What Really Matters

Have you ever had one of those moments in life when the value of things suddenly changed? I have a nephew named Seth. When he was born, it was discovered that he had an extra chromosome, and that has made some aspects of life challenging. I remember his father wondering shortly after this discovery if he would be Seth’s only friend in life. Today, Seth has more friends than all of our family combined.

A few years ago as I arrived home from work, Laurie, my wife, met me at the front door to let me know that Seth, then our five-year-old nephew, was missing. Family and friends gathered nearby to search the neighborhood. Driving the speed limit was a real test that day; every stoplight seemed to turn red. Sitting at one stoplight, I glanced out the window and noticed golfers on the course. I remembered thinking how silly golf seemed at this moment in time, when I was desperately driving to join the search for Seth. I thought, “Wouldn’t everyone in Rexburg be willing to stop what they were doing and join the search if they just knew what was happening?” What was happening? Was Seth lost? Kidnapped? Hurt?

Shortly after I arrived and joined others in the search, I heard a joyful cheer come from down the road. Seth had been found in a neighbor’s home when the children living in that home had returned from school. What a tender sight to see my brother and his wife reunited with their son. Seth’s brief, dramatic disappearance (and life for that matter) has caused me to frequently reflect upon the worth of a soul and what really matters in life.

I think most people in the world would say they value human life and if asked, “What is the worth of a soul?” would answer “Great!” But why is the worth of a soul great? Without a gospel perspective, this latter question could be challenging to answer. How do we best measure the worth of a human soul? We are surrounded by numerous instruments that measure speed, volume, temperature, distance, pressure, and a thousand other things. My five-year-old daughter, Annie, even has a very rare scientific bracelet that measures moods. But how are we to measure the worth of another person? What evidence has God given us that we matter? I pray for the Spirit of the Lord to be with us as we seek understanding on this important question of life.

Introduction

The worth of a soul is best measured and understood through the Spirit’s influence and prophetic teachings concerning Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. The call of an apostle to be a “special witness of the name of Christ” ^[1] is a call to inspire and guide individuals in their efforts to repent, “come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him.” ^[2] “The fundamental principles of our religion,” Joseph Smith taught, “are the testimonies of Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ.” ^[3]

Elder Quentin L. Cook’s witness of the Savior in last week’s devotional was simple, sacred, and significant: “As an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I bear a certain and solemn witness of His divinity. He lives and guides His Church in our day.” ^[4] The Holy Ghost inspires God’s children to trust those called as special witness of Jesus Christ. “One of the most important lessons” Elder David A. Bednar has learned as a special witness of the Savior during his 14 “years of service as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that the Lord knows each of us individually and loves each of us infinitely. He knows us one by one and name by name.” ^[5] When we choose to faithfully “act under the direction of” ^[6] the Lord’s servants, we choose to learn of Christ and come to know, feel, and see how He views every son and daughter of our Heavenly Father.

Three Questions

Early in the Restoration, the Savior spoke a profound truth through His servant, Joseph Smith Jr., to those desiring to know how to build up His church.

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! ^[7]

This scripture is central to my message today. This passage is most significant! This teaching is at the core of what it truly means to build up His Church. These truths are critical for every child of God on earth to be taught and come to understand. Today, my remarks center on three questions this scriptural passage inspires me to ask:

First, What is a soul?

Second, What does the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ reveal about the worth of a soul?

And third, How can I come to better understand the worth of a soul in the sight of God?

Question 1: What is a soul?

God has defined the soul as “the spirit and the body” ^[8] and, when united, a source of great happiness and power. Substituting the Lord’s definition in today’s scripture, we now read, “Remember the worth of [a spirit and a body] is great in the sight of God.” ^[9] The spirit and body of “all human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God.” ^[10] God the Father is not just a personage of spirit but also possesses “a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.” ^[11]

Joseph Smith added purpose to these doctrines when he declared, “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the Celestial Kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body.” ^[12] Knowing the nature and origins of our spirit and body answers one of the defining questions of our existence: Who am I? Elder Dallin H. Oaks answers:

