Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from April 2025 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “Return Unto Me … That I May Heal You”
- Elder S. Mark Palmer | Presidency of the Seventy
- Saturday afternoon session of April 2025 general conference.
- Theme: The Savior heals and welcomes all who repent and return unto Him.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Palmer’s message here.
Outline
- When a mighty storm blew down the willow tree near the entrance of his home, Elder Palmer planned to cut it up for firewood until a neighbor told him how to save the tree, which still had a root in the ground. Now, 12 years later, the willow stands vibrant and full of life.
- Latter-day Saints worldwide remind Elder Palmer of the willow tree and how “there is hope even when all seems lost.”
- Some Saints, for uniquely personal reasons, have lost faith and seen their testimonies weakened, while others “hang on with the slimmest of roots.” Yet, many have chosen to renew their discipleship and return to their Church home.
- A returning member in Korea thanked Saints in a stake conference for their kindness and acceptance; a once-offended missionary from Africa shared how pleased he is to have found his way back; and a sister in the U.S. recognized the welcoming love her parents always extended her, even as she walked away from the Church for a time.
- Elder Palmer speaks especially to those who once felt the Spirit but question whether there is a way back, as well as any who are “barely hanging on” or “tempted to step away.” He prays they will feel the Spirit’s witness through the Savior’s loving invitation and promise to return, that He may heal them (see 3 Nephi 9:13).
- Many are responding to Christ’s invitation and seeking His healing by returning to discipleship and Church activity. Record numbers of young people are choosing to grow their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Like the Savior’s New Testament apostles, each follower of Jesus Christ will need to answer whether they will stay or “also go away” (John 6:67) as they face individual times of testing.
- The story of the willow tree teaches those considering the Savior’s invitation to return that the journey back is not easy, but it is worth it; it teaches patience, the need for constant care and nourishment, that a testimony grows through sensitivity to the Spirit and that the Lord knows a person’s divine potential.
- Through the Savior’s Atonement, “all that is broken can be healed.” The Savior blesses all who return unto Him with greater peace and joy — it is not too late to come back.
Reflection questions
In what ways does weekly partaking of the sacrament and worshipping with the Saints nourish your faith in Jesus Christ?
What blessings are lost by choosing to walk away from the Savior and “your spiritual home”?
When has someone’s show of love and acceptance helped you return to the Savior? How can you extend the same to those “longing for faith”?
Why might cultivating sensitivity to the “feelings and the witness of the Spirit” help our testimonies grow?
What steps can you take this week to “renew [your] discipleship” and respond to Christ’s invitation to repent and return unto Him, that He may heal you?
Speaker quotes
- “You will nourish your faith and your testimony as you feast at the sacrament table each week and as you worship in the house of the Lord.”
- “He will never give up on you. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all that is broken can be healed.”
- “I witness that there is rejoicing in heaven over those who return. You are needed, and you are loved. I testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He blesses all who return unto Him with greater peace and with great joy. His arms of mercy are not folded but are open and extended to you. It is not too late for you to come back.”
Reference scriptures
- “O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?”
- “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”
- “And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!”
Invitations and promises
- “To all who are longing for faith, we invite you to come back. I promise your faith can be strengthened as you once again worship with the Saints.”
- “To all who recognize what you have lost, we invite you to come back so you can once again taste the joyous fruit of the gospel.”
- “Focusing your faith on Jesus Christ and His gospel — the trunk and the roots — will give you the hope and the courage to take that first step back.”
Stories
- While living in a home surrounded by majestic trees, Elder Palmer witnessed a storm blow down a willow tree next to the home’s entrance. The tree lay with its roots pulled out and, just as Elder Palmer was about to cut it up for firewood, a neighbor intervened and pointed out how to save the tree. Doubtful about the tree’s ability to survive, Elder Palmer followed his neighbor’s advice, and what has resulted 12 years later is a tree that is vibrant and full of life, a testament that “there is hope even when all seems lost.”
- Elder Palmer is inspired by the stories of those who have “chosen to renew their discipleship” and return to their Church home. These include: a returning member in Korea, whom Elder Palmer saw thank Saints in a stake conference for their kindness and acceptance toward him; a former missionary from Africa who, offended by a senior Church leader’s teachings, left the Church but is now pleased to have found his way back 15 years later upon realizing what he had lost; and a sister in the United States who walked away from the Church for many years but always felt her parents’ welcoming love and ultimately returned to her Church home.
- When some of Christ’s followers in Capernaum found His teachings hard and “walked no more with him,” Jesus turned to His apostles and asked them, “Will ye also go away?” Peter answered the Savior with his testimony, saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:66-68).
From the footnotes
- 2. Note that the invitation to repent applies to us all. See 1 John 1:8 (“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves”) and President Russell M. Nelson‘s invitation to repent daily: “The Power of Spiritual Momentum,” April 2022 general conference.
Additional resources
- Related image: “Jesus Christ Visits and Ministers to the People in the Americas”
- Related video: “The Hope of God’s Light”
- Related hymn: No. 221, “Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd”
Recent conference talks on repentance
- Sister Tamara W. Runia: “Your Repentance Doesn’t Burden Jesus Christ; It Brightens His Joy” (April 2025)
- Elder Jorge M. Alvarado: “Embrace the Lord’s Gift of Repentance” (October 2024)
- Elder Patrick Kearon: “God’s Intent Is To Bring You Home” (April 2024)
Who is Elder Palmer?
- Elder S. Mark Palmer was called as a General Authority Seventy in April 2016 and was sustained to the Presidency of the Seventy in 2021. Previously, he served as a mission leader with his wife, Sister Jacqueline Palmer, in the Washington Spokane Mission and also as interim leaders in the Australia Sydney South Mission.
