Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from April 2026 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “Lost Luggage, Redeemed Souls”
- Elder Gary E. Stevenson | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Saturday afternoon session of April 2026 general conference.
- Theme: Ministering and strengthening the rising generation are two ways individuals can care for God’s most precious cargo — His children.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Stevenson’s message here.
Outline
Forgotten, neglected or lost
- Only a small percentage of travelers lose their luggage, but the thought of losing important and essential belongings is a universal worry.
- While traveling for a recent assignment, Elder Stevenson realized his carry-on bag wouldn’t fit in the overhead space and it would have to be picked up later at a luggage claim. He had an anxious feeling during that flight and hoped it was taken care of.
- The Kansai International Airport in Japan has not lost one item of luggage during its 30 years of operation. The airport chief of baggage operations credits this to their attention to detail and the attitude that “luggage is precious to passengers.” They train employees to ensure that every bag is counted, tracked and cared for.
Our Heavenly Father’s love
- A loving Heavenly Father sends His most precious belongings — His children — away from their heavenly home to pass through mortality. But they do not travel alone. Parents, leaders, friends and ministering brothers and sisters serve as stewards of His most precious possessions.
- Heavenly Father places a claim on each of His children that they are His and He intends to bring them home. The Lord is deeply pleased with those who magnify their role as thoughtful and intentional handlers of His precious cargo.
Our sacred call to minister
- Ministering brothers and sisters — adults and youth — represent the Lord, scripturally aligned. The greatest success in ministering comes when acting in normal and natural ways.
- Individuals should consider their ministering assignment as “Christlike caring” of the Lord’s most treasured possessions. Contemplate how to provide Christlike service, offer help during spiritual or temporal need, prayerfully seek the Spirit, and help prepare families to make and keep covenants.
Ministering to the rising generation
- The charge to strengthen and nurture the rising generation is universal. During these perilous times, help the rising generation by investing time and teaching.
- Encourage young people to know, love and emulate Jesus Christ and learn how to receive personal revelation. “They will respond.”
A safe return
- All are part of the family of God and need help along the way. Each individual possesses a tag with a spiritual promise that they will be redeemed and never forgotten, neglected or lost. All have the privilege of participating in that work.
Reflection questions
Have you ever lost, or thought you lost, your luggage? How did you feel?
What impresses you about the way the Kansai International Airport in Japan handles luggage?
How does it make you feel to know that you are one of Heavenly Father’s most precious belongings?
How can you better magnify your role as a “handler” of God’s precious cargo when ministering?
What can you do to invest more time and teaching into strengthening and nurturing the rising generation?
Speaker quotes
- “In a much holier way, our Heavenly Father also places a claim upon us, not as a label on a handle but as a divine truth written on the heart: ‘You are mine. I know you. You are not alone. I have not forgotten you. I intend to bring you home.’ This is more than logistics. This is redemption.”
- “Unlike pieces of luggage, each of us is ultimately responsible for our decisions, beliefs and actions, assisted by heavenly and earthly ministering angels. Therefore, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we rise with renewed determination to succor and care for those with whom we come in contact.”
- “We each possess a tag that marks us as a child of a loving Heavenly Father. Printed upon that tag is a spiritual promise and sacred proclamation that testifies, ‘This precious soul has great worth to one day be redeemed by its holder,’ never to be forgotten, neglected or lost.”
Reference scriptures
- “And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.”
- “But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.”
- “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
Invitations and promises
- “I invite you to contemplate how you can: provide Christlike love, caring and service; offer help and comfort in times of spiritual or temporal need; prayerfully seek the guidance of the Spirit; help prepare families to make and keep sacred covenants with God as they receive ordinances.”
- “Consider your ministering assignment as ‘Christlike caring’ of the Lord’s most treasured possessions, who at the end of their mortal journey can be claimed and redeemed by Him. I invite you to implement small acts of kindness and care into your ministering, becoming better ministers of Jesus Christ.”
- “Teach the rising generation to know, love and emulate their Savior, Jesus Christ. ‘He is the strength of youth.’ They will respond.”
Stories
- While traveling for a recent assignment, Elder Stevenson realized his carry-on bag wouldn’t fit in the overhead space. An attendant took his bag and handed him a luggage claim ticket to get his bag after the flight. During the flight, Elder Stevenson had an anxious feeling and hoped his bag was not forgotten, neglected or lost. He was later reunited with his bag.
- The Kansai International Airport in Japan has not lost one item of luggage during its 30 years of operation. The airport chief of baggage operations credits this to their attention to detail and the attitude that “luggage is precious to passengers.” They train employees to ensure that every bag is counted, tracked and cared for.
From the footnotes
- 10. “What you can and must do for the rising generation is provide rich, nourishing soil with access to flowing heavenly water. Remove weeds and anything that would block heavenly sunlight. Create the best possible conditions for growth. Patiently allow the rising generation to make inspired choices, and let God work His miracle. The result will be more beautiful and more stunning and more joyful than anything you could accomplish just by yourself” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Parents,” April 2023 general conference).
- 14. “I promise you — not the person sitting next to you, but you — that, wherever you are in the world, wherever you are on the covenant path — even if, at this moment, you are not centered on the path — I promise you that if you will sincerely and persistently do the spiritual work needed to develop the crucial, spiritual skill of learning how to hear the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, you will have all the direction you will ever need in your life. You will be given answers to your questions in the Lord’s own way and in His own time. And don’t forget the counsel of your parents and Church leaders. They are also seeking revelation in your behalf” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,” worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018).
Additional resources
- Related image: “Ministering in the Philippines”
- Related video: “Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Lost Sheep”
- Related hymn: No. 1044, “How Did the Savior Minister?”
Recent conference talks on ministering
- Elder Clark G. Gilbert: “Come Home” (April 2026)
- Sister Kristin M. Yee: “Ministering — ‘That Ye Love One Another; as I Have Loved You’” (April 2026)
- Elder Peter M. Johnson: “The Power of Ministering to the One” (October 2025)
Who is Elder Stevenson?
- Elder Gary E. Stevenson was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 3, 2015. He lived in Japan for more than nine years and has attended two Japan temple dedications and one rededication as an Apostle.
