A Call to Become

Sometimes I wonder what the Lord must have been thinking when he decided to call us a church of Saints. Webster defines a Saint as “a person sanctified, a holy or godly person, one eminent for piety and virtue.” I know I don’t measure up. What was His intent in giving us a name that doesn’t really describe our current state? Why a title of such exaggerated goodness?

An answer came to me one day while studying the Book of Mormon. In 1 Nephi 2 a great flowing river and a wonderful firm valley are named after Laman and Lemual, Lehi’s sluggish, wishy-washy, murmuring sons. His hope seems to be that they might learn from the naming and rise to the titles.

1 Nephi 2:8-10 “And it came to pass that he called the name of the river, Laman…And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness! And he also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!”

Maybe the Lord’s purpose or motivation in naming us Saints is similar to Lehi’s naming of the River Laman and the Valley Lemual. Perhaps He hopes we will learn from the name itself and rise to the definition.

Yes, I think our name; “Latter-day Saints” is a call to become! It’s a call to move forward toward this wonderful distinction rather than a declaration of fact. It’s an invitation.

It is a very lofty call, but the first five words of our name teach us how becoming a Saint is made possible. We are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The key to our becoming Saints is in becoming more and more “of Christ.” As we apply the 12 Gospel Principles represented by the 12 Steps to our lives we do just that, our thinking and our actions become more and more rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ and his power to help us become. The call to become Saints is answered every time we surrender to the One who calls us.

By Nannette W.
Posted Monday, September 15, 2008

Copyright 2008 by Nannette W. All right reserved.
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