My Talk

I gave my talk today in church! I think everyone liked it! The stake president liked the story about the boy who went surfing on Sundays (you can read it in my talk below) that he asked me to email it to him! I thought the hard part was writing it, and the easy part was giving it. I was unfortunately sick today, so I was coughing a lot before and after, but luckily not during my talk.

Here's my talk!

Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,
Dear are the sheep of his fold;
Dear is the love that he gives them,
Dearer than silver or gold.
Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,
Dear are his “other” lost sheep;
Over the mountains he follows,
Over the waters so deep.

Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,
Dear are the lambs of his fold;
Some from the pastures are straying,
Hungry and helpless and cold.
See, the Good Shepherd is seeking,
Seeking the lambs that are lost,
Bringing them in with rejoicing,
Saved at such infinite cost.

Those are the first and second verses of the hymn Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd. In the first verse of this song it is saying that the “sheep of his fold” or the righteous members of the gospel, are important and loved by Christ and Heavenly Father, but it also clearly says that the people who do not belong to the church and less-active members are loved just as much by them. In the second verse, it talks about how some people are straying from the gospel, and that if we help them come back to the gospel, there will be much rejoicing in heaven. When it says “Saved at such infinite cost”, it is speaking of the atonement, and how even if we wander from the gospel, we can always come back to the church.
The parable of the lost sheep is in Luke, chapter 15. It starts out with Pharisees complaining to Jesus that a man had been letting sinners come to his house and dine with him, and that he should be judged. Then in verses 3 through 7 of the same chapter Jesus answers saying, “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance”

In this scripture, it is saying that if you had one hundred sheep, and you lost one of them, wouldn’t you go and search for it until you find it? And after you find it, wouldn’t you be very happy and carry it home and tell all of you friends and family that you had found it? The scripture then says that there will be the same happiness in heaven as the happiness you feel after what was lost is found.

In verse four of the scripture I just read, it said “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? The Joseph Smith Translation of this scripture is very different from the original scripture, and it reads : “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine, and go into the wilderness after that which is lost, until he find it?”

President Howard W. Hunter once said the following about that scripture and its translation: “That translation suggests that the shepherd leave his secure flock and go out into the wilderness—that is, go out into the world after him who is lost. Lost from what? Lost from the flock where there is protection and security. I hope the message of that parable will be impressed on each of us who has priesthood responsibility.

In the August 1990 copy of the Ensign, there was this quote by Elder Alexander B. Morrison Of the Seventy on the joy felt when a less active person comes back to the church. This is what he said:
The scriptural reminder that “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10) takes on new meaning to those involved in finding lost sheep and helping to rekindle faith. The joy felt in heaven when a precious lost child is found and brought back is echoed in the hearts of faithful under-shepherds. They speak of the growing realization in the hearts of the many who have left the fold that life without Christ is like a life of perpetual twilight; of prayers by loving parents that someone would find a prodigal son or daughter; of tears of joy and gladness at rediscovery; of a reawakened desire to sup again at the table of the Lord. Such returns are a great miracle.

Here is a story from the May 2004 issue of the Liahona, by Mervyn B. Arnold. As a member of the branch presidency in Fortaleza, Brazil, Brother Marques with the other priesthood leaders developed a plan to reactivate those who were less active in his branch. One of those who was less active was a young man by the name of Fernando Araujo. Recently I spoke to Fernando, and he told me of his experience:
“I became involved in surfing competitions on Sunday mornings and stopped going to my Church meetings. One Sunday morning Brother Marques knocked on my door and asked my nonmember mother if he could talk to me. When she told him I was sleeping, he asked permission to wake me. He said to me, ‘Fernando, you are late for church!’ Not listening to my excuses, he took me to church.
“The next Sunday the same thing happened, so on the third Sunday I decided to leave early to avoid him. As I opened the gate I found him sitting on his car, reading the scriptures. When he saw me he said, ‘Good! You are up early. Today we will go and find another young man!’ I appealed to my agency, but he said, ‘We can talk about that later.’
“After eight Sundays I could not get rid of him, so I decided to sleep at a friend’s house. I was at the beach the next morning I saw a man dressed in a suit and tie walking towards me. When I saw that it was Brother Marques, I ran into the water. All of a sudden, I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder. It was Brother Marques, in water up to his chest! He took me by the hand and said, ‘You are late! Let’s go.’ When I argued that I didn’t have any clothes to wear, he replied, ‘They are in the car.’
“That day as we walked out of the ocean, I was touched by Brother Marques’s sincere love and worry for me. He truly understood the Savior’s words: ‘I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick’ (Ezek. 34:16). Brother Marques didn’t just give me a ride to church—the quorum made sure I remained active. They planned activities that made me feel needed and wanted, I received a calling, and the quorum members became my friends.”
Following his reactivation, Brother Araujo went on a full-time mission and has served as bishop, stake president, mission president, and regional representative. His widowed mother, three sisters, and several cousins have also entered the waters of baptism.

Another kind of lost sheep are people who have never been baptized into the church. We have missionaries to help find these people, but we should also do our part to help bring them to the gospel. President Gordon B. Hinckley once said “When you save a girl, you save generations." This is true with all people, though. When you save one person by bringing them to the gospel, or bringing them back to the church, they will teach there children the gospel, and then there children will teach there children of the gospel and on down the generations. When you help convert a nonmember, you are bringing someone to the fold of Christ.

My mom is a convert of the church. She joined the church when she was 15 because of the friends she had that taught her and set a good example. She now teaches my family how to live righteously in the gospel, and when my siblings and I are adults, we will teach our children how to live righteously in the church.

I would like to close with the last two verses and the chorus of Dear to the Heart of the Sheppard:
Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,
Dear are the “ninety and nine”;
Dear are the sheep that have wandered
Out in the desert to pine.
Hark! He is earnestly calling,
Tenderly pleading today:
“Will you not seek for my lost ones,
Off from my shelter astray?”

Green are the pastures inviting;
Sweet are the waters and still.
Lord, we will answer thee gladly,
“Yes, blessed Master, we will!
Make us thy true under-shepherds;
Give us a love that is deep.
Send us out into the desert,
Seeking thy wandering sheep.”

Out in the desert they wander,
Hungry and helpless and cold;
Off to the rescue we’ll hasten,
Bringing them back to the fold.

Amen.