Another talk given with the help of my amazing grandma, Kathy Wagher. I am so grateful for all the amazing women in my life that have taught me how to be a better person.
The Great Worth of Souls
November 17, 2019
Good morning, brothers and sisters. Today I have been asked to speak on a topic that I probably could never stop talking about if anyone stayed here long enough to listen. But I have decided against putting you all to sleep and have instead chosen to focus my thoughts a little bit. I was given the scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants 18 verse 10
Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
There are so many different ways that I could go in my talk with this scripture alone. Divine worth, individual worth, Heavenly Father’s love, loving one another, and so on. This is why I could talk about this forever, and I do want to briefly touch on all these topics.
First I would like to share a quote from the talk “You Matter to Him” By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that reminds us about the worth of souls. He says,
“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.”
God sees who we are and all that we can become.
Now I’d like to share a little story. My grandma was a blogger. She wrote down many stories and life lessons that my family and I have cherished. One of her stories is about my mom and something she did on a family vacation to Disneyland a few years ago.
The story is called, Kim’s Hyacinth, and it starts off with a poem:
If of all the world's goods thou art bereft,
And to thee alone but two loaves of bread are left,
Sell one, and with the dole,
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
My grandma then writes, “Each was instructed to buy a “hyacinth” on the trip. It was explained that hyacinths are flowers but theirs might look like a churro or Minnie Mouse keychain. Kim (my mom) said it was great for each kid to have a little to spend without having to ask.
Then today she told me about her "chrysanthemum" as she called it. It took me a while to figure out what she was talking about.
It seems they had stopped at the beach on the day before they were to go to the parks. The kids all ran out to the ocean while she stayed at the van to make sandwiches. Hard at work she looked up to see a bedraggled woman pass by on the sidewalk. She looked worn down and possibly homeless. Kim thought of her $10 of hyacinth money and ran with it to give to the woman. She actually had to chase her. The lady was so grateful it broke Kim's heart. So she touched the woman gently and asked her if she was hungry. Kim explained that she was making sandwiches and she had turkey and cheese or peanut butter and jelly. Would she like one? The lady said she'd like peanut butter and jelly.
Kim went back to make it.
While she was spreading peanut butter and jelly she said something very special happened. It was almost like a voice actually spoke to her.
She heard, "You're making that sandwich for me."
She started to cry.
She didn't know what else to do.
So, still crying, she put more peanut butter.
Then she made up a little bag of "kid treats" to go with it. Raisins, Vienna sausages, and the like. She took it and the sandwich to the lady.
I'm so grateful for my children.
They're all trying to live the truths of the gospel.
Larry and I may be raggedy old converts but our kids are covering up a multitude of our sins.
Sometimes with peanut butter and jelly.
May Heavenly Father always bless and protect them while they do what they can.
May He always bless and protect you and your efforts too.”
I can recall many times that my mother would invite someone who happened to be passing by to our family picnics, offering them food and whatever else we had to give.
“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;”
When we don’t focus on people’s outward appearance, we can see their true worth and divine potential. We are all children of God, and I am so grateful for my mother for teaching me that.
Another thing I learned from this story is about the hyacinths for the soul. So in the poem you’re left with 2 loaves of bread, like that’s all you have, 2 loaves of bread. I love bread so I’d just want to eat both of them, as any hungry person might. But the poem says to sell one, and use that money to buy Hyacinths to feed the soul.
I have learned, by observing my mother and from my own experience, that service is the kind of thing that feeds your soul. The semesters that I chose to ‘take a break’ and ‘focus on myself’ did not go as well as I thought or expected them to. I found that when I took time each week to volunteer at a local elementary school or tutor at the detention center or go to the temple I was happier and I had better grades, despite having less time to study. When we remember that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God, we have a greater desire to serve, and I think it’s because we love our Heavenly Father, and we know that when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God, just as King Benjamin taught.
Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.
I have greater understood the meaning of this scripture as I have worked with various types of teenagers: I was an EFY counselor, I work at a youth crisis center and I volunteer at a juvenile detention center. Teenagers aren’t the most fun people to be around all the time, but I have gained a lot of patience and have learned to love all my interactions with youth. Sometimes it is hard to see a person as God sees them when they have done horrible things or when they are annoying or if they have different values than you. The first day I started at EFY and my current job and my first day at the detention center I definitely had doubts about those kids and my ability to befriend and love them. However, I have learned to greatly appreciate the power of proximity when it comes to seeing someone’s true worth.
One of my favorite authors, Bryan Stevenson, wrote in his book, Just Mercy, these words:
“Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done.
When we take the time to talk and get to know a person, it is so much easier to understand, relate to and love them. Bryan Stevenson put it beautifully when he said, “There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experience mercy, you learn things that are hard to learn otherwise. You see things you can't otherwise see; you hear things you can't otherwise hear. You begin to recognize the humanity [and I’d like to add, Light of Christ] that resides in each of us.”
Brent H. Neilson said, “All of us fall short of the glory of the Father. All of us need the Savior’s Atonement to heal us. All of us are lost and need to be found.”
When that week of EFY was over, I loved every single one of those kids. I had been with them almost every hour of every day for a week and I could see their potential for greatness. After volunteering a few times at the detention center, I realized that those boys were just people, deserving of love and kindness, and they quickly became my friends.
Proximity. Is. Powerful.
So please, remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.
Heavenly Father wants ALL of His children to return to live with Him. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that He died and rose again so that I can be with my family forever, so that everyone can live with their families forever. I know that I am a daughter of loving Heavenly Parents and that I have divine worth and unlimited potential. I’m grateful for the amazing people in my life that have taught me the true ability of service to help me recognize the great worth of souls.
