That this counsel was directed primarily to members of the Church is evident from a modern revelation. “When men are called into mine everlasting, gospel,” the Savior declared, “and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the saver of men; they are called to be the saver of men” (D&C 101:39-40, italics added).
“The Saints are asked to stand as a spice, a seasoning, a flavor among the bland and often tasteless elements of the world. Because they are there, things are better; like salt, the people of the Lord are empowered to bring out the best in others … . In reality, we can only make a difference if we are different. Not necessarily strange. Different. Indeed disciples of Christ are to stand in stark contrast to those who conform, concede, and thereby compromise.”
Salt is a healing medium. Like oil on troubled waters, the disciple of Christ is sent forth to bear others’ burdens, to comfort the distressed, to mourn with those that face calamity (see Mosiah 18:8-9.) As a peacemaker, he is called to serve as a soothing balm in the midst of tragedy or controversy.
“I Give Unto You to Be the Salt of the Earth”
Salt is a preservative. It preserves food from corruption and keeps it wholesome and acceptable. The disciples are likewise called to be as preservatives on earth. They are called out of the world to stand as witnesses against creeping relativity and the dilution of time-honored values. They are summoned by, the Savior to declare with love and boldness those principles of light and virtue, those absolute truths decreed by an all-wise God and his prophets… . A modern revelation declared:
’They [the Saints] were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men; and inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men they are as salt that has lost its savor’ (D&C 103:9-10).
We note with interest the number of times in scripture the Lord warns the wicked that inasmuch as they cast out the prophets and the righteous element from among them, they are ripe for destruction. To dispel the nucleus of faith is to sever the very lifeline which could pull them through the storms of life into a safe harbor (see Alma 10:22-23; Helaman 13:12).“ (Robert L. Millet, An Eye Single to the Glory of God, pp. 43-45.)”