The Worth of Souls

The Worth of Souls

Sacrament Meeting

April 19, 2015

D&C 18:10-13:

10  Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
11  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.
12  And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance.
13  And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!

On Thursday night, my parents and I went driving around to see if we could see the northern lights. We wound up driving almost clear up to Cusick, trying to find a dark spot where we could see over the hills and everything. We only saw a little (of the northern lights), which was really awesome, but my favorite part of that experience was that we found this little clearing, where we could see across the river, and the stars ... were breathtaking. And I was sitting up there just looking at the sky and all of the numerous stars and thinking, I feel so small.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf once said:

While we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind. In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.
This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.

I love that, because God created all of these numerous worlds, and He created this world, and there is so much in it and He has so much to think about. And yet, He thinks about each one of us individually and He knows us so well. And I love this, and I was thinking about this: When Joseph Smith had the First Vision, the first thing that God the Father did was call him by name. He said Joseph. He called him by name. That was His first focus. That was the first thing He did. And I think that tells a lot about us and that when God speaks to us, He cares about us individually. He loves us very much.

In Moses 7, Enoch the Prophet has a vision about the future of the world. And in it, he's seeing all of this destruction and it says: (Moses 7:28-33)

28  And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?
29  And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

And he goes on to talk about how great God is, and everything He's created, and he's totally baffled by this. And he asks Him again, how is it thou canst weep?

32  The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
33  And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;

That was just so touching to me, because God was saying, "I am crying for these people because I love them and I want them to choose me and I created them with my own hands." He loves us so much because we are His creations, and His children, and His family - and He wants us to be a part of the eternities with Him. It's so sad to Him when things aren't going right, because He loves us so much.

He doesn't just love us a little.We're not just wandering around down here as just His little creations, like some sort of game. No. He loves us. He pays attention to everything.

D&C 138:1-4: (Joseph Smith)

1  On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures;
2  And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world;
3  And the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world;
4  That through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved.

See, our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He created this amazing plan, where we can be saved and all go back to Him if we choose Him. And it's really an amazing thing, because He sacrificed His Only Begotten Son. And that's a big deal. He loves Jesus Christ, and that must have been really hard for Him. Of course we know that Jesus Christ would do it again, and that Father would do it again. The Lord would do it just for one person, and He talks about His love for the one in the parable of the lost sheep.

Luke 15:4-7:

4  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

7  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father love us so much individually, that they are willing to go out and really put in the effort to save the one. We need to remember that it's important for us to do that, too. To love each other. Because that's what we're supposed to do. One of the most amazing things about this is that not only did Heavenly Father choose His Son - Jesus Christ - but the Savior also chose to atone for us. 

M. Russell Ballard:

As the Son of God, He had the power to alter the situation. Yet the scriptures clearly state that He yielded Himself to scourging, humiliation, suffering, and finally crucifixion because of His great love towards the children of men (see 1 Ne. 19:9–10 ).

He did that. He did that for us, and for the one, because our souls are worth it to Him. When I think about this, nothing sums it up better than the lyrics of this familiar hymn:

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

So basically the deal is, God loves us no matter what. No matter what crazy things we do, and all the times we mess up, He helps us. And He has set forth His plan to help us get back to Him. He's there for us, and we are precious to Him. Every soul is precious to Him.

Elder Ballard goes on to say:

We are children of God. Each one of us is precious to the point of bringing the Lord God Almighty to a fullness of joy if we are faithful, or to tears if we are not.

He loves us that much. I'd just like to bear my testimony of our Heavenly Father's love. I know that He does love us, and that He's always willing to stretch forth His hand - if we will reach for Him. I hope that this message can give you a little hope - that no matter where you are, He loves you. And He is willing to help you, if you reach out to Him and pray to Him. And if we repent, then we can move on and we can return to Him. That's the great part of this plan.

I'd like to bear testimony of that, and how grateful I am to be a member of this church, and to have this knowledge, and to know that we are loved. Always. And I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Bonnie Gwyn <3