Isaiah 43--I Am of Worth

Today in Relief Society my friend, Jennie, taught the lesson. She took us to Isaiah 43; when she was in Ogden she had an Institute teacher that told them to title this chapter "I Am of Worth". She went through several of the verses and pointed out what the Lord says about us:

Isaiah 43: 1--"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."

• "created thee"
• Moses 1:33--"And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten."
• "formed thee"
• Abraham 4:26-28--"And the Gods took counsel among themselves and said: Let us go down and form man in our image, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.                                                                                                                                                               So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.                                                                                                                         And the Gods said: We will bless them. And the Gods said: We will cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
• "redeemed thee"
• 2 Nephi 2:26--"And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given."
• "called thee by thy name"
• JSH 1:17--"It no sooner appeared than I found myself  delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"
• "thou art mine"
• Moses 1:35--"But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them."

Isaiah 43:2--"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

• Protect us wherever we go
• protect: to cover or shield from exposure, injury, damage, or destruction; guard.

Isaiah 43: 3--"For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee."

• Hebrew or Greek words for Grace: favor, pleasure, thanks, graciousness, good will, etc.
• Parable of the bicycle

Isaiah 43:4--"Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life."

• "thou wast precious"
• Proverbs 3:15--"She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her."
• "thou hast been honourable"
• consistent w/an untarnished reputation; characterized by integrity.
• "I have loved thee"
• "He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked."
• President Dieter F. Uchtdorf; The Love of God, October 2009
• "I give men for thee"
• Prophets, Saints, and Christ

Isaiah 43:5--"Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;"

• "gather thee"
• D&C 10:65--"For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;"

Isaiah 43:10--"Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."

• "my witnesses"
• Greek definition=martyr
• "my servant"
• also means "minister"
• Mosiah 2:21-22--"I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.                                                   And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do  keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you."
• "I have chosen"
• one who is the object of choice or of divine favor: an elect person (D&C 25--Emma Smith)

Isaiah 43:25--"I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins."

• We are forgiven
• Mormon Message--Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

As I listened to the lesson and heard these wonderful points I felt an overwhelming sense of love come over me. Satan has been working on me really hard lately, but from a completely different angle than he normally does. This helped me realize that the feelings I was feeling were not of God, He does love me, He is proud of me, and He wants me to be happy. A message that I took out of this lesson is that God will never make you feel worthless! Even whilst you are being chastened He always gives hope and love.

I bare testimony that God loves you! It doesn't matter who's reading this, God loves you! It doesn't matter what mistakes you have made in the past, what circumstances you come from, God loves you . . . perfectly! You are important to Him! One of my favorite quotes is by a man named Nick Vujicic, he said "It's a lie to think that you're not good enough. It's a lie to think that you're not worth anything." It's true! Satan would have you believe that you are not worth anything. The question is why in the world do we listen to him? Why in the world do we let him tell us our worth? I know I'm guilty of it too, and I always come out of it just thinking how silly I am! You are important! You are loved! You are of great and infinite worth! Never ever, ever, forget that!