Hank Smith: 00:03 Hello, everyone. Welcome to this week’s followHIM Favorites. This year, we’re in the Old Testament, and every week we take a question that we’ve been asked by one of our listeners. It’s something that maybe draws from the lesson itself. This week we’re in Genesis, and the question comes from chapter 32 of Genesis, where Jacob gets a new name. This happened earlier to Abram. He got a new name, Abraham. But this one’s totally different, Jacob is renamed by the Lord, Israel.

Hank Smith: 00:35 John, I’ve had students ask me before, especially when I was a seminary teacher, my younger students would say, “I hear that in the temple you get a new name. What’s that all about?” What would you say? If someone came up to you and said, “Why would Jacob get renamed, and what is this about new names?” What would you say?

John Bytheway: 00:56 There’s a lot of places where that happens, and it’s like a new start.

John Bytheway: 00:59 When I was born, my parents gave me a name. They were very clever. They came up with John. But when I’m born again, when I’m baptized, I take upon me the name of Christ. We looked at Abram and Sarai getting new names, kind of a new start, a new commission. I love that idea.

John Bytheway: 01:17 I remember hearing a basketball post-game show once where the coach said, “My team lost today because they played for the name on the back of their jersey instead of the name on the front.” I like the idea of, a new name gives us a new purpose, commission, or reminds us of that, or something like that. So I like the idea because it tells me the Lord’s giving me a new start, a new direction.

Hank Smith: 01:41 I like that. You mentioned baptism. Most of us know that baptism is a symbol of being buried and resurrected, but it’s also a symbol of being reborn.

John Bytheway: 01:49 Of being born again.

Hank Smith: 01:52 I’ve had students say, “Wait, the baptismal font’s like a womb?” I’ll be like, “Yeah, the church has lots of wombs. It has a Relief Society womb, and it has a primary womb.” Thanks for laughing at my joke.

Hank Smith: 02:07 But the idea that if you’re being reborn, then your parent is going to give you a new name. Remember, King Benjamin called his followers. He said, “You’re going to get a new name, the children of Christ.”

John Bytheway: 02:19 Of Christ.

Hank Smith: 02:20 So Christ, the father of your salvation, now can give you a new name. I liked what you said there about, it’s a fresh start. It’s, you’ve made a new covenant. We’re going to forget the past, and we’re going to move forward on this fresh start. So I can see Jacob getting a fresh start here. His name is even a reminder of who he is, God will prevail. Let God prevail.

John Bytheway: 02:47 And even in the New Testament, when Saul becomes Paul and just gets a clean slate and a new start. It’s not only the Old Testament where it happens, but New Testament, it happens to us.

Hank Smith: 02:58 Yeah. When you go to the temple, you get a symbolic new name because you’re getting a fresh start. Isn’t that all about what we’ve been talking about in followHIM over and over and over is the idea of repentance, a renewal, a fresh start?

John Bytheway: 03:11 Thankfully. I mean, so glad.

Hank Smith: 03:14 What is it Elder Holland says, that, “Repentance is the-“

John Bytheway: 03:17 “The most hopeful and encouraging word in the Christian vocabulary.” Yeah, thankfully.

Hank Smith: 03:22 The Lord wants us to see that even in the sacrament prayer, “willing to take upon them the name of thy Son.”

John Bytheway: 03:29 Name of thy Son.

Hank Smith: 03:30 So when we see this in scripture, let’s think of repentance, starting over, God giving us yet another chance to make better choices.

John Bytheway: 03:39 Who was it that called him the God of second chances? Was that also Elder Holland?

Hank Smith: 03:43 Yeah, I think so. Maybe it was VeggieTales.

John Bytheway: 03:45 I think so.

Hank Smith: 03:47 I wouldn’t necessarily say that, hey, you’re getting a new name because this is some sort of secret into the premortal world about what your name is. I just think we could see it as a symbol of, man, the Lord gives me all these new chances to start over.

John Bytheway: 04:02 Absolutely.

Hank Smith: 04:03 We hope that you’ll join us on the full podcast. It’s called Follow Him. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts. But if not, join us next week right here for another Follow Him Favorites.