In the financial world, everything is based upon a value - be it positive or negative. It's all about what we have or can make. The label "net worth" is placed upon every human being especially if they are wanting to borrow money, buy a home, or go to college. The formula for net worth is:

Net worth = Assets - Liabilities

Assets are what you have (home, car, savings, etc) Liabilities are what you owe (house payment, credit card repayment, etc.) if your assets are higher than your liabilities, you are considered to be living within your means. But for many, it is the opposite - living paycheck to paycheck, having to "rob Peter to pay Paul". And when things go absolutely awry, one files for protection from their creditors, or bankruptcy. 

Money and how much you have is a status symbol known commonly as being rich. For some, they like to flaunt their wealth by buying lavish homes, multiple vehicles, vacation homes, etc. They flaunt their wealth by hosting parties where it is they who are the center of attention. And there are others who are wealthy that continue to live modestly. They may be considered philanthropists. They donate part of their wealth to charities. They only have enough vehicles or properties as is prudent to have. 

No matter who they are, what they do with their money, the statement made by a former Bishop still rings in my head:

There are no luggage racks on hearses.

In other words, all the lavish homes, cars money, etc. can't be taken with us when we pass from this earth.  So what about our eternal net worth? The formula is not as simple and straightforward as earthly net worth. I would calculate eternal net worth as follows:

Eternal Net Worth = ((sins committed - sins repented) + prayers + scripture study + church/temple attendance + magnifying callings + attending to family duties) * recognizing using the atonement in your life

Let's break this down. The first denominator is looking at the number of sins committed. If you are perfect, this number will be zero. But we all know that we are not perfect, we all sin and need repentance in our lives daily. The lower the number, the more we recognize the healing power of repentence.

The next areas concentrate on things we need to be doing while on this earth. Having daily "return and report" conversations with our Heavenly Father will help us to be able to hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Daily scripture study will allow us to understand more, the tender mercies of The Lord,  His plan for us, and how to conduct our lives. Regular attendance at church, fellowship with other Saints will help us learn to love our fellow brothers and sisters. Temple attendance helps us understand more the promises and blessings of keeping covenants. Everything we all do on this earth revolves around family. Being an active participant in a family is crucial to our success as brother, sister, parents, grandparents. If you feel like you are striving in these areas, give yourself a 2. If you are needing to start doing these things, give yourself a 1. Note, the keyword is striving or trying. 

The last part of the formula is, oh so important. So important that it is something that we may not fully understand while on this earth. Understanding that a Savior is needed to intervene with our lives, and that we are fully indebted as indentured servants to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Knowing that our Savior suffered for each and every one of our sins that we have committed, and will yet commit is key to our understanding of the atonement. And all of this done because our Heavenly Father loves all of us and desires us to return back to Him. Since I would venture that no one on this earth fully comprehends this, give yourself a 0 (that's zero).

If you know anything about math, anything multiplied by zero is zero. So, no matter what we all do, our "score" is going to be zero. This could be depressing to know that everything we do still may not add up. Thankfully, our Savior recognizes the outcome of the formula. He knows our weaknesses. He knows what we need in order for us to return back to our Father in Heaven. Our Savior, which did everything that His Father asked knows we do not fully comprehend the atonenement and that we will stumble in our earthly trek from time to time.

It is similar (in my mind's eye) how His disciples did not understand fully that He was going to be crucified and end His earthly ministry. They only understood it during and after it happened. So looking back at the formula,  if we have:
  • Fully repented of our sins through the repentance process
  • Have our regular conversations with our Father in Heaven (prayer)
  • Studied and got to know, understand, and love our Father in Heaven and our Savior (scripture study)
  • Fellowship with the Saints in the Districts, Branches, and Wards where we reside.
  • Strive to fulfill the callings which we called to serve in the Lord's vineyard..
  • Be the best parent we possibly can be.
If we have done, or strived to do these things, our Savior will do the rest. He will "add the extra 1 (one) to the formula above, thus our final score is 1 (one). It was our Saviour that remarked to His disciples on this continent:

And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one. (3 Nephi 19:23)

By us doing our part, we can also be "one" with our Savior. If we do all we can to emulate Him, we can at some point have the same purpose - of doing our Father in Heaven's will.

I believe all these things mentioned are all a part of enduring to the end - that is, trying to be the best child of God we can possibly be. We are all "richly" blessed and have infinite, even eternal worth. I am eternally grateful for the extra "one" added to the formula.





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