Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Elder Ronald A. Rasband · Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles · Saturday Afternoon Session
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When someone we love has turned from the Lord, we cannot change their heart, but Jesus Christ can; our part is to give Him our despair and keep loving, praying, and staying close.
Skip a full retelling of Lehi's dream and the Proverbs and President Oaks references; mention them in a sentence at most so there is time for the story of Alma and the discussion.
Before Sunday
Sunday: Elder Rasband, "Love Like Jesus"
This Sunday we will discuss Elder Ronald A. Rasband's October 2026 talk "Love Like Jesus," written for anyone whose heart aches for a loved one who has stepped away from the Lord. If you can, read or listen to it on the Gospel Library app before class. Ponder this question: what would it look like for you to turn your worry about someone you love over to Jesus Christ?
Pick one opening
Elder Rasband listed things we try when someone we love drifts from the Lord: we preach, argue, lecture, demand, even send them links to conference talks. He said these efforts can make the distance worse. Without naming anyone, why do you think our best intentions can sometimes push people further away?
Elder Rasband listed things we try when someone we love drifts from the Lord: we preach, argue, lecture, demand, even send them links to conference talks. He said these efforts can make the distance worse. Without naming anyone, why do you think our best intentions can sometimes push people further away?
Elder Rasband reminded us of Alma the Younger, a gifted, smooth-talking young man who rebelled against God. His father prayed for him with great faith, possibly for years. An angel told young Alma that the Lord had heard those prayers. In his torment, Alma remembered his father's teachings about Jesus Christ and cried out, "O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me." Elder Rasband pointed to this father's prayers as an example of love that does not give up.
Elder Rasband said that if he asked how many people feel weighed down by worry for a loved one who has left the Lord's path, hands would go up all over the world. He said he and Sister Rasband have felt it too. You do not need to raise a hand today. Just notice that you are not alone in this room.
Teach this first
Each person must choose for themselves to follow Jesus Christ, and we cannot change another person's heart. Because the Savior has already paid for their sins and loves them more than we do, we can hand our despair to Him. That leaves our part simple: love them, stay interested in their lives, and pray for them as Alma's father did.
Elder Rasband taught that we cannot change the hearts of our loved ones, "but He can; He is a God of miracles," and that by the Savior's Atonement "there is always a way back."
Ask the class
If time remains
Elder Rasband counseled us to let go of guilt, because we fail only when we stop trying. He also repeated President Thomas S. Monson's counsel never to let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, choose one person you worry about and do one thing that shows interest in their life, such as a call, a visit, or a kind message, with no lecture attached, and pray for them by name.
Elder Rasband promised, as an Apostle, that when the devil sends mighty winds to pull loved ones off course, the storm will have no power to drag you down if you are built on the rock of Jesus Christ.
Your witness: Think of a time you saw the Savior work in someone's life, perhaps your own, after others had kept loving and praying. Share briefly what you learned about trusting Him with the people you love.