In my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) there isn’t one preacher or pastor who addresses the congregation each week. Speakers are usually members of the congregation. Yesterday, I was one of the speakers at church. The topic is sometimes assigned, sometimes not. My topic yesterday was the third commandment – Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (Exodus 20:7). As the congregation I attend is German, I gave the talk in German. As most of my readers are English speakers (on one level or another) I will translate my talk from German to English. The talk was only 5 minutes long, there there is plenty I left out, but I will include my sources so those who are interested can read more.
I would like to begin with a story. “When President George Albert Smith was young, his deceased grandfather George A. Smith appeared to him in a dream and asked, “I would like to know what you have done with my name.” President Smith responded, ‘I have never done anything with your name of which you need be ashamed.’”
I will return to this story later. The topic of my talk today is the third commandment. It is found in Exodus 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” What does it mean to take the name of the Lord in vain? Or, how can one take the name of the Lord in vain? What I was taught is that the name of the Lord can be misused when one uses it as a swear word or uses it in excess. It seemed to me that that was all there was to this commandment, and I didn’t need to think too much more about it. Through preparing for this talk, I learned there is more to this commandment; it has a deeper meaning.
Robert L. Millet said “third commandment has as much to do with the way we live and the way we are as it does with the way we speak. It is tied to our eternal perspective—the way we think and act upon sacred things.” [I could add a side note here (I didn’t add this in my talk yesterday): This is a topic I have put quite a bit of thought into over the past few years. What is sacred/holy? How do we treat it properly? Matthew 7:6 advises “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” I have don’t have any epiphanies on this topic to share at this time, but it is a topic that rests on my mind frequently.] The verb ‘take’ is translated from the Hebrew word Nasah and means to raise, lift up, bear, take or carry away. The adjective ‘in vain’ is from the Hebrew Shau and means empty, worthless, meaningless. Using these translations, we can substitute them into the commandment to find a deeper meaning – Thou shalt not (bear, lift up, raise, etc.) the name of the Lord (as empty, worthless, or meaningless).
When we are baptized, we take the name of Christ on us (Acts 19:5, Moroni 6:3). Each week when we take of the sacrament, we renew the covenants we made at baptism (D&C 20:75-79). All those who have been baptized have taken the name of Christ on themselves. What they do with this name shows how they honor the name of God and keep it holy. Ester Rasband explained “When we take the name of the Lord upon us, we begin the process of learning to be like Him, of receiving His countenance in our own, and of receiving His grace and therefore His peace.” Robert L. Millet said “to willingly or knowingly violate our covenants made in his name is to take the name of the Lord in vain—to take lightly or treat as empty and meaningless our sacred and solemn obligations. God will not be mocked (see Gal. 6:7), nor will he suffer that his holy ordinances be mocked or treated capriciously or cavalierly.”
Think back to the story I explained at the beginning. “Just as President George Albert Smith had to account to his grandfather for what he had done with his name, someday each one of us will have to account to our Savior, Jesus Christ, for what we have done with His name.”
It is a privilege to carry the name of God. When we honor the name of God and do not misuse it, we become several blessings. When Moses was told by the Lord to “put my name upon the children of Israel” (Num. 6:27) they were promised blessings. Those who carry the name of the Lord today also qualify for these blessings:
“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
“The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
“The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
“And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them” (Num. 6:24–27).
In the Book of Mormon, the Lord says “And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world.” (Ether 4:19)
In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord promises “unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.” (D&C 63:23)
I am grateful for the opportunity I had to learn more about this commandment. I am grateful that God trust us to keep his name holy and that gives us experiences that allow us to become more like him.
Resources:
Honoring His Holy Name - By Robert L. Millet
The Third Commandment – By Ester Rasband
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