The Worth of Souls

To me one of the most important verses of scripture is this simple statement from the Lord: “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” The Lord continued by explaining, “For behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10-11). What was the price that was paid for every soul? It was infinite suffering by the Savior. He explained further what that cost: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19). Every human soul has a value paid for by the Son of God who suffered beyond our comprehension to understand in order to redeem us. In another revelation the Lord explained to John Whitmer: “And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father” (Doctrine and Covenants 15:6). The worth of souls is so great that what is most worth our time is trying to bring those souls back to our Father in Heaven.

In the New Testament we see further how precious every soul is to God. The Savior declared, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). All of us are lost, and He came to save us all. With three parables He taught this: “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” We see how He values even the great sinners with the rejoicing of the father of the prodigal son who declared to the bitter brother: “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:10, 32). These parables make it clear that the Savior wants to save all of us, just as He taught Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). The coming of Christ is a witness that God loves all His children and seeks to save them all. To Him, we are all of “great worth.” That is why He declared that His work is to save us: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). His glory and His greatest work is to exalt us to be with Him again.

                Elder Uchtdorf expounded on this principle: “We know from modern revelation that ‘the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.’ We cannot gauge the worth of another soul any more than we can measure the span of the universe. Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father. Once we understand that, we can begin to understand how we should treat our fellowmen. One woman who had been through years of trial and sorrow said through her tears, ‘I have come to realize that I am like an old 20-dollar bill—crumpled, torn, dirty, abused, and scarred. But I am still a 20-dollar bill. I am worth something. Even though I may not look like much and even though I have been battered and used, I am still worth the full 20 dollars.’” Our worth does not change in the sight of God, even when we sin and make mistakes and have great struggles. The atonement of Jesus Christ is the undeniable witness that God loves perfectly all His children. Moroni said to the Savior: “And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity” (Ether 12:33-34). He laid down His life for every one of us because of His love, and we should strive to show that kind of love to all.