Priceless Souls

In seminary this past week, my teacher gave a lesson on the worth of souls. I really enjoyed it, so I wanted to elaborate on it a bit. Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 says, "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God". To me, this scripture further proves Heavenly Fathers love for each of us. We are priceless to him and of infinite worth.

We need to recognize how special we are. Our lives can be hectic and just plain busy. We often have so many responsibilities that sometimes we feel like we're failing at some of them. That is where self doubt comes in. You can tell yourself that you're not good enough, or compare yourself to someone who seems to be more successful. Don't compare yourself to someone; each one of us has been created differently with our own strengths and weaknesses. You don't have to be the best. You just have to try to be your best.

Sometimes, we not only degrade our own feelings of self worth, but also those of others. Have you ever seen someone and thought something, or said something, or judged them based on only their outward appearance or their actions? Imagine how Heavenly Father feels when we do this. Those people that we judge are all sons or daughters of God.

In John 13:34 it reads, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also one another."
My seminary teacher gave us the challenge for the rest of the day to try to see others as God sees them. I think that challenge goes right along with that scripture. I took on the challenge, and for the rest of the day, I smiled at more people, and tried to see the worth of their soul. This helped me to gain a greater love for all of the people who are here on this earth. All of us chose to be here. We are each a son or daughter of God and we all have a purpose. I know that as we try to uplift others, they will be able to see their own worth.

Remember, it's okay to not be perfect, just don't put yourself down. You are of great worth in the sight of God. The atonement works and will help us gain perfection. Have faith in it!

I Too Must Give

Sorry for the long break between posts! I feel like I have been a total slacker, but hey, life gets busy. :)

One thing that I absolutely love is music. It can set a mood so easily. Have you ever been watching a movie and wondered what the feeling would be like without the music? Music helps us to feel a particular way. Most importantly, music helps to invite the Spirit. A couple weeks ago in sacrament meeting, we sang one of my favorite hymns, "Because I Have Been Given Much". Sometimes I wonder how the hymns put my feelings into words so perfectly. As members of the church, we truly have been given so much. I think it would be selfish of us not to share what we know with others. One way that we can easily show our faith is by helping others, and in the process, setting an example of the believers. In the hymn it says "I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see who has the need of help from me." It's so important to share our strengths with others. Even if we think we are not doing much, it can mean the world to the person on the receiving end.

Another service oriented hymn that I love is "Have I Done Any Good?" It reminds us that we have so much that we can do for others. Just giving a smile to someone and cheering them up can be so simple, so we should never pass those opportunities up. I know that a smile can brighten someone's day. When I was a sophomore, there was a senior girl who would always smile and say hi to me, and I didn't even know her! I thought this was so special, and it always made me so happy, so now I make it a point to smile and say hi to people when we pass by each other.

I recently went to a leadership workshop, and I loved it! Something that I learned that we can all take into our lives is:

Listen more
have more Enthusiasm
Acknowledge people more
be more Dedicated
have more Energy
be more Responsible
be more Sensitive

If you noticed, all of the capital letters spell out "Leaders". I think the ultimate goal of a leader is to give service to others. One other thing that I liked was that the word "more" was used in every phrase. You can always do more than you think you can!

On a side note, one thing that I've recently started doing before I read my scriptures is to sing a hymn or at least just read the words to one. It has been so helpful at night, when I have been running around at school all day. It helps me to clear my mind before I begin my scripture study. Try it, it can't hurt! I hope you all had a lovely Sabbath day!