The New Name

By Hollie Wells

Perhaps you’ve heard about how you receive a new name in the temple. This new name can seem very illusive and is not a well understood part of the endowment ceremony, sometimes even by those who have been endowed and been back to the temple many times. I must precursor this article by saying the new name given in the endowment is extremely sacred and should not be shared. I have made efforts to be extremely careful in what I say regarding this concept. 

I was prompted to ponder on this new name when I read a passage in the Doctrine & Covenants 18 as I was doing my Come, Follow Me study: 

"Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness. … Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved; Wherefore, all men must take upon them the name which is given of the Father, for in that name shall they be called at the last day; Wherefore, if they know not the name by which they are called, they cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father." (Doctrine & Covenants 18:21-25) 

Our new name we receive at baptism, as this verse described, is Jesus Christ. Just like a baby receiving the name of their father at birth, we receive the name of the Everlasting Father at our spiritual rebirth. The scriptures repeatedly teach this, that when we are baptized or renew that baptismal covenant, we take upon ourselves the name of Christ (see 2 Nephi 31:13, Mosiah 5:8-9, 25:23, Alma 34:38, 46:15, 3 Nephi 27:5, Moroni 6:3) 

There are a few characters in the scriptures who we see receive a new name from the Lord. In Genesis 17 we read the Lord saying to Abram “I will make my covenant between me and thee… neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham.” (see verses 2-5) Also in Genesis 32 we get the interesting story when Jacob “there wrestled a man with him… and he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel” (see verses 24-28). And although there is no recorded encounter of Paul receiving a new name from the Lord, it is recorded in Acts 13:9 that Saul now starts calling himself Paul and he never looks back. 

Now, in our modern endowment we receive a new name as part of that. Brigham Young familiarly described the endowment of power as “Receiv[ing] all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father” Just like verse 25 says, the name we receive is an important step. If we know it not, we cannot have place in the heavenly kingdom of God, “if they know not the name by which they are called, they cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father.”

We are instructed in the temple that the garment and the veil are symbol[s] of the Savior Himself (Jeffrey R. Holland, The Garment of the Holy Priesthood, September 2024 Liahona). When we put on the garment, we put on Christ each day. So, if the new name of the endowment seems mysterious to you, take comfort in the fact that it is just a deeper representation of taking upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ and being transformed through Him. That is what the endowment is all about, putting on Christ and His power.