The Name
Written as a memorial 20 years after the publication of The Second Comforter-April 6, 2006
McKay Platt
Introduction:
The title, “the Name” is intentional. This paper is about “the Name”, not “naming” or “names”, although we will touch on those topics as well. It is about a somewhat mysterious religious concept, scattered throughout the revelations. I understand enough to introduce this mystery. Not enough to elucidate it. With that caveat let’s look at names and naming.
Naming:
Of the estimated 7.77 million species of animals, and countless plants, fungi, protozoa and bacteria naming is unique to men. Adam named the animals and subsequent men have named every other known animal, plant, fungus, protozoan and bacterium. To identify a previously unknown species and name it is considered a great privilege in the scientific community.
Of the 8.3 billion humans on earth today and the estimated 117 billion since the dawn of human existence, presumably every one of them were individually named. Yet none of the animals have individual names excepting as they come into contact with men, eg. pets.
Naming things is a human compulsion, or instinct, helping us construct reality, exercise control (more on this later), empathize and connect, systematize and bring order to our understanding. Imagine teaching children about the fifty states without naming them! Unthinkable. Naming, however, is only the beginning of understanding.
Naming in the heavens
Giving names is a carry-over from our prior lives. The name “Jesus” or “Jeshua” was given to our Lord on this planet but He had a name before He was born. So did each of us, presumably. Michael is a name for Adam, but it is not his mortal name. I suspect that Michael was his name in the pre-mortal world. If that is true for Michael, then it is perhaps true of Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel and others as well.
The Name and Breath, an Eastern understanding
The Hebrew word for a “name” is שם (shem). The Hebrew word נשמה (neshamah) is formed by adding the letters מ (m) and ה (h) to the word שם (shem). This word is used in Genesis 2:7 (OC Gen 2:11) and means “breath.”
“And the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and he blew in his nostrils the breath (נשמה) of life and the man became a living soul.”
The Western mind has no reason to connect “ground” & “breath”. We simply see “breath” as the exchange of air within the lungs, the ancient Hebrew mind understood the “breath” in an entirely different way as can be seen in Job 32:8 (OC Job 11:2),
“The wind within man and the breath (נשמה) of the Almighty teach them.”
Our Western understanding of the breath does not easily grasp the concept that a breath can teach. While our Western understanding can easily associate thoughts and emotions as the function of the “mind”, the Easterner sees the same function in the “breath”. The “breath” of both men and God has the ability to carry thought and emotion.
The name as character
A “name” is a person’s “breath,” his character.
A common mistake in Biblical interpretation is to make a distinction between a name and a title. For example, “King David”, is often understood as containing the “name” “David” (an identifier) and his “title,” “King”. The Hebrew word דויד (david) literally means; “beloved”, or “one who loves” and is descriptive of David's character. The Hebrew word מלך (melek) literally means “ruler” or “one who rules” and is also descriptive of David's character. The Hebrews made no such distinction between a name and a title. The phrase “King David” is Hebraicly understood as “the one who rules is the one who loves”, a very fitting title for the great benevolent king of Israel and the friend of God.
Hebrew names have meanings that are lost when translated into English. The Hebrew word אדם (adam), means “man” and is also the name of the first man, Adam, as well as the name of the first couple.
“The LORD God formed the man אדם (adam) from the dust of the ground”.
English translations completely erase the Hebraic connection between the “man” and his origin. When we place the original Hebrew words back into the text, we can see the connection between the words in the verse.
And the LORD formed the אדם (Adam) from the dust of אדמה (adamah, - ground). (Genesis 2:7, OC Gen 2:11).
Here are a few other examples of the relationship between an individual's name and his function or role.
And she bore קין (Qayin/Cain) and she said I have קנה (Qanah, - acquired) a man. (Genesis 4:1, OC Gen 3:6)
And she bore a son and called his name שת (Sheyt/Seth) because God שית (Shiyt- placed) a seed to replace Abel. (Genesis 4:25)
And he called his name נוח (No’ahh/Noah) saying he will נחם (Nahham- comfort) us (Genesis 5:29, OC Gen 5:4)
And to Eber were born two sons, the name of one is פלג (Peleg) because in his days the land was פלג (Palag- divided). (Genesis 10.25, OC Gen 6:4).
Lost in Translation
Because Bible translations transliterate a name, such as נוח into “Noah,” the translation converts the meaning and essence of the name into simple “identifiers” and the connections between the name and his or her function or role is lost in the translation.
This concept of names conveying meaning & character has been almost entirely from Western societies and we name our children more based on what is popular (Liam and Olivia) and whether a name is pleasing to the ear (Bertha). We name our children after people we like (my parents named me McKay, after David O.) and refuse to use names of those we shun (Adolf-noble wolf).
Egyptian Thought
The earliest Egyptian religion was taught them by Enoch and therefore ideas from early Egyptian religion often convey truths subsequently lost in modern Christianity. In the Egyptian view men and women were seven things:
1-The physical body or Khat,
2-The life force or Ka,
3-The personality or soul, Ba,
4-The heart, Ib,
5-The shadow, Shut,
6- the power or energy, the Sekhut and finally,
7-the Ren or name.
Now here is where the mystery begins”.
