You've Never Met a Mere Mortal

A few months ago I was asked to talk in church and my topic was the "Worth of Souls." When the member of the bishopric asked me to speak and gave me my topic he said that there were a lot of people in the ward having a hard time realizing that they are important, etc. I thought this was so sad but at the same time I didn't have a hard time believing it. We live in a world where we sometimes get caught up in comparing ourselves to others and if we don't match up we feel like failures and unimportant.

For my talk I summarized the children's story, You Are Special. (One of my favorites)
One of my favorite conversions in the book is the following: (P.S. The puppet's name is Punichillo but while I gave the talk I called him Ted because that was a lot easier to say over and over again, haha)

“You know my name?” said Ted

“Of course I do. I made you.” (This is the woodcarver talking)

The Woodcarver then picked up Ted and said, “Hmm, it looks like you have a lot of blue dots.”

Ted hangs his head and says “I didn’t mean to. I really tried hard.”

The Woodcarver replies; “Oh, you don’t have to defend yourself to me, I don’t care what the other puppets think.”

You Don’t?

No and you shouldn’t either. Who are they to give stars or dots; they’re puppets, just like you. All that matters is what I think and I think you are special.

Me, Special? Why? I can’t walk fast, I can’t jump high and my paint is peeling.

The woodcarver replies, “Because you are mine, That’s why you matter to me.”

They continue to talk more about if Ted decides that what the Woodcarver thinks is more important than what the other puppets think then the stickers will no longer stay on. The stickers will only stick if you let them.

As Ted leaves the woodshop the Woodcarver says, Remember, you are special because I made you. And I don’t make mistakes

Barnes and Noble Book Summary

I also took several pieces from President Uchtdorf's talk in general conference entitled, You Matter to Him
Check it out: You Matter to Him

NOW! To the actual reason for writing this post:
Below is a quote by C.S. Lewis that I really like and I wanted to put in my talk but it didn't end up having a place in my talk so I thought I would just share it here: It is C.S. Lewis' reminder that every single person you encounter on the street, in the classroom, at the workplace or at home is immortal, in a very real sense.

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

I just think it is a cool way of saying that we are all important but also a reminder that if we treat each other like the person they have the potential to become... then we can lift everyone to become those types of people.