Worth of Every Soul

For my major I am taking a substance abuse class which I totally love. I am learning how to help people with addictions. For an assignment for this class I had to attend an AA (alcoholics anonymous) and NA (narcotics anonymous) meeting. I attended a NA meeting yesterday and it just broke my heart to hear all these people’s sad stories – abuse, neglect, jail time, and the list goes on and on.  The thing that stood out to me the most is how people felt washed up, used, unloved, and totally worthless.

The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that no matter our circumstances or the mistakes we’ve made, we are of infinite worth. We are children of God and He loves us. We are His work and His glory. “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

I remember growing up and being taught this principle in Sunday school. My teacher brought a $100 dollar bill. “How many of you would like this $100 dollar bill?” he asked. We all raised our hands. He then crumpled it up, stepped on it, and threw it in the garbage. He asked again, “How many of you would still like this $100 dollar bill?” We all still raised our hands. Just because it was treated poorly and pretty beat up, it’s worth never changed.

“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D &C 18:10). I know with all my heart that no matter where we are in life or where we’ve been, the worth of every soul is great in the sight of God.