Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Elder Gary E. Stevenson · Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles · Saturday Afternoon Session
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We are stewards of Heavenly Father's most precious possessions, His children, and small, intentional acts of care in ministering and with the rising generation fulfill that sacred trust.
Skip the extended kaizen/Kansai airport detail after the opening story, one brief mention is enough; do not read or discuss the airport statistics.
Before Sunday
Sunday: What does it mean to truly 'handle with care'?
This week Elder Gary E. Stevenson used an unusual image, lost luggage and a Japanese airport with a perfect record, to teach something profound about how Heavenly Father feels about His children and how He feels about those who care for them. Read or listen to 'Lost Luggage, Redeemed Souls' at ChurchofJesusChrist.org before Sunday if you can. Come ready to discuss: Who in your life right now feels like they may be spiritually 'in transit', and what small thing could you do to let them know they haven't been forgotten?
Pick one opening
Has your luggage ever been lost or delayed? What did that feel like, even briefly, to not know where something precious to you was? Take a moment and think about that feeling. Now, has anyone ever trusted something truly precious to your care? What did that responsibility feel like? We'll come back to both of those feelings today.
Has your luggage ever been lost or delayed? What did that feel like, even briefly, to not know where something precious to you was? Take a moment and think about that feeling. Now, has anyone ever trusted something truly precious to your care? What did that responsibility feel like? We'll come back to both of those feelings today.
Elder Stevenson was on a flight when a gate attendant grabbed his carry-on, a bag with important, essential contents, wrapped a tag around the handle, and whisked it away before he could say much of anything. For the whole flight he sat there, clutching his claim ticket, hoping someone on the other end was actually paying attention to his bag. His bag did make it. But the feeling stuck with him, and led to the heart of what he taught.
Teach this first
Elder Stevenson taught that just as a loving parent watches a child leave and trusts others to care for them along the journey, Heavenly Father does the same with each of His children. We, as parents, ministers, teachers, and friends, are the stewards He has placed in that role. Every soul we interact with carries, in Elder Stevenson's words, a divine tag: 'You are mine. I know you. You are not alone. I have not forgotten you. I intend to bring you home.' Our job is to reflect that same assurance.
Elder Stevenson described Heavenly Father placing a claim upon each of us, 'not as a label on a handle but as a divine truth written on the heart.'
Ask the class
If time remains
Elder Stevenson issued a direct charge: strengthen and nurture the rising generation by investing time and teaching, helping them know, love, and emulate Jesus Christ. He quoted President Uchtdorf's promise that when we do our part in teaching and trusting God, the result will be more beautiful and joyful than anything we could accomplish alone.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
Before next Sunday, do one specific, intentional thing for someone in your ministering assignment or a young person in your life that communicates: 'You have not been forgotten.' It does not have to be large, a text, a visit, a note, showing up.
President Uchtdorf, as quoted in this talk, promised that as we teach, nurture, and then trust God to work His miracles, 'the result will be more beautiful and more stunning and more joyful than anything you could accomplish just by yourself.'
Your witness: Share what it means to you personally that Heavenly Father has not forgotten you, and what it has felt like, in your own life, when someone acted as His hands to remind you of that.