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

What is the worth of a soul? Not to be vulgar or crass, but just how much is an individual worth? The most cynical among us would quote government assessments of $4-7 million, or perhaps mention the handful of dollars a slave was worth before the practice was outlawed. The great deceiver might even whisper in our ears we ourselves are worthless, not even worth the price of the air we are breathing.

A soul’s value, its worth, is the death and suffering of an all powerful supreme being, a God. It is worth the greatest of all, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, deity incarnate, trembling and bleeding from every pore because of His pain and suffering. It is worth Him feeling overwhelmed and recoiling from the prospect of redeeming our souls from death and hell (D&C 19:18).

He died for each one of us individually, not collectively.

Worth can also be assessed by potential, not just the purchase price. The saints of God have the potential to be joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:16-17), sit upon the divine throne (Rev 3:21), and be equal with Him (D&C 88:107). Infinite potential, divine potential, awaits.

So how much is a soul worth? How much are you worth? To be precise each one of us is worth the eternal endless punishment and agony of one divine being (D&C 19:10-13, 15-17). Each one of us is of infinite worth.