Transcript

Many years ago, Marvin O. Ashton, who served as a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, gave an illustration I'd like to share with you. Picture with me, if you will, a farmer driving a large, open-bed truck filled with sugar beets en route to the sugar refinery. As the farmer drives along a bumpy dirt road, some of the sugar beets bounce from the truck and are strewn along the roadside. When he realizes he's lost some of the beets, he instructs his helpers, "There's just as much sugar in those which have slipped off. Let's go back and get them." In my application of this illustration, the sugar beets represent the young women for whom we are responsible. And those that have fallen out of the truck represent the young women who, for whatever reason, have fallen from the path of activity. Paraphrasing the farmer's comments concerning the sugar beets, I say of the young women, "There's just as much value in those who slipped off. Let's go back and get them." Right now, today, some for whom we have responsibility are caught in the current of popular opinion. Others are torn by the tide of turbulent times. Yet others are drawn down and drown in a whirlpool of sin. This need not be. We have the program. We have the people. We have the power. Our mission is more than meetings. Our service is to save souls. The Lord emphasized the worth of a human soul when He declared, "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God. 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. And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me." Remember that you are entitled to our Father's blessings. He did not call you to your privileged post to walk alone without guidance, trusting to luck. On the contrary, He knows your skill. He realizes your devotion. And He will convert your supposed inadequacies to recognized strengths. He has promised, "I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels roundabout you to bear you up." Young Women leaders, do you know your girls? Do you understand their problems and their perplexities, yearnings, ambitions, and hopes? Do you know how far they've traveled, the troubles they've experienced, the burdens they've carried, the sorrows they've borne? I encourage you to reach out to them and love them. When you really love your girls, they will not find themselves in that dreaded Never-Neverland, never the object of concern, never the recipient of needed aid. You may never open gates of cities or doors of palaces. But true happiness and lasting joy will come to you and to your young women as you take a hand and reach a heart. Should you become discouraged in your efforts, remember that sometimes the Lord's timetable does not coincide with ours. When I was a bishop many years ago, one of the leaders of the young women, Jesse Cox, came to me and said, "Bishop, I'm a failure." When I asked why she felt that way, she said, "I haven't been able to get any of my Mutual girls married in the temple as a good teacher would have. I tried my very best. But my best apparently wasn't good enough." I tried to console Jesse by telling her that I, as her bishop, knew that she had done all she could. And as I followed those girls through the years, I found that each one was eventually sealed in the temple. If the lesson is engraved on the heart, it is not lost. May I share an additional experience I had as a bishop? I noted one Sunday morning that Richard, one of our priests who seldom attended, was again missing from priesthood meeting. I left the quorum in the care of the adviser and visited Richard's home. His mother said he was working at the West Temple Garage. I drove to the garage in search of Richard and looked everywhere but could not find him. Suddenly, I had the inspiration to gaze down to an old-fashioned grease pit situated at the side of the station. From the darkness, I could see two shining eyes. Then I heard Richard say, "You found me, Bishop! I'll come up!" As Richard and I visited, I told him how much we missed him and needed him. I elicited a commitment from him to attend his meetings. His activity improved dramatically. He and his family eventually moved away. And two years later, I received an invitation to speak at Richard's missionary farewell. In his remarks that day, Richard said that the turning point in his life was when his bishop found him hiding in a grease pit and helped him to return to activity. My dear sisters, ours is the responsibility, yes, even the solemn duty to reach out to all the young women. Our duty is to guide our girls to the celestial kingdom of God. May we ever remember that the mantle of leadership is not the cloak of comfort but rather the robe of responsibility. May we reach out to rescue those who are in need of our help and our love. As we succeed, as we bring a girl back into activity, we will be answering a mother's fervent prayer, a father's greatest desire. Our names will forever be honored by those whom we reach. With all my heart, I pray that our Heavenly Father will ever guide us as we strive to serve and to save His children.

Sugar Beets and the Worth of a Soul

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President Monson describes how to reach out to less-active young women.
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