Summarizing instruction from the Lord to priesthood bearers to be "shepherds in Israel," Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve said, "I pray that I might explain our sacred trust so that even the newest deacon and the convert most recently ordained will see his opportunity."

Elder Henry B. Eyring

Speaking at the priesthood session, Elder Eyring said priesthood holders are to do more than just warn the sheep against danger. "We are to feed them."

The food with which the shepherds are to feed the sheep could lead to salvation for the sheep, he explained, adding that he has seen many shepherds who feed their flocks.

One was the president of a deacons quorum. A member of the quorum who lived near Elder Eyring's home did not attend quorum meeting or do anything with the members of the quorum. In council the quorum presidency talked of how much he needed what they were receiving. A counselor in the presidency was assigned "to go after that wandering sheep."

"I knew the counselor was shy and I knew the difficulty of the assignment, so I watched with wonder through my front window as the counselor trudged by my house, going up the road to the home of the boy who never came to Church. The shepherd had his hands in his pockets. His eyes were on the ground. He walked slowly, the way you would if you weren't sure you wanted to get where you were headed. In 20 minutes or so, he came back down the road, with the lost deacon walking by his side. That scene was repeated for a few more Sundays. Then, the boy, who had been lost and was found, moved away."

The scene seems unremarkable, Elder Eyring said, except that years later, he was in a stake conference far away from the ward where it had taken place, and a gray-haired man introduced himself as the grandfather of the boy who had been sought out by the deacons quorum presidency. He said his grandson, now a grown man, still remembered, because it was the first time in his life that he had felt watched over by the shepherds of Israel.

Watching over the sheep might seem difficult at first, Elder Eyring said, but success "comes from simple things that every shepherd must do. We pray for the sheep, every one for whom we are responsible. When we ask, 'Please tell me who needs me,' answers will come. A face or a name will come into our minds. Or we may have a chance meeting that we feel isn't chance. In those moments, we will feel the love of the Savior for them and for us. As you watch over His sheep, your love for Him will grow. And that will increase your confidence and your courage."

Telling of an elders quorum president who had been a Church member for less than 10 years and who was in difficult circumstances, yet managed to help a number of less-active men become worthy to be ordained elders and be sealed in the temple to their families, Elder Eyring said, "Where the Lord calls, He prepares a way, His way."