Wear the Name, Live the Name
From “Take Upon Us His Name,” by Elder James G. O. Fantone · Sunday morning session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
Taking the name of Jesus Christ upon us is more than wearing a label; it is a covenant to serve Him, and when we serve others, even when it is hard, He changes us.
Objective
Youth will be able to explain in their own words what it means to take the Savior’s name upon them and will plan one act of service to do this week, even if they do not feel like it.
Before you teach
- Read Elder Fantone’s talk, Take upon Us His Name, especially the stories of the school form and the missionaries.
- Bring a marker for the board, small cards or slips of paper, and pens.
- Write four references on the board: 3 Nephi 27:5; Moroni 6:3; Mosiah 2:17; Mosiah 5:13.
- Ask the youth to have scriptures or the Gospel Library app ready.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
Sign here
- As youth arrive, hand each a card and have them sign their name with the hand they do not usually write with. Give ten seconds. Enjoy the results together.
- Tell Elder Fantone’s story: at a school office he was asked to write his daughter’s name on a form, and he confidently wrote and signed his own. He fixed it by adding Amanda in front, because her name is Amanda James Fantone.
- Say that the quick fix made him think about a bigger question, and ask the question below. Take two or three fast answers.
- What is actually in a name? When does a name on a jersey, a uniform, or a form really mean something?
Badge or becoming
- Have one youth read the first key quote below and another read the second.
- In pairs, give two minutes to list on the back of their card what wearing the Savior’s name only as a badge might look like at school, online, or at home, and what truly taking it upon us might look like in the same places. Ask them to describe choices, not people.
- Invite each pair to share one contrast. Write a few on the board.
- Why do you think the Savior cares about the difference between lips and hearts?
- Which is harder for you personally: saying you follow Him, or showing it when no one is keeping track?
Six-word scripture race
- Form teams of two or three. Using their scriptures or phones, each team looks up the four references on the board.
- For each one, the team writes a summary of exactly six words that answers this: what does taking His name involve?
- After five minutes, have teams read their summaries for each verse. Let the class vote by applause for the clearest one for each reference.
- Point out what the verses share: Elder Fantone says taking the Savior’s name requires a lifelong determination to serve Him, and that we serve Him by serving the people around us.
- According to Mosiah 5:13, can you really know someone you have never served? Why or why not?
Time did not change
- Tell the missionary story honestly. As a mission president, Elder Fantone met with some missionaries in their first months who were in tears, sad, lonely, and homesick, not sure they could last three more months. Read the third key quote below to show what they did next.
- Continue: a year later the same missionaries came in with glowing faces, loving the people and the work, and wishing time would slow down. Read the fourth key quote below.
- Discuss the questions below. Do not rush; these are questions youth really ask.
- Read President Romney’s words from the aligned quotes. Ask what it would mean if service is what heaven is made of, and not only a way to get there.
- Is it fake to serve when you do not feel like it? What does the missionaries’ experience say about that?
- What do you think actually changed inside those missionaries, and who changed it?
- When have you gone to serve grudgingly and come home different?
The Anyway Challenge
- Briefly share how Elder Fantone learned this at home: his parents gave up the boys’ room for a student who could not afford housing near his school, and later the girls’ room for children who needed a safe place to stay.
- Read the quote from President Farnes in the aligned quotes.
- Explain the challenge, which is your application of the talk: this week, pick one person and one real act of service. Pray first, then do it anyway, whether or not you feel like it, as the missionaries did.
- Give two minutes of silent writing. On a fresh side of the card each youth writes a name, an act, and a day. They keep the card in their scriptures or take a photo of it.
- Who is right in front of you this week, at home, at school, or in this room?
Witness and follow-up
- As a quick check, ask each youth to tell a neighbor in one sentence what taking His name means.
- Read Elder Fantone’s testimony from the talk: as we lose our lives in the Savior’s service, we will find Him and we will find ourselves. Add your own witness.
- Tell them that next week you will start class by asking two things: what did you do, and did anything change in you?
Key passages from the talk
“The Savior’s invitation is not merely for us to add His name to our name like a badge of religious affiliation.”
“His invitation is for us to take upon us His name. It is an invitation to become more like Him through covenant keeping.”
“Yet these valiant missionaries got on their knees, put on their name tags, and went out to serve anyway.”
“Time did not change—the missionaries did.”
Scriptures
- 3 Nephi 27:5 Team race: read it and write a six-word summary of what the Savior says we must do with His name.
- Moroni 6:3 Team race: look for what people were determined to do when they were baptized, and for how long.
- Mosiah 2:17 Team race: summarize in six words who we are really serving when we help another person.
- Mosiah 5:13 Team race, then discuss together: how do we come to know the Master?
Other voices that agree
“Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made”
“Let us put compassion into action and minister to the person in front of us.”
Three things to remember
- Taking the Savior’s name is not a badge I wear; it is a covenant I live.
- I serve Jesus Christ by lifting, loving, and serving the people around me.
- When I serve even though it is hard, the work may stay the same, but He changes me.
Ways to act this week
- Do your Anyway Challenge: one person, one act of service, on the day you wrote down. Pray before you go.
- As the sacrament prayers are said this Sunday, listen for the words about His name and decide one way you will show it at school on Monday.
- Make room for someone: a seat at your table, a place in your group, a spot in your conversation.
- Tell a parent or leader what you did and what you noticed in yourself.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Called to Serve
- Lord, I Would Follow Thee
Adapting the lesson
- At home or with one or two youth: skip the voting. Each person writes a six-word summary for two verses and you compare.
- Large class: assign each team only one reference so every verse is covered in less time.
- Short on time: keep Sign here, the missionary story, and the Anyway Challenge.
This lesson is an independent study aid written for this site. It is not an official lesson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Quotations are word for word from the official talk; paragraph numbers count the paragraphs of the talk as published at churchofjesuschrist.org, not counting headings or picture captions. The activities, questions and ideas for acting are suggestions; follow the Spirit and adapt them to those you teach.