Jesus is The Good Shepherd

A shepherd watches over, protects, and guides his herd. He stays with them, even when there might be danger. He knows each sheep and when one wanders, he is willing to go out and call that one back to the flock.

Modern-day shepherds camp with the sheep. They move them to better grazing and watch over them constantly. If a coyote, wolf, or a bear threaten the herd, the shepherd is there to protect the sheep, especially the lambs. Shepherds care about each sheep and will make sure all are fed and nourished appropriately. If any are sick or injured, the shepherd will take extra care to help the sheep recover.

The Good Shepherd

Jesus is known both as the Lamb of God and as The Good Shepherd. These names help us understand his dual role and how he serves us in different ways (see The Lamb of God).

The name Good Shepherd communicates how much Jesus loves His flock. How much He cares and how He will come after us and call us back when we wander.

If we are lost, Jesus will call out to us through a ministering brother or sister, through a leader, or through a concerned ward member. Because Jesus is The Good Shepherd, we are never forgotten. He keeps track of each one of us.

In John 10:14–15, Jesus declares: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Jesus willingly laid down His life for us because He knows us and loves us.

He Knows Us Personally

He knows our hopes, dreams, fears, desires. He knows who we are and to whom we belong. He knows our spiritual gifts and is eager to help us develop them. He also knows our prayers, both spoken and unspoken, and what the desires of our hearts are.

He knows us individually and so well that He can help us through any trials or problems we may have. He understands us. He knows our hearts and our intentions. He knows who we hope to be and He seeks to minister to us to show us His love and compassion.

He loves us. He has proven His love for us. He wants each of us to return to live with Heavenly Father for eternity and willingly sacrificed His life so we could do just that.

Because He knows us personally, He asks us individually to serve in different ways that will best teach us what we need to learn in mortality. We all have different gifts and talents and Jesus knows which ones will bless the lives of others at different times in our lives.

We can know that we are always seen by Jesus. No matter how we feel in mortality, Jesus sees us and cares about us.

He Speaks and Invites Us to Hear Him

Jesus speaks to us through the scriptures. He has not left us alone trying to figure things out. He has given us His law in the scriptures. If we want to know Him, we can do that as we read, study, and ponder His words.

He also speaks to us through the living prophet, Dallin H. Oaks, the apostles, and our leaders. President Oaks is the mouthpiece for the Lord and whatever the Lord wants us to know as a church will come through him. When we listen to conference talks, we can hear the words of the Lord. As we study and ponder the talks, we can take those words even more deeply into our hearts.

As we study the scriptures, attend the temple, attend church, and serve in our callings Jesus can speak to us through the power of the Holy Ghost, who testifies of all truth. We can know in our callings and personally what the Lord wants us to do through personal revelation. Sometimes, this comes through quiet impressions. Sometimes, revelation comes when we are praying and seeking a specific answer. Other times, it may come to us as we read a specific scripture or listen to a conference talk. The Spirit will teach us the words Jesus wants us to know in our personal lives and as we seek to serve others in our callings.

But we have to open our ears and be willing to hear the Lord. Hearing means we acknowledge that He is speaking, it is the first step in learning what the Lord wants us to know. Listening is the next step, which means we are considering His words and thinking about them. Next, is hearkening, which means we’ve heard the words, we’ve considered them and now we are taking action to implement them. We must first hear, then listen, then hearken to His words.

He Protects and Leads Us to Safety

President Oaks recently cautioned us to not be deceived. If we are actively following Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and hearkening to His words, we will see truth and recognize error. Jesus wants to protect us. He wants to keep us safe.

There is safety in keeping the commandments. There is safety in hearkening to His counsel. There is safety within the flock.

If we will follow Jesus and His words we will be safe from Satan and his deceptions.If we stay within the fold of our Good Shepherd we will not be devoured by spiritual predators who seek to destroy our faith and lead us away from God.

President Nelson taught, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” The Holy Ghost will teach us truth and lead us to follow Jesus. There is safety in Jesus.

Sheep don’t always see the danger ahead, but the shepherd does. We may think that a prayer wasn’t answered, a door was closed, or something else happened that doesn’t make sense. But that’s because we are the sheep and we need to trust our shepherd because He knows more than we do. He can see ahead. He sees and understands all. Jesus is always working in our best interest.

Conclusion

No one is more invested in us than our Savior, Jesus Christ. He wants us to feel peace, comfort, and joy. He will help us live our best lives. That doesn’t mean we won’t have hardships or trials, some even devastating trials, but He knows and loves us. And He knows the plan. He knows what is best for us.

If we will follow Him and trust in Him, He will lead us back to Heavenly Father.

Activity: Learning to Hear the Shepherd’s Voice

This simple family (or personal) activity can help illustrate how we learn to recognize Jesus’s voice.

The Shepherd’s Voice Game

What you need:

• Blindfold
• A safe open room

How to play:

1. One person is blindfolded (the “sheep”).
2. Several people stand around the room and begin speaking at the same time.
3. One designated person (the “shepherd”) gives calm, clear instructions.
4. The sheep must listen carefully and move only toward the shepherd’s voice.

Afterward, discuss:

• Was it easy or hard to recognize the right voice?
• What made it difficult?
• How is this like the world we live in?

Then connect it spiritually:
The world is noisy. Social media, opinions, fear, comparison — many voices compete for our attention. The more time we spend in scripture and prayer, the easier it becomes to recognize the Shepherd.

You might close by reading John 10:14–15 together and sharing testimonies.