Student Choice Activity 3: The Worth Of Souls is Great

“The worth of a soul is its capacity to become as God.” (President Thomas S. Monson, “The Service That Counts,” Ensign, November 1989, 45)

Find ten meaningful insights into the worth of a soul using the scripture index to find quotes from church leaders.

1. “This high value which the Lord puts upon the souls of men as made known in these modern scriptures, he also revealed to his ancient prophets. To impress upon their minds the worth of a human soul, he gave some of them a glimpse of the magnitude of his creations and then explained that they were but ancillary to the accomplishment of his purpose—“to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39) (Marion G. Romney October 1978, The Worth of Souls)

2. “Such is the worth of a soul. Surely it “is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10). They should be of like value in the sight of men. As God’s work and glory is to bring to pass the eternal life of man, so the desire, hope, and work of every man should be to obtain eternal life for himself. And not for himself only but also for his fellowmen; and it will be when he fully appreciates who and what he is—his nature, origin, destiny, and potentiality.” (Marion G. Romney October 1978, The Worth of Souls)

3. “When we see the effect one person can have on the lives of so many, it perhaps is no wonder that the Lord reminded us, “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10).

I pray we all might consider what we can do individually to assist those who will be the future great-grandparents, whether a little child, a teenager, or an adult, so that each will leave a righteous legacy of those who know and love the Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.” (Harold G. Hillam, The Worth of Souls, October 2005)

4. “A worthy woman personifies the truly noble and worth while attributes of life. A faithful woman can become a devoted daughter of God—more concerned with being righteous than with being selfish, more anxious to exercise compassion than to exercise dominion, more committed to integrity than to notoriety. And she knows of her own infinite worth.” (Russell M. Nelson, Women-Of Infinite Worth, October 1989)

5. “God grant us the vision as leaders, teachers, and parents to put people first. Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. I add my personal witness. God lives. Jesus is the Christ. This is his church. This is his prophet. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Paul H. Dunn, April 1973 Conference, The Worth of Souls is Great!)

6. “Each one of us has a soul to save. Each has the opportunity to obtain eternal life. Since our souls are so precious, we should leave no stone unturned in our effort to save them…The thing which is of most worth unto us is to be in the service of the Lord.

This means that we must not be blinded by the glitter of gold or the allurement of position or pleasure or even the false excitement of sin.

We must open our eyes to the fact that to serve God is the greatest career in the world.

To be saved in his presence is the greatest gift that can come to us, and to bring our family with us into the enjoyment of salvation will be the greatest achievement of our lives.” (Mark E. Peterson, What Will a Man Give?, Ensign Jan 1974)

7. In modern revelation we are told that only those who are devoted to God and his way of life will reach the celestial glory. Only those who go there may become like him.

All others, going to the lesser glories, will be restricted in that they may not become like him.

I ask you here today—where do you want to spend eternity? Where would you like your family to spend eternity?

If you knew that by living the gospel you may have celestial glory rather than a lesser one, would it not be worth the effort to obtain it?...

Whether we realize it or not, we answer that question every day of our lives by what we think and say and do. Our actions demonstrate whether we are working toward becoming like God or the world. (Mark E. Peterson, What Will a Man Give?, Ensign Jan 1974)

8. "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;

"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" (D&C 18:10, 15)

Some may wonder how one soul could be worth the labor of a lifetime. We live in a world of temporal and transitory things. Many fail to understand the nature of man—that his soul is eternal! Man's soul is indeed worth a lifetime of effort to save.

One other thing—the saver of souls, together with him who is saved, shall be found in the kingdom of our Father.” (A. Theodore Tuttle, The Calling of the Seventy, Conference Report, October 1970)

9. “I can understand (at least within my limitations) what the Lord meant when he talked about the worth of souls in his sight. And I believe I may understand it more impressively and movingly today than I have ever understood it before.

May I read you some words with which all are familiar, and read them in context of what has been 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" (D&C 18:10-11) (Marion D. Hanks, October 1959, Conference Report)

10. "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (D&C 18:10). Of so much worth to God are the souls of men that he sent his Holy Son as his agent of redemption and of mercy and of happiness. Of so much worth are the souls of men to that Son that he gave his life on a cross that we all might enjoy the blessings of eternal life and lasting relationships with loved ones in the progressive, creative future with our Eternal Father that we envision and believe in.” (Marion D. Hanks, 1969 October, Conference Report)

What do you learn in these revelations that helps you better understand the worth of a soul in the eyes of the Lord?

I learned so much from doing this assignment. I was able to learn that no matter who the person is, that every single person on this earth or that ever has been on this earth is a child of God and has an infinite worth to our Father in Heaven. I always remember in Young Women’s saying the theme every week that included infinite worth. I never really understood what it meant but I think that as I have gotten older and especially after this assignment that God truly does love and cherish each and every one of us. Not only does he love us but also he wants us to be happy and has a plan for each of us as individuals. We each have individual qualities that make each of us different but Heavenly Father loves each of us no matter who we are or what we look like!

Describe five meaningful scriptures in these revelations that increase your understanding of the worth of a soul.

1. D&C 18:10 “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.”

Every single soul matters and is important in the sight of our Heavenly Father.

2. D&C 18:15 “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!”

Each of our souls matters so much to the Lord that he believes that each and every soul is so vital to him and the bringing up of the kingdom of God.

3. Moses 1:39 “For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

Our Heavenly Father shows us that we do have a great worth because he wants us to be able to gain eternal life and immortality.

4. D&C 25:3 “Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called.”

A great way to better understand the D&C is to apply it to ourselves and as a result of this it shows me that our heavenly father loves us enough to forgive each of us for our sins. There is no way that we would not have infinite worth if we were not worthy of being forgiven of our sins and being called elect ladies.

5. D&C 24:8 “Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.”

Our Father in Heaven loves us enough to stand by us through all of our afflictions and trials and he does this for us because he loves us so much and wants us to return and live with him again.