Ren (The Name/Identity):
The Egyptians believed that as long as a person’s name was spoken or recorded, they lived. This concept is taught in scripture with two caveats, having the name inscribed in stone is insufficient. It must be written in “the Book of Life” for one to have life, eternal life. Inscribing a name in stone to be remembered and live, is a distorsion and perversion of the truth taught by the holy prophets. However, having the name written, leading to remembrance, associated with life (eternal life), the Egyptians got right.
“…the saints…(may) lay hold of the same promises and attain the same exalted privilege of knowing that their names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (T&C 99:15).
And to have your name forgotten, to an Egyptian was to have your life extinguished. This too is taught in scripture.
“And whoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (NC Revelation 8:7).
Also,
“their names (the wicked) shall be blotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous…” (NC Alma 3:57).
The “blotting out” referred to is from “The Book of Life” and from “the records of the church” in Joseph’s day.
He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white rainment, and I will not blot his name of of the Book of Life…” (Rev 3:5, NC Rev 1:16).
“…if any have been expelled from the church, so that their names may be blotted out of the general church record of names. (JSH 16:27)
Among Covenant Christians today, the only “blotting out” of names is from the other side of the veil, and for persons who request their names be removed from the Baptism book.
“The names of those baptized in the New Covenant “will be deposited in a temple to be built before the Lord’s return”.
The New Name
The new name is a name given to the faithful by the Lord. It is an expected part of a person’s advance in righteousness and favor before the Lord. There are only a few new names clearly reported in scripture: Melchizedek, given to Shem, Abraham to Abram, Sarah to Sarai, Israel to Jacob, David to Denver and Jaqim to someone not named in the revelation. All new names remind us that the individual has taken on the character of God. Melchizedek-king of righteousness, Abraham-father of a multitude, Sarah-princess, Israel-God prevails, Denver-beloved, and Jaqim-He lifts up.
The new name is foreshadowed in many of our cultural practices across the globe: the wife taking the name of her husband, the Hopi woman whispering her new name into the ear of her new husband, popes and Kings taking on new names, new names for new initiates throughout the world including the Mormon temple endowment. These new names all signify a change in relationship, status or position. Obtaining a new name from God is no different.
“It signifies that person has a newness of life with Him. Receiving a new name from God also marks entry into His family, for when God gives a new name, He is adopting into His family. He names someone because they belong to Him.”
Names give power
I can get my wife’s attention in a large crowd by speaking her name. No other word spoken in such a crowd would grab her attention like her name. In a similar way, there is an idea suggested by some traditions and scripture that knowing and using God’s name gives you power with God.
Masonic tradition suggests that if you know the name of God you have power with God and Hiram Abiff was tortured and murder to reveal the name. That tradition suggests the name of God was entirely lost by his murder.
Joseph Smith is quoted as saying,
“The Great God has a name by which He will be called which is Ahman—also in asking have reference to a personage like Adam for God made Adam just in his own image. Now this a key for you to know how to ask & obtain.“
It would be nice to have the actual text of this speech as the words recorded are not clear on the key to ask & obtain. What is communicated is that the name of God and the name of “a personage” are keys to ask and obtain. Denver’s words on this are clear.
“If God gives you a new name, as far as I can tell, its greatest value comes from obtaining an answer to prayer. If you cannot otherwise get a reply, remind the Lord who you are by referring to your new name, that He gave the name to you, and tell Him it is that person inquiring. The answer always comes (in my experience).”
The mystery of the name
Multiple passages use “the name” in verses which seem non-essential and confusing. Why not render the following passages with “the name”….
“faith on his name” vs faith on Christ
“baptized in his name” vs baptized
“take upon them the name of Christ” vs be called Christians
“hallowed be thy name” vs honor God
“thanks be to thy name” vs thank you God
“bearing record of thy name” vs testify of Christ
“bear testimony of thy name” vs testify of Christ
“build a holy city to thy name” vs build a holy city to you
“build a house to thy name” vs build a house for you
“put upon (the church) thy name” vs call us your church
“thy name be upon them (thy servants that go forth from this house)” vs give thy servants your power
“witnesses of the name of Christ” vs witness of Christ
This is by no means an exhaustive list of mysterious uses of “the name” in scripture but is sufficient to show that “the name” in these passages point to something poorly understood or worse, non-essential. Importantly, Book of Mormon references to “the name” which appear extraneous are not removed from the Covenant of Christ but are continued forward suggesting the essential nature of “the name” in these passages. For example:
“call upon the name of the Lord” (Book of Mormon-Ether 1:8)
“call on the Lord’s name” (Covenant of Christ-Ether 1:8)
This carry forward of the seemingly non-essential “the name” is the rule in Covenant of Christ rather than the exception.
Without suggesting that this solves the mystery, there is a scripture which helps me understand just what the scriptures are pointing to with “the name”. The Lord told Abraham:
“Behold, I will lead you by my hand, and I will take you, to put upon you my name, even the Priesthood of your Father”.
This passage draws an equivalence between having ‘the Lord’s name put upon a man” with “Priesthood”. Priesthood as used here is equivalent to “the Holy Order”. As I understand it the Lord is saying,
I will lead you, I will take you as my own, my possession, my family and bring you into the Holy Order, into the family of the Fathers. In this passage “the name” points to adoption, family, the authority of the Family of God. I can see God working through the Holy Order with those sent from on high in all of the mysterious passages above.
So what does “the name” have to do with the 20 year anniversary of the publication of The Second Comforter? I’ll let you mull that over.
McKay Platt