What’s in a name?

What’s in a Name?

Do you have the same name as someone else? That can be confusing.

The same thing happened in the scriptures.

The name, Mary, belongs to five women in the New Testament:

1. Mary, the mother of Jesus, comes first.
2. Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha is second.
3. Mary, the mother of James and Joses, was at Jesus’ cross.
4. Mary Magdalene was at the tomb after Jesus was resurrected, and
5. Mary was the mother of Mark, a missionary.

The name, Nephi, belongs to at least four men in Book of Mormon times.

1. The first Nephi was the son of Lehi, who said, ‘I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents . .’
2. The second Nephi and the second Lehi were sons of Helaman. They became mighty missionaries who baptized 8,000 Lamanites! 
3. The third Nephi was the son of the second Nephi. He became one of the twelve disciples when Jesus visited the American continent.
4. The fourth Nephi was the son of the third Nephi. He lived when ‘the people were all converted unto the Lord’ and had ‘peace in the land.’

Moroni is a name shared by two people in the Book of Mormon;

1. Moroni, the chief captain of the Nephite armies, lived a hundred years before Jesus came to America.
2. The second Moroni, who was the son of Mormon, lived over 400 years after Jesus visited the America. He was the last Nephite to write stories of the Nephites and Lamanites before they were destroyed.

Many people share the same name, but each person is ‘one-of-a-kind.’ Every person is exactly like every other person in two important ways.

Every person has the same Heavenly Father. 

And every person is a different child of God.

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