The Worth of Souls/Soles

This past week our YSA Ward had a Relief Society Meeting.  The theme was "The Worth of Soles/Souls".  They asked each of the girls to bring a shoe that described them and either a favorite scripture or one that went along with their shoe.  It was so fun to the see the shoes that they brought and I LOVED their scriptures.  It was great to get to see a little bit into each of the girls and get to know them better.  Then they asked me to give a message.

Of course I brought some shoes too.
1.   The first pair was a pair of hiking boots.  These shoes have great soles.  They are strong and durable.  But they are not worn or used.  I have had these boots for probably over 5 years.  I bought them for girls camp one year when we were going the 1^st week in June after a very cold and snowy winter and we were told to expect lots of mud and probably snow still at our camp sight.  I think I wore them one day—even though there was lots of mud and snow and it was cold.  They were uncomfortable!  They have sat in my closet ever since. These have not served me very well.


2.  Here is another pair of shoes.  These are my husband's shoes.  They are probably less than 5 years old.  These shoes though have much different wear.  He has worn these shoes until the soles are paper thin.  They have seen a lot of use.  He would still be wearing them if I hadn't made him buy some new ones.  They have served him well.  

3.  A third pair of shoes are my favorite sandals that I wore the past 2 summers.  I love these shoes.  Their soles are solid and thick and show some wear but still have some good wear left on them—although the insides are really worn.  These shoes have great worth and have served me well. 

Our lives can be like these shoes.  Our souls may be strong and durable, but if we just sit around in the closet and wait for someone to need us, then we are of no use.  We have got to put on these shoes and let our souls serve us and others well.

D&C  18:10 The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

Our Heavenly Father knows our worth.  He knows that our souls are children of Him and that we have a divine potential of being like Him and like his son Jesus Christ.

As we put on our shoes, we can go to work in helping all of our sisters find their worth.   On Sunday, one of our good sisters came up to me at the Luau and said she was so happy to see me and that she needed a hug.  She had spent the weekend in "the city of sin" and she was in need of the strength we gain from each other and the love from our Savior and Heavenly Father.  Her soul was maybe feeling a little weak.  As I gave her a hug, I felt love from her as I was able to give love and strength in return.  We can give strength to each other and help their souls find strength and worth.

We make mistakes in our lives, we do things we may regret later, we get down on ourselves and don’t always feel like we have worth or that we have any abilities; we compare ourselves to others and have a hard time seeing our own strengths and good points.  As Pres. Uchtdorf might say,  FORGET NOT THAT YOU ARE OF GREAT WORTH.  

We need each other!  Women need other women!  Be a friend to other women in your lives.  I have a dear friend.  We went out to lunch a couple of weeks ago.  When I was having a hard time earlier this year, I went to her house and cried on her shoulder and she was a great strength to me.  Right now, her life is really hard as she has taken in her invalid mother after having a stroke a few months ago,  and her grumpy father to live with her.  She has no time for herself.  She especially needs others to lift her and help her through this difficult time.  Women need other women.

As I was reading my Book of Mormon this week, I finished Mosiah and started Alma.  I love this first chapter.  These great Nephites not only understood their worth but they were willing to share and give and help everyone around them to find their own worth as well. 

King Mosiah has passed away and Alma the younger is appointed to be the first judge.  Nehor is a very large and strong man and went about preaching false doctrine to deceive the people to turn them away from God.  He is lifted up in pride and he wears costly apparel, which to me is a symbol of his worldliness.  He slays Gideon who is a great man of God.  Nehor is brought to Alma who sentenced him to death.  But sentencing him to death did not do away with the priestcraft which he introduced to the Nephites.  The followers of Nehor went about seeking after riches and honor.  There was a law against lying so they “pretended to preach according to their beliefs.”  Then they started persecuting the members of the church because of their humility and because they weren’t proud.

This was a very hard time for the church.  BUT, in Alma 1: 25-27: “nevertheless, they were ^asteadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with ^bpatience the persecution which was heaped upon them.

 26 And when the priests left their ^alabor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man ^baccording to his strength. 

27 And they did ^aimpart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the ^bpoor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly ^capparel, yet they were neat and comely.”

They understood the worth of souls.  They didn’t esteem themselves to be better than anyone else.  They saw themselves as equal—one amongst each other.  They shared what they had and they were a support to each other.

And because they weren’t focusing on themselves, they began to progress and they became rich and they had all things in abundance—they had everything they needed and more!  And they still didn’t set their hearts on riches and they continued to help those who didn’t have as much as themselves.  And those who had left the church became even more prideful and idle and and lived riotous lives—lying, stealing, robbing, committing whoredoms and on and on.

THESE NEPHITES KNEW THE WORTH OF SOULS.  They got their shoes out of the closet and put them to good use.

We live in a time and all of us are in a situation where we have been blessed with many material blessings.  We need to be careful that we don’t let our riches lead us to pride.  That we always reach out to those around us and give of ourselves.  We can give the things that others are in need of and never think that we are better than they are.

Sunday—I looked at you and listened to you and felt an overwhelming feeling of love for you.  I felt like a mother to you.  I just wanted to put my arms around all of you and tell you how special you are in the eyes of the Lord.  And as daughters of God and as your ward mom I want to give you some advice:

As we approach the summer months, please be careful how you dress.  When you choose your summer attire, choose modesty over popularity or fashion.  Be careful, even when just around your apartments, that your shorts are a modest length, that your tops are not too low cut.  As you choose swimwear, choose the most modest that you can.  Even if you’re just out sun-tanning choose modesty over fashion.  Be aware that young men see you differently than you see yourself.  They have a lot of hormones pumping around and they don’t need you making them pump even more!  A lot of skin can create a lot of heart pumping.  Even the best of boys are still boys!  I’ve heard the question, how can we support the men in their priesthood?  By being modest this summer.

Next advice:  Be careful what you post on the internet—on facebook, YouTube, twitter, any of the social networks.  Once they are on there, they are on there and it’s hard to take it back.  These can affect future employers, future education, future spouses and families.  Keep it clean, keep it modest, keep it worthy of a daughter of God who has great worth.

BE WOMEN OF VIRTUE AND INTEGRITY AND FAITH—HUMBLE AND MEEK

CHOOSE YOUR SHOES WISELY—LET THEM SERVE YOU WELL!

The WORTH of SOLES/SOULS is great in the sight of God.