Special Witnesses

When scripture tells us to “call upon the name of the Lord,” it’s inviting far more than vocal prayer or wordplay—it’s summoning a way of life. The Name of God is not about the syllables we pronounce. It’s not a password or a chant. It’s about character.

From the very beginning, we learn that Adam and his posterity were taught to “call upon God in the name of the Son for ever more.” (Genesis 3:3, OC). This phrase isn’t just about naming—it’s about patterning. To call upon the name of God is to begin modeling our thoughts, decisions, words, and actions after the attributes of Christ. It is to appeal to Heaven with integrity by aligning with Heaven’s character. 

And it’s worth nothing that Adam learned this from the Angel when he was sacrificing.

We see this pattern taught and exemplified, again and again, by those we look to as true followers of God:

  • Enoch walked with God and cried, “For inasmuch as you are God, and I know you, and you have sworn unto me and commanded me that I should ask in the name of your Only Begotten…” (Genesis 4:22, RE)
  • Abraham became a “friend of God,” and he “built an altar unto the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.” (Genesis 7:3, RE)
  • Moses overcame the adversary when he “received strength and called upon God in the name of his Son, saying to Satan, Depart from here.” (Genesis 1:4, RE)
  • Joseph Smith restored the invitation once again when he learned, “Verily thus says the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsakes their sins, and comes unto me, and calls on my name, and obeys my voice, and keeps all my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am, and that I am the true light that lights every man who comes into the world…” (T&C 93:1)

This invitation of salvation has always been the same—including for us today.

In some faith traditions, church leaders say they are “special witnesses of the name of Christ to all the world.” But to be a witness of the name of Christ is not to wear it like a badge or speak it often—it’s to embody it.

It’s not being chauffeured around in robes and suits while people stand when you enter a room.

It’s not teaching polished Sunday lessons about Jesus while living a life of comfort and applause.

It’s living the life He lived. It’s always costly.

Paul is perhaps the clearest example of what a solid special witness to Gods name looks like. He was beaten, imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, and eventually executed—not because he said the right words about Jesus—but because he lived like Him. He laid down everything for others. He gave all. His very life taught Christ more clearly than any sermon from a pulpit.

This is what it means to call upon the Name of God through His Son.

To do it is to show others, through your life, what the character of God looks like.

And that’s the invitation for every disciple - to call upon God and take His name upon yourself and to not do so in vain.


Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 5, 2025 at 8:25 AM

    !!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 7, 2025 at 12:18 PM

    Reminds me of "We seek not to imitate the masters, rather we seek what they sought"

    ReplyDelete

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