My first thoughts for this blog post came from reading
The Kane Chronicles (a trilogy of books in the universe of
Percy Jackson centered around the Egyptian gods) simultaneously with the
Nico Di Angelo Adventures. Both books have identity as a theme. Because of the shared theme, my original plan was to do a post about both. However, the two series take different angles on our identities and the stories (though in the same universe) don’t intersect. So now it’ll be a series of posts, starting with the Kane siblings.
Throughout The Kane Chronicles, Carter and Sadie Kane are forced to become master magicians in the course of six months to save the world and ma’at (the mystical force of order and harmony). Unlike the other Camp Half-Blood books and Magnus Chase, these books aren’t about demigods (the whole concept of how Egyptian gods function is different from the Greek, Roman, and Norse deities) but about Egyptian magicians descended from pharaohs.
As part of their training, they learn about the concept of “secret names” (or ren) that can essentially give you control over a person or a god. In “The Red Pyramid” they made it sound like a secret name is like a cheat code to hack someone’s free will. However, it’s not the words alone that give power. The name must be given by the person or the person closest to them.
During the events of “The Throne of Fire” the mythos of the ren expanded. In a moment of crisis, Sadie learned her brother’s secret name to save his life. This revelation taught Sadie the nature of the ren, as one of the five aspects of a person’s soul. The ren is a person’s deepest nature and life experiences. It’s your essence and power. To know someone’s secret name is to understand deeply their life’s story. In learning Carter’s name, she gained an embarrassing amount of insight to her brother’s heart.
In her narration, Sadie claimed that while everyone has a secret name, most mortals don’t even know their own. The ignorance protects them from magical influences in the Riordanverse. However, from a gospel perspective, it made me wonder…
To some extent we can learn about our identity and essence through gaining a testimony of our divine nature and internalize that confidence. Naturally, our life experiences influence the development of how we perceive our mortal journey and they shape who we become. But all the therapy and mindfulness in the world will not reveal your “secret name” to you. For one thing, the bulk of our premortal experiences are veiled to our eyes. We literally cannot know everything about our identities. That’s why knowing someone’s secret name isn’t enough. It must be shared and learned, just as we must open our hearts to others in relationships and we must learn from our Heavenly Father who we are in His eyes.
As I read about the ren in “The Throne of Fire”, I thought on a powerful experience I had as a missionary, helping me understand my divine nature. It’s too sacred for me to share in a blog post, but I’ll say this: even with that experience in mind, I’m far from knowing my secret name. I think we take our lives (premortal, mortal, and eternal) to understand our essence. As usual, a good place to start is by studying the scriptures, prayer, and attending the temple.
Edit: After writing this blog post, I listened to President Nelson’s counsel from this week’s Come Follow Me lesson, about using the correct name of the Church. Shortly after this talk was given, a dear friend and I were talking about it. With every awful thing going on in the world (including within the Church), why would President Nelson focus on a seemingly trivial thing? As our recently departed prophet taught in this General Conference sermon, it’s not trivial or inconsequential. Like was said in The Kane Chronicles, names have power. The Savior gave us the “secret name” of His Church. I believe with all my heart that if we focus on being the latter-day saints of Jesus Christ’s restored church, we would see changes in the Church and the world. Keeping our eyes Jesus will change our lives and our natures. As “I’m trying to be like Jesus”, I want to aim to become more Christ-like disciple and not just be a “Mormon”.
