It’s interesting how a week of your life can have a “theme” – you know, a week where everything that happens, everything you see, hear, or feel, leads to a common subject or message. It reminds me of the scripture in Ecclesiastes, 3rd chapter: “to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. For me, that scripture is always read in the voice of Elder L. Tom Perry, who gave a wonderful BYU speech about this very verse of scripture. Anyways, this week took on a specific theme, and I would like to share it with you!
I was driving home from work at the board game store the other day, jamming to one of my all-time favorite musicals, Dear Evan Hansen. One of the songs, “Disappear”, has some striking lyrics that stood out to me:
“No one deserves to be forgotten No one deserves to fade away No one should come and go And have no one know he was ever even here No one deserves to disappear”
Ben Platt, playing Evan Hansen, sings this song about the late Conner (a boy who has just committed suicide) but ultimately he is singing about himself – about his inner long-term desire to “be found”, noticed and cared about. Evan then proceeds to start a big campaign, known as “The Connor Project”, to ensure that Connor is not forgotten. Miraculously, it works! This teenager’s passionate belief that “no one should flicker out or have any doubt that it matters that they are here” keeps Conner’s memory alive and engrained in the community. Even if Connor “never got around to doing some remarkable thing”, he was still worthy of remembrance and honor.
The theme that stood out to me in this song and in this movie was about the worth of souls, the classic scriptural phrase from the Doctrine and Covenants. We read in Section 18 that, “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God”. Everyone has that one memorized, and everyone has used it at least once for a spiritual thought – myself absolutely included. I have always taken this phrase at face value, which is that God loves all His children and so we should too. But not too long ago, someone helped me take this a bit deeper.
Sister Runia, my Mission President’s wife, gave a training that changed my point of view – quite frankly, every time she spoke my point of view became higher and more divine. She is absolutely incredible. One time, about 4 months ago, she spoke to all of us missionaries about this very phrase, “the worth of souls”. She invited us to think about this soul-stirring question:
“Do I really believe that every soul is as precious as mine?”
That became the anthem of the rest of my mission and caused me to reflect on my service as a whole. I left Australia with that thought on my mind, the thought of whether I actually believed that every single person I had met on that continent was literally as precious as I was. I mean, I had just served God for 2 years, living an incredible standard of righteousness, helping people and teaching the gospel all day every day. Compare that to some of the addicts I met on the streets. Was I more precious to God than them? No, what an evil thought! What a prideful thought. Yet, it’s a tempting, enticing thought. Let’s think of the person we dislike the most, the person who has caused us the most harm, the person who in our opinion is furthest from God – are we more precious than them? Nephi says “he that is righteous is favored of God” (1 Nephi 17:35). If we are that righteous, favorable diamond, can God really love a lusterless, wicked “stone” just as much as us? Let me share a thought on the matter.
This last Sunday, I attended the ward of my good friend Jon Lund to hear him give his missionary homecoming talk. He came home from the Seattle Washington Mission just a week after I did. Jon was always there in high school. Literally - when I would join a new friend group, he would be there, and when he would go join a new friend group, I would already be there. We hopped friend groups independently from each other, yet we always wound up in the same place, so naturally we became good friends. Anyways, it’s been a
great tender mercy that he came home at the same time I did. He gave a great talk on Sunday – seriously, it was one of the most spiritual sacrament meetings I’ve been to in a long time – but what struck me the most was one little comment he made. It wasn’t the theme of his talk, and it didn’t seem like he thought much about it, but it was a profound statement. He said, “I came to know WHY God loves His children”. Maybe it’s just me, but I had never heard it said like that before! I’ve often heard, “I came to know THAT God loves His children”, but never with the “why”.
I thought about that for a good long while. I imagined asking the father of someone why they loved their child. I can guarantee they would give many reasons why – qualities their child has, things their child has done, experiences they have had together. That father would not just say, “I love him because he’s my child”, but rather he would cite those specific examples! I reckon when we talk about Heavenly Father, we are often far too general about His love. We say things like, “He loves us because we are His children”. Do we believe an omniscient God only loves us because we are His offspring? No! I can guarantee He, like that mortal father, could cite qualities, examples, and experiences which justify Him loving that child, except He would cite INFINITE qualities, examples, and experiences. I expect that one day, we will each stand before Him, individually, and listen to Him tell us exactly WHY He loves us. Those reasons will be separate and distinct from the reasons He loves each of His other children. And I doubt any of us will have dry eyes from that experience.
Over the past few days, I have caught up with a variety of old friends, all in different categories – long-time family friends, missionaries I served with in Australia, old high school buddies, etc. Every encounter was extraordinary in its own way – not in a flashy, dramatic way, but in a quiet, meaningful way. Catching up with these people and hearing about their lives and their experiences since we last spoke was inspiring. I left every encounter with a firmer resolve that what Evan Hansen sang about is indeed true – no one deserves to disappear. Every life matters.
To end, let me direct and clear. Is every soul as precious to God as yours or mine? Yes! In the words of Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
“My dear brothers and sisters, it may be true that man is nothing in comparison to the greatness of the universe. At times we may even feel insignificant, invisible, alone, or forgotten. But always remember—you matter to Him!
Brothers and sisters, the most powerful Being in the universe is the Father of your spirit. He knows you. He loves you with a perfect love. God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him.”
No one deserves to disappear. We all matter to Him. Let us remember that truth and allow it to influence and shape our lives and the relationships we have with others. Love you all heaps!
Article by: Adam Simpson
I had never heard of that before! Why? Great insight. Thanks for your new blog. It feels like Sunday everytime I read them :)