Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Elder Clark G. Gilbert · Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles · Saturday Morning Session
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Christ is our Redeemer and Repairer, He is actively, tenderly calling every person who feels they don't belong, don't measure up, or has drifted, to come home.
Skip walking through all four ministry stories in detail; choose ONE that will resonate most with your class and let the discussion breathe around it.
Before Sunday
Sunday's lesson: What does 'coming home' mean to you?
This Sunday we'll discuss Elder Clark G. Gilbert's April 2025 general conference talk, 'Come Home.' He shares the stories of real people who found their way back to the Savior after years away, each for a different reason. As you think about the people you love and your own spiritual journey, consider this: What has made it easier, or harder, for someone to walk back through the door? Come ready to share.
Pick one opening
Think of a time you witnessed someone, or felt yourself, hesitate at a threshold: the door of a church, a conversation you almost didn't have, a choice to turn back toward something you'd left behind. What made that moment hard? You don't have to share specifics, just the feeling. What does it cost someone to take that first step back?
Think of a time you witnessed someone, or felt yourself, hesitate at a threshold: the door of a church, a conversation you almost didn't have, a choice to turn back toward something you'd left behind. What made that moment hard? You don't have to share specifics, just the feeling. What does it cost someone to take that first step back?
Elder Gilbert describes a woman named Tammy who had been away from the Church for 30 years. She finally dressed for church one Sunday, and drove to the building. But she couldn't get out of the car. She sat in the parking lot, watched others walk in, then drove home, changed her clothes, and wept alone. That image, sitting outside the door, stayed with me. What do you think was going through her mind?
Teach this first
Elder Gilbert witnesses that Christ is our Redeemer and Repairer. The people in his stories didn't get their lives sorted out first and then return, the Savior met them in their doubt, their shame, and their hesitation, and called them while they were still outside the door. President Nelson's teaching quoted in the talk puts it plainly: God will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience.
Elder Gilbert quoting President Nelson: 'Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us.'
Ask the class
If time remains
Elder Gilbert closes with the image of BYU students turning on their phone flashlights to signal to late arrivals that there was still space, still a seat saved for them. Helping others come home requires us to stay in our own covenants so we can be that light.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, think of one person in your life who may be sitting in the parking lot, close but not yet in. Send them a note, a text, or make a call. You don't have to fix anything; just let them know there's a seat saved for them.
Elder Gilbert, quoting President Nelson, promises that when we stray, the Lord will help us find our way back, and that only Jesus Christ can fully restore light and joy into our lives.
Your witness: Share what it means to you personally that Christ's title of Repairer is real, that He repairs, not just forgives. What has that meant in your own life or in someone you love?