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Show Ui Chu o Named After savior VjT 1 BY O. PRESTON ROBINSON AND CHRISTINE H. ROBINSON of It is an interesting fact that in modem tunes, until the res oration o! the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith, no denomination on earth had been called by the name of the Lord Jesus fr e- - Although some churches used and now employ the name Christ or Christian m their official church titles, none of these Church of Jesus vain the full name When, after His resurrection, Jesus was organizing His church in the Western Hemisphere, a question arose among His disciples as to what the church should be named. Jesus' response to the question was a bit sharp for he eluded the people mat they should murmur and dispute in resped to this question. He said, "Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day, and whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the las day 'Theu-foiwluWieur ye shall do, f. d: Christ was orgamzed or named before Christ the year 1830 One of tin provocative questions often asked is by vvhat name was Chusts church knovwi anciently The New Testament gives r.n clear due as to the answer to this question except in the 11th Chapter of the Acts of Uie Apostles Here the record stales that when Paul and Barnabas were m Antioch with the church Ihere, that the members were then first called Christians. Yet. one cannot bet conclude that She dun eh must have had a formal name prior to that time by which its members would have ien known. Even before the baptism of Jesu John the Baptist was baptizing in anticipation of the coming of the Christ who, he said, would baptize with fire and the Holy Ghost Surely, at the time of these baptisms and of those that followed, these converts must have been baptized into some formal church organization. If so. what was its name? appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was bom a son; and he called his name 16&n6s: then began men to 17call upon the name of the Lord. w T- - CHAPTER 5 the book of tl Tn Fh davdhat, ions of r VO h. Footnote "17" gives added information concerning the name of the church in reference o chapter 4, verse 26 of Genesis in the King James translation of the Bible. ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shaJ call upon the Father in my name and He will bless the church for my sake And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses name then it be Moses church; or if it be called m the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. (3rd N'ephi 27:58) In this last dispensation, with the restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lotd gave clear instructions in respect to what His church should be called. In the 115th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, Jesus declared. For thus shall my church be railed in the last days, ever. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daSaints. y vc 4) During the earlier dispensations of the gospel, before its restoration in the meridian of time by Jesus himself is there any evidence that the Lords church was called by His name? Does the Old Testament give any clue in respect to a possible answer to this interesting question? The King James edition of the Bible, the authorized version, was first pub lished in England in 1611. During th. reign of King James a considerable amount of contention and disputation arose among various religious groups m respect to the interpretation of certain passages of scriptures contained In the various versions that were used throughout the English speaking world. In an effort to achieve harmony among these groups, King James convened a conference in January, 1604 at Hampton Court for the purpose oi achieving an agreement m respect to these different interpretations. At the time the conference was convened, it w as doubtful that King James had in mind a complete revision and the publishing of a new edition of the Bible. Nevertheless, some 47 Bible cholais were selected from England and from the Continent to meet at this conference These 47 were divided into six companies, each given a special assignment in respect to the scriptures The first company. 10 in number, mi t at Westminster; and to them were assigned the five books of Moses and the other historical books to tne end of the second bonk of Kings. The second company, consisting of eight individuals, was assigned to the books Horn Chiomctes to Canticles (The Song of Solomon) This group met at Cambridge The third company, of 'even md; kin ah, met at Oxford They were assigned of translating the remainder of the Uld Testament, from Isaiah to Malaehi The fourth company, consisting of eight scholars, also met at Oxford and had the four gospels, the Acts of the ApOotk-- s oiiu Revelation, the fifth comseven, assembled at Westminpany, ster and were engaged on the Epistles of Paul and the General Epistles The sixth company, containing seven srUdars. net at Cambridge and were assigned toe Apocrypha for their study These groups of Bible scholars worked on all available translations m various languages including both modern and ancient tongues Ihe procedure followed was for each group to come to agreement as to the interpretation of the trar.s lation, but apparently if agreement were impossible, the group was to mb ct to no mere tht,n two possible interpretations When the Bible was finally published in 1611, footnote-- , and references were contained on every page, generally in a column down the cner oi the page Ref -f The Savior has declared 12 - CHURCH that His church would be identified by WEEK ENDING MAY 4, 19?4 His name to other passages throughout the scriptures were noted by Dm u- of Min1! demos -e alphabetical letters When there was lack of agreement an the meaning of a specific passage, this reference was noted with the use of Arabic numbers 1, 2. 3, etc. In each instance oi a difference of opinion, in respect to interpretation, the group was to decide on Ute most likely translation and then give the other possible interpretation m the Arabic footnote This procedure was followed and is contained in most current copies of the authorized King James version. In uie fourth chapter of Genesis, 2bfs verse, the scripture i words the birth of Enos, the son of Seth, the sn of Adam, as follows: And to Seth, to him aiso ihere was bom a son, and he called hi' name Enos, then began men to cal! ipop the name of the Lord. Apparently, there was a difference of opinion among the translate! s in respect to the translation of the phrase, call upon the name of the Lord There is an .Arabic footnote there and the footnote reads, or, to call themselves by the name of the Lord. e have m way of knowing, uf course, which of those phrases is the eon eel translation of the original He brew. (See footnote) Nevertheless, thethat botn interpretations aie given ir the King Jame, is evidence that one cr the other is w the opinions of the ser.ol-ars- , the correct translation. The scholars working on the translation at this time obviously had no knowledge uf Uie fact that Jesus was actually Jehovah, the Lord of the Old Testament Had they known this fact, it is entirely possible, even probable, that Verse 26 m Genesis, Chapter 4 would read, And to Seth, to turn also there was bom a Son-anhe called his nama Enos: then begun men to call thcmsel.es by the name of ' the Lord Had tins translation been given, it would dearly seem to indicate tnat a church had been organized a.M had been given the name of the Lord Modern revelation appears to confirm this fact. In the 5th Chapter of Moses, h the Pearl of Great Pi ice, as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith in December 1H3P, there is an t explicit account of that at this time, during the sam time period as recorded ,n the 4th chapter of Genesis, that the gospel v atie-fac- - Continued on page S3 |