VISITING TEACHING MESSAGE Enfolding with Love Those
Who Stray
Prayerfully study this material and seek
for inspiration to know what to share. How will understanding the purpose of
Relief Society prepare daughters of God for the blessings of eternal life?
“The
reality is that there are no perfect families … ,” said President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First
Presidency. “Whatever problems your family is
facing, whatever you must do to solve them, the beginning and the end of the
solution is charity, the pure love of Christ.”1
Of
those who are not participating fully in the gospel, Linda K. Burton,
former General President of the Relief Society, said: “Heavenly Father loves
all His children. … No matter where they are—on or off the path—He wants them
back home.”2
“However
wayward [your children] might be, … when you speak or talk to them, do it not
in anger, do it not harshly, in a condemning spirit,” taught President
Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918). “Speak to them kindly.”3
Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Seventy
reiterated the Savior’s instruction to those who have 10 pieces of silver and
lose one: “Search until you find it. When the lost one is your son or your
daughter, your brother or your sister, … after all we can do, we love that
person with all of our hearts. …
“May
you and I receive the revelation to know how to best approach those in our
lives who are lost and, when necessary, to have the patience and love of our
Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus
Christ, as we love, watch, and wait for the prodigal.”4
President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First
Presidency, said: “I have prayed with faith that someone I loved would seek and
feel the power of the Atonement. I have prayed with faith that human angels
would come to their aid, and they came.
Additional Scriptures and Information
Faith,
Family, Relief
Consider This
How can we continue to show charity to those who do
not want to live the principles of the gospel?
Show References
Notes
1. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “In Praise of Those Who Save,” Ensign, May 2016, 79, 80.
2. Linda K. Burton, in Sarah
Jane Weaver, “Sister Burton, Sister Wixom Visit Church’s Pacific Area,” Church News, Apr. 2,
2013,lds.org/church/news.
3. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (1998),
254.
4. Brent H. Nielson, “Waiting for the Prodigal,” Ensign, May 2015, 103.
5. Henry B. Eyring, “To My Grandchildren,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 71.
“The Shepherd’s Lost
Sheep”
cji
10/1/17
Gaining separation
unknowingly
sometimes by personal
choice
going to sleep in the
Gospel
finding wakefulness
in the world
strange initially
exciting scary
wondering if anyone
notices
you the lost sheep
wandering
further and further
thus to stray
the shepherd’s lost
sheep today
one of many while
still all alone
excitement now waning
quickly
fear and trepidation
entering
where’s the shepherd
seeking you
as if awakening from
a terror
phone ringing a small
note
‘how are you? Are you
safe?’
finding again the
safety there
held closely by the
shepherd
no longer the lost
sheep today!
Copyright
© 2017 – cji
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