Worth of Souls

We had our Home Teachers here on Sunday and received a wonderful lesson from the Ensign. It is titled "Sugar Beets and the Worth of a Soul" and I felt very spiritually fed from it. In this lesson, President Monson shares a story from Bishop Marvin O. Ashton about sugar beets and likens the story to the worth of souls {I won't tell the story so you can go read it yourself and see it told in better words}. Our home teacher asked us about things that we do in the church to be sure that no one gets lost; things we do to help everyone realize their worth as a child of God. Dan mentioned home teaching {of course!} and our home teacher agreed and elaborated by saying that home and visiting teaching are some of the most important callings we have in the church, and yet they are the ones that are followed and magnified the least. Then he said something I've never thought of. He told us that home and visiting teaching is the Lord's way of reaching out and teaching the worth of souls; he taught us that we have home and visiting teaching because the worth of souls is great and because God wants us to reach out to one another.
This made me think about Moroni 6:4 where we learn the of the command to reach out to members of the church - that each member's name is recorded that they may be 1) remembered, and 2) nourished by the good word of God. Both of these injunctions are kept through home and visiting teaching. I was highly enlightened tonight with the added thoughts that we have these injunctions because we are loved by our Heavenly Father, because He feels that we all deserve to be remembered and nourished.
Then later Dan and I were talking about it and I had another thought. Many of us in the church pray to have missionary experiences but I think I am missing the mark. I pray for missionary opportunities and then I miss them - I have the greatest of all missionary tools offered right within the church through visiting teaching. I have this wonderful opportunity to teach the sisters in my stewardship, to be a missionary. I'd never thought of visiting teaching as an opportunity to become a missionary before. I thought of this because of the scripture is D&C that talks about the worth of souls and laboring to bring souls to Christ. What better way is there to bring souls to Christ than through home and visiting teaching??
After this discussion tonight and thinking about it, I'm going to resolve to be a better visiting teacher; to remember the sisters I teach {all throughout the month and not just when we go for the regular visit} and be sure I nourish them through the good word; to be a missionary. I'm resolving to be better.