Herman Bomze, Holocaust survivor, taught his daughter Bracha that “to save a life is to save the world,” because you never know what impact people’s lives may have on others, or what they may go on to accomplish. Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” is based on that same idea; we can’t gauge the contributions each of us will make to the world.
You do have unique contributions to make in the world. Even a smile or an encouraging word offered at a critical time can change the course of a life. You have a purpose here, and you have within you the ability to fulfill that purpose.
In the Pearl of Great Price, the book of Abraham, Chapter 3, verses 22-23, God showed the prophet Abraham a vision of the pre-existence, where we lived with God before we came to Earth, and Abraham saw a group of noble and great spirits. As he was marveling at them, God said to him, “Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.”
Before Abraham was born, he was chosen to be a great prophet, to be the head of nations, to be the man whose descendants would be a blessing to everyone else on Earth. He chose to accomplish those things during his time here, and as a result, nations of people look to Abraham as their father.
You were also chosen before you were born. Deep in your heart, you know there are things you came here to do. Did you realize that our beloved Millennials and Generation Zers are the first generations to insist that their jobs provide meaning and allow them to make an impact on the world? Sure, individual people in other generations have come to that conclusion, but you are so unified in wanting to fulfill your purpose that you are changing the way the world works.
Ever since the Industrial Revolution began around 1760, mankind has plugged away at uninspiring jobs to earn a paycheck, and few have broken the mold and insisted on more for themselves—but nearly all members of the younger generations are insisting on that! And why? Because you also stood among those noble and great ones, you were saved to come to Earth during these challenging times. Although your memories of the preexistence are likely not intact, you can no more be kept from your destiny than Abraham. He, too, knew in his heart there was “greater happiness and peace and rest” for him, and he was determined to seek it until he found it, just like you.
You intend to do what you came here to do, and your internal strength is such that you can’t be stopped.
Maybe you came here as a healer, to help sick animals or people recover. Maybe you came to heal broken minds, or to save fertile lands from becoming desert by mismanagement. Maybe you’re a leader, someone who can motivate and inspire others to be their best. Maybe you came to create things of beauty, that make people’s hearts lighter and happier just looking at them. Maybe you came here to make people laugh, or to cheer and uplift those in difficult circumstances. Maybe you wanted to teach people kindness and empathy. Maybe you came to be a virtuoso and play music that touches people’s hearts. Maybe you came here to raise a righteous, happy family. Maybe you came to work on something personal that you wanted to address, maybe you wanted to improve your athletic skills, or your critical thinking skills. Maybe you came here to learn everything you could about whatever interests you. Maybe you wanted to be a scriptorian, or a missionary who shares the gospel and lightens the hearts and minds of others. Maybe you came here to serve a service mission, to teach others the value and rewards of selfless service as they care for and assist you.
Why you’re here is personal to you, and while I can’t help you figure out what it is, I have the greatest confidence in you being able to discover it, envision it, and execute your plan to accomplish it. The Lord also has complete confidence in you. Unlike the past ages of man, no matter how evil this world becomes, the children he is sending are so powerful that they cannot be turned from good to evil against their will. They have the power to choose righteousness, to choose to follow their Heavenly Father, no matter what evil examples are modeled for them. They can make righteous choices, no matter what evil things are done to them. They cannot be turned, they cannot be broken.
This has never happened before in the history of the world. Civilizations do fall, and they fall because the people in those civilizations chose evil rather than good, and copied each other in embracing wickedness until their civilization was destroyed.
Check out the examples we have available in the scriptures.
Only Lot, of all the people in Sodom, was truly a good man. All the others embraced evil, and were destroyed.
Noah, his wife, his sons and his daughters-in-law, were the sole holdouts for righteousness in a depraved and ugly society, one so wicked the Lord was disgusted enough to wash them off the face of the Earth.
Mormon and Moroni persisted in righteousness, but the other Nephites chose evil, and followed one another down into a sickening spiral of depravity and brutishness until they were destroyed.
Ether held strong in his testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the rest of the Jaredites chose to willfully rebel against God and exterminated themselves.
But the Lord speaks of Zion triumphing in the last days, and of the inhabitants of Zion and their determination to follow Christ. He speaks of their courage, and their strength, and of the literal gathering of His righteous children from the four quarters of the Earth. They will never fall. They will stand firm on the foundations of the gospel. The noble and great servants of God will create a bastion of peace, and harmony, and protection for the world. They will usher in the Millenium, and prepare the Earth for Christ’s return.
You are one of the noble and great ones. You were chosen before you were born. You are unbreakable.