Go After That Which is Lost

To my son,

                In one month, on September 9^th, we will celebrate as a Church the 100^th birthday for President Russell M. Nelson. On June 1^st, 100 days before his birthday, he issued an invitation for all of us of a “gift” we can give him. He said this: “I am soon approaching my 100th birthday. One of the places where the Savior used the number 100 in the scriptures was the parable of the lost sheep. Though 99 of his flock were safely by his side, the shepherd went in search of the one who was lost. At age 99, I have no need of physical gifts, but one spiritual offering that would brighten my life is for each of us to reach out to ‘the one’ in our lives who may be feeling lost or alone.” One recent article describes how members have been trying to respond to this invitation: “Since that time, people all over the world have shared their own examples of ministering, reaching out, helping, listening, lifting, comforting and more. Craig Sharma, of the Bowmanville Ward in the Oshawa Ontario Stake, was feeling broken and devastated after a divorce. One day, one of his friends invited him to go golfing. As they talked together on the course, there was no judgment, just genuine friendship. He felt loved and valued. ‘That day became a turning point of sorts,’ Sharma said. ‘Our conversation reminded me that the more we obsess about our difficulties, our struggles, our doubts and our fears, the more difficult things can become. But the more we focus on our Savior and on the joys of following the disciple’s path of loving God and serving our neighbor, the more likely we are to successfully navigate the challenges and difficulties of life.’” Getting a divorce can sometimes carry a stigma, but these friends did not judge him but simply loved him. That is how the Savior wants us to treat all those around us—there are always things we can find in others that are weird or annoying or that are easy to criticize. But to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ we must let those things go and focus on loving and serving and lifting up others. That is the invitation the President Nelson is giving us: seek to reach out to those who need our love.

                The parable that President Nelson referred to was told by Jesus in these words: “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 neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost” (Luke 15:4-6). The Lord feels great love towards all of His children here on earth—even those whom you and I might have a hard time loving—and He doesn’t want any of them lost. And so, He invites us to “go after the one” who is in special need of our help. As you start this new school year, I invite you to look past the differences you see in others and find the “one” who needs your friendship and kindness. Someday you will understand better that there is no “normal” person and that we are all “weird” in our own way. What matters most is not how well we fit in with those around us but how we treat one another. We should all think carefully about these words from President Nelson: “We cannot support Satan with our verbal assaults and then think that we can still serve God. My dear brothers and sisters, how we treat each other really matters! How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters. Today, I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way. Please listen carefully. ‘If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy’ that we can say about another person—whether to his face or behind her back—that should be our standard of communication.”  

Love,

Dad