All We Like Sheep

Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 40: 11
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Today we studied these passages from Isaiah and then the students responded to the following question: How has the Lord been a shepherd in your life, or in the life of someone you love?
Here are some of their answers:

The Savior can’t lead us unless we allow Him to. If there is resistance, He will wait until we are ready to accept His guidance. This past year has been a very rough time for me. I’ve done things I promised myself I would never do, and yet it’s so hard to stop once you’ve started. However, not once have I questioned my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He truly is our shepherd. No one in all of eternity could fill that role that He has played for me. For all humanity. I know that when I am strong enough to accept His help, He will be there with open arms to guide me safely home. Back in His arms. Back to the open arms of my Father in heaven. “What comfort this sweet sentence gives…”
Deanna Newell

The Savior has really helped me lately, pretty much the same way He helps everyone else. Just whenever I do something wrong, I pray, and I’m able to make it right. That is the best thing about the Church. It gives us an unlimited number of chances to get our lives straight.
Tyler Kroff

The Lord has been a shepherd in my life by helping me make correct choices to stay on the path of righteousness.
Stephanie Allred

Whenever I am confused or have problems in my life, I know that all I have to do is pray and I know that the Lord will make the way clear and help me overcome the problems.
Ryan Reynolds

The Lord has been a shepherd in my life whenever I have not known where I was going. It is so easy to follow other sheep as they go astray but Christ is the true leader; He is the way.
Ryan Palmer

The Lord has given me strength to get through the hardest times in my life – times when I thought I could just die because nothing was going right. But when I turned to the Lord I found that when everything in life is going wrong, if you have faith, and try to think about the good things life has to offer, instead of just the bad things that happen, then you can actually find true happiness. Some people say – “I have nothing to be grateful for – what good things does life have to offer that I have?” Well, you’re alive and that’s the best thing you could ever have.
Sara Eggers

The Lord has been a shepherd in my life by helping me and my whole family cope through my mom’s divorce. He helped us not to be discouraged and helped us know that we were still loved.
Tyler Robinson

Jesus is a shepherd and I am a sheep. When I fall on my back I need some help to get up. And he always helps me up. One of my good friends has fallen on his back and I know Jesus will help him up.
Sam Holden

The Lord helped my family move to Folsom. It came up out of the blue and we’re here. We’re supposed to be here.
Erik Larson

A shepherd – one who cares for and looks after his flock of sheep - Even though I have grown up in the church I have not always felt the guidance of my shepherd. However, as I look back on my life, I realize that he has always been there. Not through an angel telling me what to do, but by putting me where I need to be (even when I don’t want to go). The one place he has guided me the most could be Seminary. In Seminary I do learn many things, but the thing I love is meeting my peers and seeing who they actually are inside. Their testimonies help me grow and the Lord knows this is what I need, so He sends me.
Michael Getz

New Life in the Old Testament

Our course of study this year in Seminary has been the Old Testament (and sections of the Pearl of Great Price). I’ve read the Old Testament before, but never with the intensity of this year’s experience. It has been edifying to see the way that Christ is present in every symbol, every sacrifice and in the witness of every ancient prophet. Even though the people didn’t always recognize Jehovah as the future Messiah, His love and mercy was continually extended toward them. Do we recognize His love and mercy toward us, even when we fail to recognize Him or put Him first in our lives? It’s easy to point the finger at the children of Israel, but we are just as prone to idolatry, in our way, as they were.

We don’t offer animal sacrifices any more, but there is so much rich symbolism in that Old Testament experience that points to the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior. The ancient tabernacle and early temples were the sites of much of that sacrifice, just as modern temples focus our attention on Christ’s infinite and atoning sacrifice. I love the patterns of that first testament being repeated in Christ’s day and again in ours.

No one testifies more powerfully of Christ in the Old Testament than Isaiah. As we conclude our study of his writings this week, I add my voice to his in declaring that Christ has certainly “borne [my] griefs, and carried [my] sorrows… he was wounded for [my] transgressions… and with his stripes [I] am healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5) I love Isaiah's comforting reminder that no matter how often, or how profoundly I mess up, the Savior's atonement makes it possible for me to repent and begin again. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) For me, there is definitely new life in the Old Testament!