Waiting for the Prodigal - Elder Brent H. Nielson

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/waiting-for-the-prodigal?lang=eng

   The most poignant part of this talk is when Elder Nielson tells what the Savior would have us do. We are to leave the 99 and go after the one. But, once that is done, if we are unsuccessful, we need to watch and wait. Sometimes, when you pull someone they dig in their heels. Sometimes we need to let a person go.
   Letting a person go, doesn't mean we stop caring about them. It doesn't mean we disassociate ourselves. It simply means we don't bother them. Elder Nielson says of his own sister, "Although we could not embrace all of her choices, we could embrace her." That is wonderful. We don't need to push ourselves on to people who have left the church. But we don't need to pull ourselves away either. We can love them and watch and wait.
    Elder Nielson spoke about two things he did during his sister's inactivity that I think are great examples of watching and waiting. One thing was praying for his sister and putting her name in at the temple. I have done that for many people in my life. Some will never know just how often a group of complete strangers gathered to pray for their well being.
   The other thing he did was actively watching.  Letting a person be and making their own decisions, doesn't mean we stop caring. We watch for cues that they are ready. We listen to the Spirit in their behalf. In his story it took 3 different people knowing his sister was ready for it to finally happen. We all need to be aware of what is happening in the lives of our lost sheep. If not, how will we ever reach them?
   "All of us are lost and need to be found." Aren't we all lost sheep to the Savior? Isn't He waiting and praying for us? Well, I don't actually know if Jesus Christ prays. I imagine He goes down a hall to speak to our Father, or maybe He just apparates where He needs to go...  Still, I believe He is actively waiting, and hoping for our return.
   You know what I love about the New Testament? There are so many stories in there of Jesus loving sinners. He teaches and beckons them, and when they finally come, He embraces them with a perfect love that I can't yet understand. We've all been that sinner at one point in our lives. We have all had to come back after making mistakes. We need to watch, wait, and love those who are still lost.