Do you use a twist-on wire connector to connect a "neutral in" and "common" wire?
In US 120 volt household circuits, all neutral (white) wires on a given circuit are ultimately connected. In your old receiver, there was almost certainly a direct connection between the white in and the white out, as well as a connection to the receiver circuitry.

Connecting all of neutral wires (source/receiver/canopy) with a simple wire nut is fine.