Thought today that I've had for quite a while. Now, I will state here: We're all doing much better than we think in regards to everything; I don't mean for this post to be discouraging or have it be, "Oh, another thing I have to think about in order to try to be perfect" etc. It's just something I care about a lot that I wanted to bring attention to. And I myself am not perfect at it either; go ahead and look at bullet point 4. Anyway, here are some thoughts:
Throughout growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the phrase "in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." has become a little wrote to me, and I'm sure others. Growing up, not doing the best paying attention to prayers/talks as much as would be beneficial to me, it was the phrase that your mind passively looks for to know when it's over.
Over the years, I've definitely gotten better at actively listening to prayers and talks which has helped with this, but I'm afraid the phrase in the church in general has become too much of "this is just how we close things" rather than "I invoke the name of Christ in regards to these words". The phrase is simply being said rather than used. I think the name of Christ is incredibly important and sacred, and using this phrase more carefully will help us keep it so.
Some things in regards to the phrase that point toward us not treating Christ's name as important as we should:
1. Ending a talk with, "In the name of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, Amen". 'Thy Son' does not makes sense in this context since you are talking to the congregation, and it is evidence that the phrase is no more than just something one says.
2. Saying "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen" really really quickly. I feel this makes it feel like just a wrote phrase that must be said and subtracts from the meaning.
3. I have one specific memory of the following, and it wouldn't surprise me if it happened more frequently than I've noticed: What the person said should not, frankly, have been associated with the name of Christ, but they said "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen" quickly to signify that they were done talking -- that is not why we should say the phrase.
4. I do this one frequently and me thinking about it was the inspiration for writing this post. I don't know how often other people do it because it happens during personal prayers. I often start standing up/opening my eyes/whatever during the phrase, "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." To me, it's like I'm treating it as barely part of the prayer when it's arguably the most important part.
Once again, I iterate that I don't want this to be 'yet another thing to have to think about', but rather just shifting some focus/light on it? Idk. These are just some things I've noticed, and I care about the topic. I hope we all are careful when talking about Christ and saying things in His name.
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