Reaching out to the lost sheep

AUCKLAND New Zealand - Years ago, President David O. McKay saw a picture in a schoolbook of some young men in a boat heading down the river towards Niagara Falls. The accompanying story said they were laughing and joking as they rode merrily along. A man on the shore, sensing the urgency of the moment yelled out, ‘Young men, ahoy, the rapids are below you.’ Nevertheless the young men continued their ride laughing and carousing as they went. The man yelled out again, ‘Young men, ahoy, the rapids are below you.’ But they heeded not his warning call; soon they were caught in the unforgiving current – and over the falls they went shrieking and cursing to their demise.

President McKay said: ‘The lesson left an indelible impression upon me, but now is seems incomplete. It is one thing to stand on the shore and cry: “Young men, ahoy, there is danger ahead”; and it is another thing to row into the stream, and, if possible, get into the boat with the young men and by companionship, and by persuasion, by legitimate force, when necessary, turn the boat from the rapids. Too many of us stand on the shore and cry: “Young men, ahoy!” Let us get into their lives, let us touch their personality by our personality, and let them feel that there is something real in this religion; that it is the greatest thing in life, that nothing else can make them live as the true religious life.’

In essence, President McKay spoke of the need for leaders to go out and get the lost sheep –not just cry warnings from the pulpit and classrooms, but to go to their homes and their ballgames and bring them back. I remember one Seventy saying: ‘Probably more good is done in the living room than behind the pulpit.’

This last year I was at a priesthood leadership session with Elder David Bednar. The question was asked: ‘How do we re-activate people.’ He responded ‘Go get them.’ There was no further commentary, no editorializing, no strategizing – just the simple but profound counsel – ‘Go get them.’
Not too long ago I was on the wonderful island of Karibati. The stake president and I were visiting homes of some members who had been less active. We visited one home three times on Friday but no one was there. Saturday morning we visited in the early morning. This time we caught the husband home. He invited us in to meet his sweet wife and four children. The spirit was strong. We invited him to come to Stake Conference that weekend. We invited him to take his family to the temple. He accepted. He then said, ‘My sail has been set in the wrong direction, today I will change the direction of my sail.’ True to his word he and his family attended conference.

Naaman the Leper was not cleansed until he had dipped himself seven times in the River Jordan. On occasion I have asked myself, what if he had only dipped himself three times, would he be three-sevenths clean, or if he had dipped himself five times would he be five-sevenths clean. We know the answer – the cleansing did not come until he had been obedient to all seven dippings – and then the miracle: ‘and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.’ (2 Kg 5:14).
Re-activation often requires multiple ‘dippings’. Sometimes we may give up after a short period of prayer or after several invitations have been rejected because we see no signs of success.

Fortunately, Alma’s father never gave up praying for him. Speaking of the less active the Lord taught ‘for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent... and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.’ (3 Ne 18:32).

There are many ‘dippings’ that may be necessary to reach the less active: fasting, prayer, invitations to come back, the extending of callings, visits, teaching the doctrine in purity and continued expressions of love. Sometimes all the dippings are required before the necessary cleansing takes place. It is hard to resist genuine and unrelenting love. It has the power to penetrate most every defence and heal most every wound. But if we do not give up it is hard for the human soul to resist genuine and unrelenting love.

The Lord continually focussed on the one. The Savior taught that principle clearly and forcefully: ‘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?’

May we ‘go get’ the lost sheep until we find them and bring them back safely into the arms of the gospel. Then we may become recipients of the Lord’s promise: ‘and ye shall be the means of bring salvation unto them.’ (3 Ne 18:22).