For Part Two, Part Three, or Part Four, make your choice here.
Today we're leapfrogging over Elder Ezra Taft Benson, who quotes a popular Alexander Pope quotation that we've previously covered, and moving on to Elder Richard L. Evans's next talk, "Should the Commandments Be Rewritten?" To start off, we go back to William Shakespeare, which is fine with me. I can quote Shakespeare all day long next to scripture and be as happy as a clam.
The Quote
It doesn’t matter what people call things.
It matters what they are—what they do.
If I may modify Shakespeare considerably:
Anything by any name
will still be what it is
and will still do what it does
no matter what you call it.
Okay...this wasn't really a quote. More like a very generous paraphrase, but the reference couldn't be clearer. He's talking about the speech that Juliet gives to Romeo in the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet - where she passionately justifies her love for the son of her family's enemy, in Act 2, Scene 2:
Juliet.
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name.
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.
Romeo.
I take thee at thy word.
Call me but love, and I'll be new baptis'd;
Henceforth I never will be Romeo.
In our faith, we talk a lot about the importance of identity. Whatever identity we hold fast to will color our entire world, sometimes in good ways, and sometimes in detrimental ways.
A rose is always a rose, no matter what we call it. Romeo is still Romeo without his hated name. And Romeo in his desire for her, renounced his own name and family in secret, though he was tragically less able to do that in public.
Jesus Christ has been called by many names - both in his lifetime and after. A charismatic leader. A great teacher. The apostles claimed that people thought He was John the Baptist, or Elias, or some other prophet come back to life.
But then, He asked them who they thought He was.
Peter very directly said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:15-16)
For a long time, I thought Jesus was the same as my father, who unfortunately in his brokenness was less than a father ought to be. Then in the days of my more naive understanding, I thought of Him as some sort of genie who would grant my wishes, or not, depending on how He felt that day.
It took a lot of study and a lot of prayer and pondering and searching for me to find out who He really was - my Savior and my friend. He is the Son of the living God, just as Peter knew Him to be. I keep His commandments out of love now, instead of fear.
The life that I have through His name is much sweeter as a result.
Sweet like a rose...
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