Different Take on the Lord's Name in Vain

 

Accessing God’s Power through Covenants

By Elder Dale G. Renlund

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

At baptism and when we partake of the sacrament,¹² we witness that we are willing to take on ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.¹³ In this context, let us be mindful of the Old Testament commandment, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”¹⁴ To our modern ears, this sounds like a prohibition against irreverently using the Lord’s name. The commandment includes that, but its injunction is even more profound. The Hebrew word translated as “take” means to “lift up” or “carry,” as one would a banner that identifies oneself with an individual or group.¹⁵ The word translated as “vain” means “empty” or “deceptive.”¹⁶ The commandment to not take the Lord’s name in vain can thus mean, “You should not identify yourself as a disciple of Jesus Christ unless you intend to represent Him well.”