In the name of Jesus Christ

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post wondering why people say the word "amen" at the end of their prayers.  Tonight, I was wondering why members of the LDS Church say the words "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen" at the end of their prayers.  The short answer is that we're directed in scripture to do this (see 3 Nephi 18:19 and the topical guide). The longer answer is that we're acknowledging and accepting the authority of Jesus Christ - seeing this great article from the 1985 Ensign entitled "Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ" for a very thorough treatment of this topic. So, combined with what I wrote before regarding the meaning of "amen", saying "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen" is morally equivalent to saying "by the authority of Jesus Christ, so it may be".