My Come, Follow Me lesson for this week comes from Doctrine and Covenants 18-19. Joseph Smith knew that Jesus Christ would reestablish His Church on the earth again. The Lord might have revealed this information as early as 1828 (see Doctrine and Covenants 10:53-55.) However, the time had not yet come.
Meanwhile in June 1829, Joseph Smith
and Oliver Cowdery had moved to the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. in Fayette, New
York, and there they continued to translate the Book of Mormon. Peter, James,
and John had conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood on Joseph and Oliver previous
to their move. At this time, they were seeking knowledge about how to exercise
the keys of that priesthood.
One day Joseph and Oliver were praying
in the room they used in the Whitmer home, and the word of the Lord came to
them. They were directed to use the priesthood to ordain elders, administer the
sacrament, and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.
However, Joseph and Oliver were to wait until a group of believers could
assemble to perform the ordinances.
Joseph and Oliver waited for the
Lord’s command to organize the Church. At the same time, they were near the completion
of the translation of the Book of Mormon. They learned as they translated the
books of 3 Nephi and Moroni that these books contained information about the
priesthood ordinances as well as the procedures of the Church of Jesus Christ.
This information inspired and guided them as they awaited the time to organize
the Savior’s Church.
Those were the circumstances of
Joseph and Oliver when the Lord revealed the information now known as Doctrine
and Covenants 18. The revelation came through Joseph Smith and was addressed to
Joseph, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer. It gave directions for building up
the Church and contained instructions for the men that would be called as the
Twelve Apostles. Much of Sections 18 and 19 are about repentance, and Doctrine
and Covenants 18 contains these powerful verses (10-11, 15-16):
10 Remember the worth of souls is great
in the sight of the God.
11 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….
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!
16 And now, if your joy will be great
with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how
great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!
The Lord said that the worth of a
soul is great in His sight. What does the word “great” mean to the Lord? What
is the worth of a human soul? This is a question that was asked by Paul C. Child
in the following experience related by President Thomas S. Monson.
In March 1967, early in my service as a
member of the Council of the Twelve, I was attending a conference of the
Monument Park West Stake in Salt Lake City. My companion for the conference was
a member of the General Church Welfare Committee, Paul C. Child. …
When it was his opportunity to
participate, President Child took in hand the Doctrine and Covenants and left
the pulpit to stand among the priesthood brethren to whom he was directing his
message. He turned to section 18 and began to read [verses 10 and 15]. …
President Child then raised his eyes from
the scriptures and asked the brethren: “What is the worth of a human soul?” He
avoided calling on a bishop, a stake president, or a high councilor for a
response. Instead, he selected the president of an elders quorum – a brother
who had been a bit drowsy and had missed the significance of the question.
The startled man responded, “Brother
Child, could you please repeat the question?”
The question was repeated: “What is the
worth of a human soul?”
… I prayed fervently for that quorum
president. He remained silent for what seemed like an eternity and then
declared, “Brother Child, the worth of a human soul is its capacity to become
as God.”
All present pondered that reply. Brother
Child returned to the stand, leaned over to me, and said, “A profound reply; a
profound reply!” He proceeded with his message, but I continued to reflect on
that inspired response” (“May Brother’s Keeper,” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 43).
[President Monson later declared:] We have
the responsibility to see individuals not as they are but rather as they can
become. I would plead with you to think of them in this way” (“See Others as
They May Become,” Ensign, Nov. 2012, 70).
The Lord wants us to cry repentance
to the people of the world because He desires that they all return to His
presence. He knows that they cannot enter the presence of God without being
cleansed by repentance. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles explained that “crying repentance simply means helping people return
to God” (“Preparing for Your Spiritual Destiny” [Brigham Young University
fireside address, Jan. 10, 2010], 7 speeches.byu.edu).
Doctrine and Covenants 19 was a
revelation given through Joseph Smith to Martin Harris. As the completion of
the translation of the Book of Mormon neared in June 1829, Joseph Smith and
Martin Harris hired the printer Egbert B. Grandin to do the printing. The price
for printing 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon was $3,000. Grandin refused to
start printing the book without a guaranteed payment for the job.
The farm of Martin and Lucy Harris
was one of the finest farms in Palmyra, New York. They worked for years to
acquire and establish the farm, and the farm had provided for their family as
well as given them good standing in the community. Martin made a verbal
agreement to pay for the printing of the 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon by
mortgaging some of his farm. Later, he became concerned about the mortgage. In
Doctrine and Covenants 19, the Lord commanded Martin to mortgage his farm and
then revealed some important truths about His own atoning sacrifice. In
Doctrine and Covenants 19:15-20, the Lord said the following.
15 Therefore I command you to repent –
repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my
anger, and your sufferings be sore – how sore you know not, how exquisite you
know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.
16 For behold, I, God, have suffered
these things for all that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they
must suffer even as I;
18 Which suffering caused myself, even
God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every
pore, and to suffer both body and spirit – and would that I might not drink the
bitter cup, and shrink –
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the
Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.
20 Nevertheless, glory be to the
Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.
Jesus Christ knew that the worth of a
soul was great because He paid the price for each and every soul when He made
His atoning sacrifice. Then-Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles testified why Jesus Christ was willing to suffer for our sins.
In some incredible way that none of us can
fully comprehend, the Savior took upon Himself the sins of the world. Even
though His life was pure and free of sin, He paid the ultimate penalty for sin –
yours, mine, and everyone who has ever lived. His mental, emotional, and
spiritual anguish were so great they caused Him to bleed from every poor (see
Luke 22:44; D&C 19:18). And yet Jesus suffered willingly so that we might
all have the opportunity to be washed clean – through having faith in Him,
repenting of our sins, being baptized by proper priesthood authority, receiving
the purifying gift of the Holy Ghost by confirmation, and accepting all other
essential ordinances. Without the Atonement of the Lord, none of these
blessings would be available to us, and we could not become worthy and prepared
to return to dwell in the presence of God” (“The Atonement and the Value of One
Soul,” Ensign, May 2004, 85).
What is the worth of a human soul?
It is worth the suffering of a God! The Savior made the atoning sacrifice, but
Heavenly Father also made a sacrifice. “For God loved us, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life” (John 3:16). The worth of every human soul is great because
it is the price paid by the Father and the Son that we may all repent and
return to their presence.
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