Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
“For Times of Trouble”
We need a shepherd because in innocence or ignorance—but on occasion willfully and against counsel—we turn “every one to his own way” and as a result “have gone astray.” We wander here and scamper there, inspect this and nibble at that, until at some point we look up and realize we are either lost or about to be destroyed. We realize that we, or others who affect us, have done either something stupid or something wrong—which are so very often the same thing. We realize we desperately need help; we are in trouble and frantically look about for our shepherd, our defender, our savior.
…Life will be quick to teach us that we are all going to need a shepherd “at all times and in all things, and in all places.” How loving and strong, how devoted and determined that shepherd is in His care will be the all-important issue of our lives, though that may not be as obvious as it should be until we are in peril. Of course, what we often fail to remember is that in a fallen world and with a tempter bent on destroying us, we are in peril all the time. Thank heaven—literally—that Christ is our protector. As the prophet Isaiah promised, when the Lord comes, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom…”