I am a child of God with a spirit lineage to heavenly parents. That parentage defines our eternal potential. That powerful idea is a potent antidepressant. It can strengthen each of us to make righteous choices and to seek the best that is within us. ^[13]

Accurately viewing our past is proven to have a powerful impact on our present and future. A colleague of mine recently presented at an interfaith conference, where he and other religious educators had gathered. Brother Ryan Gardner’s conference paper articulated aspects of LDS doctrine he believed motivated Mormons to engage in the broader world. Brother Gardner’s first point of emphasis was:

“One of the most fundamental points in the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that every human being is a literal spirit son or daughter of Heavenly Parents…. Remembering that familial connection also motivates me to learn from my brothers and sisters and work with them as members of a family might work together to solve challenges and difficulties as they arise.” ^[14]

Upon reading Ryan’s first theological point to those attending, Deborah, a Jewish professor from Tel-Aviv, Israel, “enthusiastically” responded by stating, “We should just run the whole world on that!” She further explained how much “better a place the world would be if everyone just believed that and acted accordingly.” When God’s children understand the divine parentage of their body and their spirit, they come to better understand why “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” Understanding this truth changes the way people think and act towards God and others.

Question 2: What does the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ reveal about the worth of a soul?

Did you notice in today’s scripture the close link between the worth of souls and the Atonement of Jesus Christ? Listen again to this scripture, and notice how the Lord juxtaposes these two great truths, as if you can’t understand one without the other.

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.

Immediately following God’s declaration concerning the greatness of the worth of souls, comes the message that we have a Redeemer who wants to bring all men unto Him. God’s measuring rod for the worth of a soul is the atoning sacrifice of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Do these words imply that we cannot comprehend the true worth of a soul without always remembering Him, who He is, and what He has done for us? Elder M. Russell Ballard believes so: “If we could truly understand the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we would realize how precious is one son or daughter of God.” ^[15]

The companion truths of the worth of a soul and the Atonement of Jesus Christ invite us into a gospel paradox—a paradox where if we lose ourselves in always remembering the greatness of Jesus’ soul, we in turn come to find the worth of our own soul. Sadly, too many seeking self-worth focus primarily on themselves and pleasing those around them. When the Savior is our primary focus, we are filled with His love, and we love and serve one another better. What does remembering Jesus and the infinite sacrifice of His body and blood reveal about the worth of a soul in the sight of God? Three aspects of Jesus’ infinite Atonement reveal to me the infinite worth of a soul in the sight of God:

1. The Motive: Motive, or intensity and purity of feeling, is one way I judge the worth of something or someone. The ultimate feeling or motive of the Father and the Son is love. ^[16] Charity, the pure love of Christ, is the highest, noblest feeling or motive of any action. The Father and the Son love you with all of Their heart, might, mind, and strength. God’s entire work and glory places His children’s eternal happiness at the heart and center of His existence.

God the Father “so loved the world that he gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”^[17] Jesus “doeth not anything” Nephi explains, “save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him.” ^[18] Sadly though, “the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it ; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long suffering towards the children of men.” ^[19] Elder Jeffrey R. Holland adds:

Jesus did not come to improve God’s view of man nearly so much as He came to improve man’s view of God and to plead with them to love their Heavenly Father as He has always and will always love them . . . . In His life, and especially in His death, Christ was declaring, “This is God’s compassion I am showing you, as well as that of my own.” ^[20]

The love of Jesus Christ, manifest in “suffer[ing] the will of the Father in all things from the beginning,” ^[21] speaks boldly of the worth of souls in the sight of God.

1. The Cost: The cost, or what we are willing to sacrifice for something, reveals worth and value. The things I find of great worth and great value I am often willing to sacrifice for. Thomas Pain, wrote in the American Crisis, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods.” ^[22] What was the price heaven put upon the redemption of mankind? Mortal words fall short in capturing the price heaven paid to reclaim fallen man. ^[23] The Spirit, though, has given glimpses to prophets in an attempt to capture the enormous cost of Jesus’ voluntary sacrifice. Choosing to voluntarily “suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death” ^[24] was part of His loving condescension. For Amulek, redemption required the death of a God. “It is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.” ^[25] Perhaps the best description of the cost of redemption or the worth of soul is the personal words of Jesus Christ found in the Doctrine and Covenants: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; 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.” ^[26] Knowing the infinite cost of redemption is a humbling reminder of the worth of a soul in the sight of God.
   
