I love being around the courageous men and women working so hard to prepare to serve and protect this great country. The recruits there are clean cut, unified, and very dignified. I'm always impressed when I see them. My purpose for going to Parris Island is to help with the church services we hold there as well as teach a Sunday school class. One Sunday, during our main worship service, I heard the speaker say "once you graduate here you will take upon yourselves the name of a Marine, and you will always be known as a Marine." As I thought about that statement I realized that what these great men and women do, especially if they're wearing their uniform, in public will reflect on the whole Marine corps. If they act positively in public, then the public will have a more positive feel about the whole Marines corps. Now I'm no Marine, but I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. And I have taken upon myself the name of Jesus Christ. In the scriptures we read that after we are baptized by proper authority we "take upon [ourselves] the name of Christ" (2 Nephi 31:13) which means as disciples and Christians what we say, do, and think should reflect what Jesus Christ would say, do and think. Elder Mervyn B. Arnold told of an experience the 8th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had when he was young. He said "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.'...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."
A great blessing about being a missionary for the Savior is I get to wear His name on my badge physically identifying who I am. But most of the time people dont wear badges identifying they are disciples of Christ. The Savior told His Apostles how other people would be able to tell if they were truly His followers when He said "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:35)I believe true discipleship is not only knowing about Jesus Christ, but its becoming like Jesus Christ which includes helping others as He would. I know as we "love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart..." and as we "love [our] neighbour as [our self]" (Matt. 22:37,39) others will then be able identify us as true disciples of Christ and we will honor His name which we have taken upon ourselves. Having charity really means we love everyone as the Savior loves them, and we not only love them but we are willing to help them. And when we serve others we are only serving God (see Mosiah 2:17). I wonder what I will say if Jesus ever says to me "I would like to know what you have done with my name"?
