The worth of a soul must, indeed, be great.  See how hard Satan works to win one.  And our Savior died for mine.  He gave His life for yours.  What is the worth of a soul?

Perhaps we could judge its worth by asking, "What is the destiny of a soul?"

Every soul who comes to earth has the potential of becoming a god or a goddess with the potential of creating and populating uncountable worlds.  Each possesses the potential of becoming like his heavenly parents.  This is the Father's desire for all of His children.  He wants them to become as He is.  Just as we are saddened when our own children fall short of our expectations, so is He.  If one of His children fails to achieve exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom, then countless worlds are not added to His glory and to the glory of that soul.

Everything hinges upon the soul's desires.  In the beginning all were equal.  (Alma 13:5).  One third of those destined to come to earth decided that the Lord's plan would be too hard, and that Satan had a better way.  They were denied mortality.  They were denied the opportunity to have bodies, to have children, and to create worlds.  It was their desire and choice to be irresponsible automatons blindly following an unloving leader.  They thought that the way would be easier if they weren't responsible for their actions.  They rejected the idea of agency, and chose, instead, to allow a dictator to rule over them.

The other two thirds chose God's plan.  They accepted Jesus as their leader and Savior.  They accepted agency, responsibility, and mortality.  Every soul who is born on earth has already once accepted Jesus Christ and has covenanted to follow Him.  This was their desire and choice.

I believe that some came with loftier desires, expectations, and preparation than others.  I believe that we chose our life conditions.  I believe that we chose our parentage and where and when we would be born.  Some of us desired maximum opportunities to prove our worth and to achieve exaltation.  Others thought that they would be content if they could achieve a lesser kingdom, and thus desired less responsibility.

We each understood before we came to earth that mortality would nearly guarantee an ultimate kingdom of glory.  We understood that making and violating covenants would result in punishment, even the possibility of entirely losing the opportunity of achieving a kingdom of glory.  Some of us chose lives of mortality where we wouldn't have the opportunity and responsibility of making and keeping covenants.  Such would also not be eligible for exaltation.  This was their choice.  They didn't feel capable of meeting the higher expectations, and chose to work toward a lesser kingdom of glory.

This was disappointing to our Father, but He grants unto men according to their desires.  (Alma 29:4 and Jacob 4:14)

Others of His children felt sure they could make and keep all of the covenants.  The Lord promised to help them in every way.  Each of them was given an assignment to fulfill in mortality.  They were placed in conditions and in families where they would have the opportunity to learn of the covenants and make and keep them.  Along with those covenants came assignments, responsibilities, and jobs to be done.

What was your job?  What was your responsibility?  What was your assignment?

The assignment Adam and Eve were given was to open the way for mortality to come to all of God's children.  They did it.  They made the choices necessary to enable you to be born.

Noah and his sons and their wives were sent to be faithful in the midst of great wickedness, and to enable the preservation of life when it was deemed necessary for humanity to start over.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had a particular assignment to found a special, faithful family line.

Joseph was sent to become the ultimate example of faithfulness in adversity, and to save that special family.

Moses, in the pre-earth life, was assigned to come to earth and effect the release of that expansive family from slavery.

Unlike most of the people that I will mention who were sent here with special assignments to fulfill, Abraham was not born into the covenant.  Neither was Cyrus.  Cyrus was sent to release the remnants of the Jews from Babylonian bondage.  He never did join the Church, yet the Lord used him.  The prophet Isaiah was able to state Cyrus' name 150 years before his birth and to tell how Cyrus would be enabled to penetrate Babylon's massive impenetrable walls.  The Lord used him,guided him, and inspired him without his knowing that he was being used, guided, and inspired from on high.

Johann Gutenberg was to invent the printing press to help pave the way for the restoration of the gospel.

Christopher Columbus was to open the western hemisphere for the same purpose.

William Tyndale was sent to translate the Bible into English for the same purpose of preparing the way for the restoration of the gospel.

Martin Luther and John and Charles Wesley and numerous other reformers were sent with their particular assignments to do their parts to prepare the world for the restoration of the gospel.

A multitude of others had the same general purpose with different assignments therein.  They included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the signers of the U.S. Constitution.

And we should mention the millions of European immigrants who preceded and followed them who were the "Gentiles who went forth out of captivity" that Nephi saw in vision 2,000 years before.  (1 Nephi 13).  Many of them couldn't even read, but they were fulfilling assignments given in the pre-earth life so that you and I could be in this land of freedom where we could make and keep sacred covenants, and extend those same covenants to those who prepared the way for us to be able to occupy this enviable position.

Joseph smith fulfilled his assignment, as did the other latter-day prophets and those who listened, followed, and obeyed.

What is your assignment?  What is mine?  Are we not the benefactors of all of these people's faithfulness and sacrifices?  Are not we also preparing the way for our posterity to have covenants, peace, comforts, and eternal life?

If you are faithful, your children will be secure, people will be pointed toward the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you might even be inspired to do something or to invent something that would positively affect millions beyond the thousands that will be your immediate posterity.

What is the worth of a soul?  Where would the world be without Adam, Eve, Noah, his unnamed wife, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Joseph, Asenath, Isaiah, Lehi, Sariah, Nephi, Johann Gutenberg, Christopher Columbus, William Tyndale, and all the rest?  Where would the world be without Jesus Christ?

Where will the world be if it wasn't for you and me?  What if I don't keep my covenants and do my duty?  Future worlds won't be created.  Millions and billions of people will have their destinies downgraded or derailed.

How great is your potential influence?  How far reaching might it be?

Rebekah was a young girl being asked to forever leave her family and to go to a far-off land to marry a 38-year-old man she had never seen.  Her father and brother gave her a patriarchal blessing before she left in which she was told that she would be the mother of "thousands of millions."  (Genesis 24:60).  That's at least two billion people.

Rebekah had to wait 20 years before she finally bore twin boys.  I calculated when Rebekah lived.  If each of her descendants down through the generations each had five children, I concluded that Rebekah now has over two billion descendants.  You are one of them.

Her blessing stands fulfilled.  Her purpose stands fulfilled.  She now sits enthroned with her husband in yonder heavens.  (D&C 132:29, 138:37-41).  Rebekah was an ordinary girl.  Isaac was an ordinary man.  They were sent to earth with assignments to fulfill.  They were faithful.  They were covenant keepers.  They did their duty.  We are reaping unknown blessings because of them.

Rebekah was an ordinary girl.  What was her worth?

You are an ordinary person.  What is your worth?  You'll see.  Eventually you'll see.   All you have to do is to be faithful and to keep your covenants.

What is the worth of your friend?  You'll see.  Eventually you'll see, and you will be everlastingly grateful that you opened your mouth, or gave him or her a Book of Mormon.

John Donne insightfully wrote:

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.  If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were ... Each man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind.  And therefore send not to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee."

If I was to paraphrase John Donne, I would say,

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.  Each man's birth augments me, for I am involved in mankind.  The bells are ringing because of our futures.  The bells are ringing because of our joy.  The bells are ringing because of the worth of each soul and the influence that each can have upon worlds untold."