2. The Impact: We all likely value some things in life not only for what they are but also for what they can become. The worth of a soul to President Thomas S. Monson was found in “its capacity to become as God.” ^[27] The good news is Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, has grace sufficient to help each of us “overcome all things” ^[28] and to eventually be “made perfect” ^[29] and become even as God. The perfecting potential found in Christ reminds us that, like C.S. Lewis said, it truly is “a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.” ^[30]

Children of God are loved immensely by God and are on a path to become like God and need the sacrifice of a God in order to reach their full potential. Knowing redemption is possible through the “merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” ^[31] helps me more clearly appreciate President Monson’s counsel to “[b]e of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.” ^[32] When the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph in Liberty Jail, “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” ^[33] I don’t believe He or Jesus was trying to tell early Saints, “Quit complaining. The Savior’s experience in Gethsemane or on Golgotha was certainly a lot harder than yours.” Rather, I believe He was reminding all saints that His descent below all things was a great act of love that enables Him to perfectly understand us and aid us in overcoming all things on our path to being made perfect through Him.

There is always someone who understands us and desires to succor us. There is nothing in our fallen condition the Savior does not comprehend. There is nothing in our fallen condition Jesus Christ cannot deliver us from. His infinite and eternal sacrifice reaches all people in all their fallen conditions. The love of Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the potential we have in Christ are three characteristics of the Savior’s infinite atonement that reveal to me the infinite worth of a soul in the sight of God.

Question 3: How can I come to better understand the worth of a soul in the sight of God?

This musical arrangement and your discussion board posts have been inspiring. Your experiences serving others in temple worship as missionaries and as parents have reminded me that God’s love and power is generously made manifest in all of our efforts to obey gospel truths and that “any call to serve the Savior in any capacity is an invitation to learn about the principle of one by one.”

Today’s scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 18 leaves us also with at least one answer to this question. Did you notice it? Repent. Repent and come unto him.

When we repent and come unto him, we unlock the power of Jesus Christ and become more aware of the depths of His love, His sacrifice, and His grace. As we partake of His redeeming love, our eyes are opened and our hearts are changed. When changed by Christ through repentance, we are changed in how we view God and the greatness of His soul; we are changed in how we view ourselves and the greatness of our own soul, and we are changed in how we view others and the greatness of their souls. ^[34] Elder Neal A. Maxwell is right: “How good you and I get at repenting will determine how good life is.” ^[35]

We live in a world that is perplexed about the worth of a soul and is in desperate need of the perspective that comes when we embrace the Savior and His everlasting gospel. Iniquity abounds and love for God and others waxes cold. ^[36]For some, the only sin is found in those who claim that sin actually exists. The philosophy of the great and spacious building always has been, “Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day.” ^[37] For Lehi, a world without sin was a world without divine law, which was a world without consequences, and thus, a world without God. ^[38]  We all might act more wisely if we were to ask ourselves the questions of the Shakespearean character, Tarquin:

What win I, if I gain the thing I seek?
A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.
Who buys a minute's mirth to wail a week?
Or sells eternity to get a toy?
For one sweet grape who will the vine destroy?
Or what fond beggar, but to touch the crown,
Would with the sceptre straight be strucken down? ^[39]

Ultimately, the great question is, What think ye of Christ? “Can we answer,” Elder Maxwell wonders, “with both our lives and our tongues, ‘Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God’? Until we can, whatever else we say and do will, in the end, make little difference.” ^[40] President Russell M. Nelson testifies “the most important truth the Holy Ghost will ever witness to you is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He lives!”^[41] Knowing the reality and the worth of His soul is key to knowing the worth of souls.

They are My Gospel!

