He Knows You by Name

1Years ago, as I nervously walked up to speak at a stake conference, my daughter, trying to calm my nerves, said, “Dad, don’t worry about making a mistake. No one here will remember our long surname anyway.”

2My surname, Matswagothata, is from Botswana. In my home language, it means “getting out of a difficult situation” or “someone who can do hard things.” And while I haven’t always felt like I can do hard things, my surname is a reminder to me that the Savior can and will guide us through every season of life—especially through difficult times.

3We all need reminders like that throughout our mortal journey. Perhaps this is why our loving Father in Heaven gives us the opportunity every week to make a covenant with Him as part of the ordinance of the sacrament. He invites us to take upon ourselves the name of His Son, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. He gives us power to rise above mortality’s challenges.

4As much as my surname has brought hope and resilience to my family, I rejoice even more in the name of Jesus Christ, for in and through His name all who come unto Him can be saved. Even as Jesus Christ invites us to always remember Him and take upon ourselves His name, He also remembers us and knows each of us by name.

5In the Old Testament, the Lord taught Moses this assuring truth: “I know thee by name.”

6In Eden’s garden, He called Adam.

7At the empty tomb, He called Mary.

8On the road to Damascus, He called Saul.

9And in the Sacred Grove, He called Joseph.

10All by name.

11And He knows you and calls you by name too—from crowded cities to quiet villages, in whatever language you speak. He hears, sees, and knows you.

12He knows your joys, and He rejoices with you. He knows your sorrows, and He can succor and lift you. Because of His Atonement, He knows your burdens, pain, and silent tears. The prophet Alma taught that through His Atonement, Jesus Christ would “take upon him the sins of his people.”

13Alma also taught, “He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and … he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people … , that he may know … how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”

14Brothers and sisters, many carry quiet burdens—grief, illness, loneliness, anxiety, or prayers that seem unanswered. Others face conflict or isolation that few of us fully understand.

15When life feels unfair and confusing, in those dark moments when you are tempted to ask, “O God, where art thou?” please remember this powerful truth: He knows you. He who “descended below all things” knows how to heal your broken heart and make you whole again. Trust His promise that the sun will rise again for you and tomorrow will be better than today.

16I learned this more deeply during a difficult season of my life. Early in my service as a young stake president, as my wife, Busi, and I were raising our family, it felt as though one challenge followed another. We had just buried my mother. Two weeks later, we stood again at a graveside—this time with my counselor, mourning his teenage son. Work pressures felt overwhelming, and I began to wonder if I was measuring up—at home, at work, and before the Lord.

17My prayers were best expressed in the Primary song: “Heavenly Father, are you really there? And do you hear and answer ev’ry child’s prayer?”

18My answer came in an unexpected way.

19One Sunday, while driving to a ward conference, I poured my heart out to the Lord. When I arrived at the meetinghouse, a bright-eyed Primary boy stopped me and said, “We need to talk.” With a very serious look on his face, he asked—almost in a scolding voice—“When are you going to stop being a naughty boy?” I knew I was in some kind of trouble. Before I could respond, he added, “Every morning and every night, my parents ask us to pray for you.”

20I will never be able to fully describe what I felt as I stood there. I felt seen. I felt loved. I felt known. I felt that I was not alone. And as I looked into that child’s eyes, I felt the warmth of the Savior’s love.

21To the Savior, we are never lost in the crowd. He knows how to reach us—through a hymn, a smile, a kind word, and sometimes through people we least expect. Just as that family prayed for me, there is someone praying for you.

22Please remember: Your pain is not a sign that God does not love you. He truly does. So, as President D. Todd Christofferson taught, “In the midst of [the] refiner’s fire, rather than get angry with God, get close to God.”

23You see, not only does the Savior know you, but He also wants you to come to know Him and His Father. In His great Intercessory Prayer, He declared, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

24He is the Good Shepherd, who leads us to green pastures and still waters. He is the Light of the World, who lights our path so that we need not walk in darkness.

25The question should never be “Will the Savior walk with me?” He will. The real question is “Will I walk with Him?”

26As we choose to walk with Jesus Christ, everything begins to change. He is no longer a casual acquaintance but a trusted heavenly friend. May I invite you to choose to remember Him and follow Him—not casually or occasionally but deliberately and always. May we become the kind of disciples who notice, reach out, and lift as the Savior did.

27I bear witness that as we listen to His voice in the scriptures, follow the teachings of living prophets and apostles, repent daily, and heed His invitation to “Come, follow me,” we will find peace in this ever-tumultuous world.

28We will feel of His Spirit and experience joy even in our most trying moments. We will find strength to trust in Him and His promises of a better tomorrow.

29“Getting out of a difficult situation” is more than a family name to me. It is a witness of an eternal reality: that through faith in Jesus Christ and by taking upon us His name through the covenants made at baptism, during the sacrament, and in His holy house, we gain access to His enabling power—power that can and will change our lives. I know that in His time and in His way, there is always a way forward. Because He not only knows the way; He is the way.

30Whether your name represents the first generation in the Church or a multigenerational heritage of faith, the most eternity-shaping name we can receive is the sacred name of Jesus Christ. We honor those who came before us, but above all we honor Him, for in His name we are bound through covenant identity.

31I testify that Jesus Christ restored His Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It bears His name and contains the fulness of His gospel, with ordinances and covenants that bind us to Him. I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Prince of Peace. He will renew our strength and bring us joy, for He comes “with healing in his wings.” He reaches for us again and again because He desires to lead us home—one by one, by name. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.