The Worth of Souls

At the end of the day, the sun was setting. It was pouring rain. As a sister missionary in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Temple Square, I wasn’t exactly happy. I don’t like the rain, and we had been walking in the garden for over 30 minutes.

I was holding my umbrella, walking and talking with my companion. No one was outside because the weather was so bad. I was watching the raindrops fall to the ground. Then I saw someone sitting alone.

I looked at my companion, and we understood each other. She was the first person we had seen in almost an hour—we had to talk to her!

We slowly walked closer, and I started to see that it was a woman, alone, soaked, with her head down. My companion began speaking to her, but there was no response, no eye contact. We looked at each other again, but I had no idea what to do or what to say. My companion tried to speak to her again, asking questions, but still nothing.

Then I stepped closer to her and held my arm above her head, sharing my umbrella. She finally lifted her head and looked me straight in the eyes.

No thoughts of what to say came to my mind—we just looked into each other’s eyes. Then I asked her if I could share a scripture with her. She nodded yes.

I don’t know why I said that—I had never really shared a scripture with anyone before, especially not in English. But I knew exactly which one to share:

“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8).

I had never read that scripture to someone before, but it was in my mind.

I handed her my scriptures and asked her to read. She didn’t read aloud—we could only hear the rain hitting the ground and our umbrellas—but everything felt different now. It had become peaceful.

Then she lifted her head, her eyes full of tears, and looked deep into mine. Then she spoke for the first time since we’d met.

“How did you know that was exactly what I needed to hear?”

I simply replied, “It wasn’t me—it was God.”

That scripture became my favorite. I don’t know what happened to that woman, and I don’t know why she was alone in the rain. But our Heavenly Father knows. He is always there and watching over us.

“The worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10).

Always be ready to receive the Spirit—it might change someone’s day or even their life.