“None of Them Is Lost”

Jesus’s mission is to save everyone who is willing to be saved.

Early in His ministry, after miraculously feeding about 5,000 people, He explained that His atoning sacrifice was meant to be universal:

I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

John 6:38-39

At the Last Supper, He offered a prayer in which He reported to His Father that He had fulfilled that mandate, except in the case of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him:

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

John 17:12

Later that evening, as Judas approached the Savior and the other apostles with a band of armed men in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus boldly proclaimed that He was the one they were looking for. “If therefore ye seek me,” He added, “let these go their way.” John saw this as a continued fulfillment of His promise to His Father: “Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none” (John 18:8-9).

After His death and resurrection, the Savior spent three days with a group of people on the American continent. He taught them, introduced the ordinance of the sacrament, and prayed for them. At the end of His ministry, He expressed joy that they had responded favorably, and He prophesied that they would remain faithful:

My joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are lost.

Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are now alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I have fulness of joy.

3 Nephi 27:30-31

When I think of the Savior’s determination to lose no one, I am reminded of the triplet of parables recorded in Luke 15: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. In each parable, a person representing the Savior is distraught when something or someone becomes lost and is overjoyed when they are found again. As His disciples, we should follow His example, paying particular attention to those are are lost or who are at risk, and reaching out to them in love.

My mother-in-law is exceptionally good at noticing people who may need attention. A couple of years ago at a family reunion, while most people were talking and enjoying one another’s company, she noticed one of her granddaughters sitting apart. She asked me, “Paul, what are we going to do to help her feel included?” I appreciated her noticing the need and enlisting my help.

Today, I will recommit to lose no one. I will think about the people in my family, in my church responsibilities, and in my other spheres of influence. I will consider who needs my help and how I can help them belong and flourish.