Like Alma, let us pray that we might bless others by bringing them closer to God through our Savior. President Brigham Young taught: “Only a few men on the earth understand the charity that fills the bosom of our Savior. We should have charity; we should do all we can to reclaim the lost sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, and bring them back to be saved in the presence of our Father and God. If we do this, our charity will extend to the utmost extent that it is designed for the charity of God to extend in the midst of this people” (Discourses of Brigham Young, comp. John A. Widtsoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1954], 273).
“O Lord Their Souls Are Precious”
Elder Russell M. Nelson shares his perspective on finding those who are lost:
When the Prophet Joseph Smith rendered his inspired translation of that verse, he wrote, “What man of you having a 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?” (JST Luke 15:4.)
The concept that the man would leave his normal surroundings and “go into the wilderness” in order to rescue is very compelling to me. What an example for home teachers!
Recently I spoke with a heartbroken stake president who tearfully told me that one of his own adult children had lost faith in the Lord and had strayed from the Church. He said, “I extend a helping hand to less-active members in my stake more searchingly now, hoping that somewhere someone might do the same and find and feed my lost one.”
One who rescues a lamb of the Lord brings joy to many: “And when he hath found [the lost sheep], 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 15:5–6.) (Perfection Pending, and Other Favorite Discourses [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998], 217–218)