The Worth of Souls

To my daughter, 

One day this week as we were driving you said, “What if we were friends to everyone in the whole world?” You got excited as you imagined what it would be like if we knew the people in every car that passed us on the road. I thought it was a great question and showed the love that you have for others. It would indeed be a wonderful thing if we could be friends to everyone, and though that might not be possible for us to get to know every single person in the world, we can seek to be a friend to all the people that we meet. The Lord taught Oliver Cowdery something about the worth of all of God’s children on the earth. He said, “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; 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. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance. And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10-13). The worth of every soul on the earth—every person—is great, and the Savior suffered the pains of every single person in order that they could repent and return to the Father. I hope that you know that you too are a daughter of God and have infinite worth.

               I love the way that C.S. Lewis talked about how we should view the people around us. He said, “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” In other words, everyone on earth has divine potential to become even like our Heavenly Father is. As His spirit children, our destiny is to become glorified beings even as He is, if we will receive the gift of salvation from our Savior Jesus Christ. So as we meet and interact with others, we should remember that they too are a child of God with infinite worth and unlimited potential. The Lord declared, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). His work is to make us become like Him, which will happen if we will receive His Son. The Savior gave this marvelous promise: “And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:37-38). The Father wants to give each of us everything He has, and He will if we will truly receive His Son by making covenants with Him. Know that He loves each of us perfectly and wants the very best for each of His children.

Love,

Dad