Reach out to those who have strayed
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Priesthood could be called "the perfect plan of service," said President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, quoting in his priesthood session address President Stephen L Richards, a predecessor in the First Presidency.
Citing the oft-repeated quotation, "The home is the basis of a righteous life," he related the account of a young man, 17, who left his home in anger after an argument with his father. "Leaving the yard," President Monson recounted, "he was about to pass through the gate when he heard his father call to him, 'Jack, I know that a large share of the blame for your leaving rests with me. For this I am truly sorry. I want you to know that if you should ever wish to return home, you'll always be welcome. And I'll try to be a better father to you. I want you to know that I'll always love you."
Riding a bus out of town, the young man reflected on the words of his father and realized how much love it had required for him to do what he had done, President Monson said. "Jack got off the bus. He bought a return ticket home and went back. He arrived shortly after midnight, entered the house and turned on the light. There in the rocking chair sat his father, his head in his hands. As he looked up and saw Jack, he arose from the chair and they rushed into each other's arms. Jack often said, 'Those last years that I was home were among the happiest of my life.'
"We could say that here was a boy who overnight became a man. Here was a father who, suppressing passion and bridling pride, rescued his son before he became one of that vast 'lost battalion' resulting from fractured families and shattered homes."
President Monson admonished, "Brethren, ours is the responsibility, yes even the solemn duty, to reach out to those who have slipped into inactivity or strayed from the family circle."
He added: "As you succeed, you will be answering a mother's prayer, the tender though unexpressed feelings of children's hearts; and your names will forever be honored by those whom you reach out and help."
He told of an experience he had as a bishop. While on a business errand one day, he felt a prompting to stop at the home of a couple, Ben and Emily Fullmer, who, due to the aches and pains of advancing years, had withdrawn from the mainstream of life and from attendance at sacrament meeting.
"Emily welcomed me in," he recounted. "Upon seeing me, she exclaimed, 'All day long I have waited for my phone to ring. It has been silent. I hoped that the postman would deliver a letter. He brought only bills. Bishop, how did you know today is my birthday?'
"I answered, 'God knows, Emily, for He loves you.' "
He told them he didn't know why he was directed to their home and suggested they kneel in prayer and ask God. Afterward, he asked Brother Fullmer to come to priesthood meeting and relate the story of how, as a boy, he had heeded a spiritual prompting to attend Sunday School instead of going with other boys to swim. One of those boys drowned that day. President Monson said he asked Sister Fullmer to join the ward choir and sing a solo for the ward conference.
"She sang. He spoke. Hearts were gladdened by the return to activity of Ben and Emily. They rarely missed a sacrament meeting from that day forward. The language of the Spirit had been spoken. It had been heard. It had been understood. Hearts were touched and souls were saved. Ben and Emily Fullmer had come home."
President Monson recited the words from a well-known song in the long-running musical "Les Miserables." The story is set in the period of the French Revolution and the song, "Bring Him Home," is a heart-felt supplication to God by the main character, Jean Valjean, in behalf of a young man, Marius, who is going off to battle:
God on high, hear my prayer;
In my need you have always been there.
He is young, he's afraid;
Let him rest, Heaven blessed.
Bring him home.
"Brethren," President Monson said, "as we go forward as bearers of the priesthood of God, learning our duty and then reaching out to our brethren who stand in need of our help, let us look upward to our Heavenly Father. And within our hearts we will recognize His unspoken plea, Bring him home."
