Feed My Sheep + Shepherding

Taught by Lori Lyn Marsh

The first part of today's lesson was taken from chapter 20 of the Ezra Taft Benson manual: "Feed My Sheep." President Benson encouraged us to reach out to members who live "apart from the Church ans the influence of the gospel" as well as those who are not members of our church. Sister Marsh commented that here in Utah, we may feel there are not many who need "feeding." However, demographics suggest that when you engage in a discussion with people on our area, there's a 50-50 chance that you are talking with a non-member or someone who is less active.

We talked about the differences between shepherds and hirelings:

Shepherd	Hireling
Leads the sheep Loves the sheep Is willing to sacrifice his life for the sheep Knows the sheep individually Sheep follow him	Pushes the sheep from behind Tends the sheep only for pay Flees in presence of danger Does not know the sheep

President Benson said:

The symbolism of the good shepherd is not without significant parallel in the Church today. The sheep need to be led by watchful shepherds. Too many are wandering. Some are being enticed away by momentary distractions. Others have become completely lost.

We realize, as in times past, that some of the sheep will rebel and are “as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd.” (Mosiah 8:21.) But most of our problems stem from lack of loving and attentive shepherding, and more shepherds must be developed.

What are some of the barriers to shepherding, or loving, other people?

• Too busy with our own families or our small circle of friends
• Compare ourselves to others and find we are better or worse than they are (pride/inferiority)
• Fear of offending or being rejected
• History of rejection
• Judgmental of others
• Too tired or overwhelmed
• Health issues
• Anger
• Mind-reading (assume we know what people think and will do)
• President Eyring said that one barrier is that we don't let the Atonement work in our lives.

To reach others, we must nurture sincerity, righteousness, tenderness, and be positive examples of living the gospel. We must balance our time and abilities and season of life with the opportunities we see and not take on more than we can do—but we can do something.

If you had a chance to teach only one thing, what would it be?

• God loves us.
• Have a soft heart.
• Living in the Church brings happiness.
• Acceptance
• The Savior is our only hope. (faith, repentance)

How can be be more tender with people? There's an appropriate time and way to say things. It's not dishonest to wait for the right time.

Start with your OWN righteousness and faith. Real heartfelt concern and personal watchcare for others will follow.

Chapter 19 of the lesson manual is about leadership. If you are a leader or you want to be a good leader, you'll find excellent counsel by reading this chapter HERE. Sister Marsh adapted it to "Shepherding" to match the focus of today's lesson. We talked about some qualities that make good leaders/shepherds, the opposites of those qualities, and examples of both the good and bad qualities.

Good Quality	Opposite	Bad example	Good example
Humility	Pride	I go to church and you don’t, so I’m better than you are.	Accepting; loving as Christ did
Loyalty	Two-faced, treachery	Smiling to someone’s face, then gossiping behind her back	Allegiance, devotion,  commitment
Spiritual strength	Spiritual weakness, worldliness	Trusting self more than God; setting aside counsel from the scriptures or leaders to do something that seems more acceptable by worldly standards	Testimony; positive attitude; leading by inspiration
Love & expressions of confidence	Hate, doubt	“Smothering” by doing everything for your children so they don’t learn to do things for themselves; not letting people make mistakes; showing no interest in people	Being able to look beyond faults and love people anyway

Sometimes it's helpful when you're thinking of what to do to think of what NOT to do. It's never a good idea to do these things we've listed as "opposites" when you're trying to shepherd people. All of the good qualities seemed to go back to accepting people and loving them and leading them to the Savior.

President Benson said, "There can be no failure in the work of the Lord when [we] do [our] best. We are but instruments; this is the Lord’s work. This is His church, His gospel plan. These are His children we are working with. He will not permit us to fail if we do our part. He will magnify us even beyond our own talents and abilities when necessary. This I know."