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This morning, I gathered a few sheep from around my house. They are all very unique. You can probably tell, the two in front are finger puppets I made for my kids years ago. I love these sheep.
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John 10 teaches us how Jesus is like a shepherd. As we read John 10:1–28 together, we listed on the chalkboard what He does that illustrates this: He knows the names of His sheep; He leads them and they follow; He is willing to lay down His life; He protects them; and He gathers them together.

We watched a clip of Elder Lasater that was given in a conference talk (Ensign, May 1988, 74). He talks about a visit he made to the Morrocan desert. While there, they encountered a shepherd. One of his lambs was injured. I love the part where Elder Lasater says:

"It was then that I noticed the old shepherd reach down, lift the injured lamb in his arms, and place it in a large pouch on the front of his robe. He kept stroking its head, repeating the same word over and over again. When I asked the meaning of the word, I was informed, ‘Oh, he is calling it by name. All of his sheep have a name, for he is their shepherd, and the good shepherds know each one of their sheep by name.’”

I have no doubt that God knows us and loves each of us individually.When Joseph Smith saw the First Vision, the first thing said to him was his own first name, "Joseph." I know He knows my name and I know He knows yours.

How is that possible?

Clearly, He is all powerful. We read several scriptures that can help us understand why He would care: Luke 12:6–7; D&C 76:24; Moses 1:37–39.

When people are like sheep and follow the Shepherd, Jesus Christ, it is not the same as blind following. We always have a choice. We always have the right to ask questions. We also continually and completely trust our Shepherd. We know Him and we know He knows and loves us.

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Mosiah 5:10–13 doesn't use the word "sheep," but we can learn from these verses how we can be true followers of Jesus Christ.