The Lord's Lost Sheep and a Visit to Blacksnape Village in England

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.  John 10:27-29

For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock?  And behold, if a wolf enter his flock doth he not drive him out?  Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy him.  And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and h commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may be destroyed.  Alma 5:59-60

And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.  1 Nephi 22:25

What is it with all the sheep and shepherd scriptures?  These were the scriptures I was prompted to use today when we visited a woman who has had the worst life imaginable.  Everything bad that could happen to her has, yet her faith has stayed strong.  She loves the Savior.  As missionaries (and member missionaries), we realize the Lord has commanded us to help Him find his lost sheep and bring them back to His fold.  In this lady's case, she was crying out for someone to come help her find her way back.  There was a beautiful spirit there as we listened to her story and brought what the Lord revealed to us to say to meet her needs and let her know she is loved and needed.   Often, it is just to listen and testify of His love for each individual, for the worth of a soul is great in His sight.

In an Ensign article this past month, there was a story about a lamb that was found on the wrong side of the fence by a busy highway.  The people who tried to help it had to chase it all over to catch it as it resisted being helped.  Then, they were kicked as the lamp struggled to free itself when the people tried to lift it over the fence.  In most cases, that is how it is finding the lost sheep of the wards.  Most are resistant to returning to church because they cannot see it is the place they need to be for safety and care.  They don't realize that being on the wrong side of the fence is dangerous for their eternal welfare.  It is a tough job to get the lost sheep to want to follow the Good Shepherd.  He promises so much . . .

Before we went to visit the lady today, I took a walk in the sunshine (yes--sunshine again in Darwen--miracle!!)  This time, I followed my obsession with the sinister name of "Blacksnape," and went to the village itself, which is about a fifteen minute walk up the road.

Walking into BLACKSNAPE!  Hum, it looks open and friendly.

This plaque was seen over the door on the cottage in the next picture below.  It looks like it reads, "Built by subscription through the exertion of John Harwood 1825."  I'll have to go back to see if I can read the writing above it.

 

 Can this place really be that old?

It looks too modern to be an old cottage.  I'll have to check this out later and see what the deal is.

The roof on these cottages, across the street from the one above, makes it look like they could be that old.  Stone doesn't age much over 176 years or so.

I walked down from Blacksnape on a public footpath through the playing fields and to our apartment just down from here.