New Name

When we are endowed in a temple, we are given a new name. I have often wondered about why that was done and what it meant. It is obviously significant and important because the church has a record of each member who has has received a new name and what that new name is. When that new name is received, the person receiving it is told that it should "always" be remembered and must be kept sacred and never revealed except at a future time and place that will be shown them.

Interestingly the New Name is not a topic in the Topical Guide or the Bible Dictionary or the Guide to the Scriptures in the Gospel Library app.

The below information is contained in the ScripturePlus Come Follow Me App commentary on December 6, 2023

 The idea of a new name is significant. Names in ancient societies identified not only the person but also his or her status, and to be given a new name by another was to enter into a personal, even intimate, relationship that brought a higher status. Patronymics indicated that a person was free and even of nobility. As such, he or she was in a position to inherit the family fortune.

In the gospel sense, having the right name indicated one was an heir to eternal life. That the believers will be given a white stone in which the new name is written does not mean the individual did not know the name before, only that it was now made permanent. The Christian already had one new name, that of Christ Himself. Therefore, it was all-important that the faithful stay true to the name, for the reward could be lost. Taking the name of Christ did more; it brought them under God’s protective power, one that did not guarantee protection from physical death, but from spiritual death. That, coupled with the reception of the new name, signified that one was a member of the eternal community of the redeemed.

In the Old Testament, Jehovah often bestowed a new name to show that a new and adoptive relationship had been established with Him. The giving of the name stressed the idea that the Lord had redeemed the newly renamed one and brought him or her into His circle. Further, following Hebrew belief that names represent the essence of a person, receiving the new name showed that not only had one’s status changed but also his or her essence had changed. They not only had a new name but were a new person in Christ.

The situation of these celestial souls stands in contrast to others who also received a new name. That name, however, belonged to the satanic beast. It did not bring protection, for “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:11).

Adapted from Michael D. Draper and Richard D. Rhodes, The Revelation of John the Apostle (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2016).

 

Authors: Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes
New Testament Insights Series Editor: John W. Welch
General Editor: Taylor Hal version 
Associate Editor: Morgan Tanner
Senior Editor: Sarah Whitney Johnson
Assistant Editors: Sam Lofgran, Verlanne Johnson
Content Manager: Jasmin Gimenez Rappleye
Source: The Revelation of John the Apostle, by Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes

Source

New Testament Minute: Revelation by BMC 

Related verses

Revelation 2:12–17 

17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Commentary from ScripturePlus, December 8, 2023

The Lord promised Ephesus that He would come quickly, but it would be to take away their lampstand. He promised Pergamum He would come quickly but to fight against them with the sword of His mouth. Finally, He promised Sardis He would come quickly but as a thief in the night with the implication that He would take away objects of value. To Philadelphia, conversely, His coming would signal the end of their hour of trial. To those who overcame, the Lord gave a threefold promise: First, He would write the name of God upon them by which all would know that they were His special possession. Second, He would write upon them the name of the divine city, thus showing that they were citizens therein. Finally, He would write upon them His own new name, showing that they had not only became one with the Lord but were also like Him.

Adapted from Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes, The Revelation of John the Apostle (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2016).

D&C 130:10 Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known;

11 And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word.