Mortality is filled with opportunities that may deepen our understanding and reveal the worth of a soul. In 1992, I graduated from BYU and was hired by the Church Educational System as a full-time seminary teacher at Rigby High School. During the middle of my first year (probably around February), I had some challenging students (three male students in a third-hour class. Some days, I must admit, they made me feel good about getting paid as a religious educator.) This disruption led me to question my choice to become a teacher. As a result, I wasn’t that excited about getting up in the morning and going to work. I ran more and more to relieve my anxiety and some days spent more time reading the graduate catalogue than the scriptures. I remember thinking, “I love the gospel; I know it’s true. I can’t say, though, that I loved these students (three in particular—did I mention that?).”

One day, in the midst of this wrestle, the Spirit placed a clear message in my mind. The four-word revelation was, “They are my gospel!” This answer was at first disturbing. Was the Lord questioning my testimony by associating my rambunctious students with His gospel? Wasn’t it possible to believe in Him, love Him and His teachings and prophets, but not love and believe in certain students? Was He suggesting that I didn’t really know the gospel was true despite serving a mission or teaching at the MTC? If I didn’t love and believe in them like He does, could I say I really believe in and loved Him? Over time the Spirit carried this message to my heart. How grateful I will always be for this message from the Spirit. It has changed the way I think and feel towards others. I’m not perfect, but I know the way. I hope you know that He lives and loves you. You are His gospel. This is not new doctrine. This is something I should have seen and felt in the Book of Mormon when Jesus taught, “I came into the world to do the will of my Father…And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me.” ^[42] You are His work and glory. ^[43]

It is true brothers and sisters, “the Lord [does] know each of us individually and loves each of us infinitely. He knows us one by one and name by name.” The only true measuring rod for the worth of the soul is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. His gospel plan provides numerous invitations and opportunities to obey and serve one another and in turn to deepen our understanding of Him and of one another.

Of this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

[1] Doctrine and Covenants 107:23.

[2] Moroni 10:32.

[3] Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 44.

[4] Elder Quentin L. Cook, “Out of Obscurity: How Merciful the Lord Has Been,” BYU-Idaho Devotional, June 12, 2018.

[5] David A. Bednar, One by One (2017), 26.

[6] Doctrine and Covenants 13, section heading.

[7] Doctrine and Covenants 18:10-13.

[8] Doctrine and Covenants 88:15.

[9] Doctrine and Covenants 18:10.

[10] “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 2010; lds.org.

[11] Doctrine and Covenants 130:22.

[12]Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (manual, 2011), 206-216.

[13] Dallin H. Oaks, “Powerful Ideas,” Ensign, Nov. 1995; lds.org.

[14] Personal conversation in the inspired hallways of the Taylor Building and Emails, April 6, 2018.

[15] M. Russell Ballard, “The Atonement and the Value of One Soul,” Ensign, May 2004; lds.org.

[16] 1 John 4:7.

[17] John 3:16.

[18] 2 Nephi 26:24; 2 Nephi 26:25-33.

[19] 1 Nephi 19:9, emphasis added.

[20] Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Grandeur of God,” Ensign, Nov. 2003; lds.org.

[21] 3 Nephi 11:11.

[22] Thomas Paine, The American Crisis (1776-1783).

[23] See Russell M. Nelson, “The Creation,” Ensign, May 2000; lds.org.

[24] Mosiah 3:7.

[25] Alma 34:10.

[26] Doctrine and Covenants 19:16, 18-19.

[27] Thomas S. Monson, “Our Sacred Priesthood Trust,” Ensign, May 2006; lds.org.

[28] Doctrine and Covenants 76:60, emphasis added.

[29] Doctrine and Covenants 76:69.

[30] C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (1949).

[31] 2 Nephi 2:8.

[32] Thomas S. Monson, “Be of Good Cheer,” Ensign, May 2009; lds.org.

[33] Doctrine and Covenants 122:8.

[34] Bible Dictionary, “Repentance.”

[35] Neal A. Maxwell, “The Holy Ghost,” Ensign, July 2002; lds.org.

[36] Doctrine and Covenants 45:26.

[37] Mormon 8:31.

[38] 2 Nephi 2:13.

[39] William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece (1594).

[40] Neal A. Maxwell, “Answer Me,” Ensign, Nov. 1988; lds.org.

[41] Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign, May 2018; lds.org.

[42] 3 Nephi 27:13-14.

[43] Moses 1:39.