I was born the seventh of nine children, the next to last of my parents’ eight sons before their final child turned out to be a daughter. I was born in eastern Oregon and lived there until I was nine. Then we moved twenty or so miles eastward into Idaho, where I finished growing up in the Nampa area until I went away to BYU, a mission to Brazil, and back to BYU to graduate in English and Portuguese.

I met my wife on a blind date at BYU, and we have been living happily ever after since that time. And here we are eight children later.

And that brings us to what I wanted to talk about.

Since the birth of our eighth child two weeks ago, I have thought a lot about the importance of names. Interestingly, for the first time in our career as parents, we didn’t have a name ready for this new little one, so she was named by committee.

Over the years we have tried to give our children names that would give them something to live up to. In the book of Helaman in the Book of Mormon we read of how Helaman did a similar thing with two of his sons, Lehi and Nephi. Let me read just two verses from the fifth chapter:

“Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.

“Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them” (Helaman 5:6–7).

I suspect as we seek to obey the commandment the Lord has given us to honor our fathers and mothers we could do no better than to honor the names they have given us—whether our given names or the family names we bear.

President George Albert Smith, while he was President of the Church, told of an incident earlier in his life when he was quite ill and hovered for some weeks between life and death. He was down in St. George, where the climate was supposed to be more healthful for his particular condition.

While there he had a dream or vision, or perhaps even entered into the spirit world, where he met his grandfather, George A. Smith, whom he was named after. His grandfather was a very large man, and he approached George Albert Smith and asked him what he had done with his name.

President Smith was happy to report that he had nothing to bring shame or dishonor to that name. And it was a time of renewed resolve for him to make something of his life, which of course he did, including being called to preside over the Lord’s church.

There is another name that is very important to each of us. At the time of our baptism we covenanted with God that we would take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. We became His disciples. We were adopted as His sons and daughters. We were purchased by His blood. In the very finest sense of the word, we became Christians, followers of Christ, His children.

We read in the scriptures in several places that there is none other name by which we may be saved.

And just as Helaman told his two sons, Lehi and Nephi, we “should remember to keep the commandments of God.” As we seek to keep His commandments, as we seek to remember Him always (as we promise each week to do), as we seek to love Him and our fellowmen, as we seek to reverence Him, we will be remembering Him and honoring His name and becoming more like Him, which I pray each of us may do. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.