Charity

The Good News! of Jesus Christ teaches us that we should have charity.   "But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. (Moroni 7:47). The advice is very good but since we call groups that are organized to help others "charitable" organizations we sometimes confuse the meaning of the word. We think charity means giving to the poor. But charity is a way of living.

If we look at the history of the word we find that its root is the word dearness. If people are dear to us, we do for them what is best for them. And that brings us back to the pure love of Christ. He does for us what is best for us. Sometimes that means chastizing or reprimanding, but most of the time it means blessing and healing and helping.

Loving and Living

Our English word to love is related to the Teutonic word which means “to live.” Some old writings explore the idea that the two words are related because love is the dispenser of life. 

When we stop to think about it there are some profound thoughts behind that statement. Every life should begin from an act of love. The problem today is that many lives begin from an act of lust instead of love. After birth love should be the instruction for life, and when a child is born into such a home all sorts of goodness ensues.

However, not everyone has such a privilege. But by Living in Truth and promoting love, the pure love that is called charity, where ever we are and in whatever we are doing we nurture life. When we love and care for others we love and care for life itself.

Pride vs. Charity

I was once in a meeting where a man bore a sweet testimony of what he had learned the Sunday before from a 16 year old girl. Her message, simple yet profound, touched him and as he related it to us we were also touched. He ended by explaining that when the Spirit is with you, a person can learn from even a small child. The next week I happened to be in another meeting with this same man and was surprised to hear him critically report on a talk he had heard by a well-known BYU religion professor. He ended this report by saying, “I didn’t learn one thing from him.” What became obvious as he spoke about the man was that he had a personal bias against people who write books on gospel topics.

Listening to him made me wonder what prejudices I have that separate me from the Spirit and keep me from growing. Paul taught the Corinthians that all members of God’s Church are one body and that to each of the individuals within the body God has given specific gifts which are to be shared. Paul said that the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” Each part of the body has a different function but all are vital. Paul then went on to explain that “God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:28).

What Paul is explaining is that some, like the professor, have been given the gift not only of knowledge but of time to study and in turn to share what is learned. Others may not have four or five hours a day to study the scriptures, but they have the gift to listen and learn from the one who does have time. The person who listens also has other gifts, such as the gift of compassion and the ability to size up a situation and know exactly what to do to assist someone in need. The person in need may have musical talent that inspires the professor in his studies. In other words, we all need each other. We all bless each other. And if we discount any person’s gift we hurt ourselves.

As I pondered on how I let feelings toward others get in the way of my learning from them, I realized that any prejudice or bias is a form of pride. As President Ezra Taft Benson once explained, “The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means ‘hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.’ It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.” (“Beware of Pride”, Ensign, May 1989, p.4).

It is easy to see how looking down on others is a form of pride. If someone had discounted the message of the 16 year old girl from the onset of her talk simply because she was only 16 and couldn’t possibly know anything, that is easily recognized as pride. But there is another side to the coin of pride. As President Benson explained, “Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. (See 2 Ne. 9:42.) There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous” (“Beware of Pride”, Ensign, May 1989, p.4. Emphasis added).

As I pondered this more, I realized that Paul gives the solution to all of my prejudice and bias problems. After explaining the importance of spiritual gifts he says, “Covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31). And what is that way? The path of charity. Charity is the antidote to pride. If instead of criticizing, we love, that love allows us to learn and grow from whatever situation we are in or whomever we are learning from. Indeed, charity never fails.

Pure Love

Before the end of his life, the prophet Mormon gave us one of the most powerful sermons ever delivered on faith, hope and charity. (See Moroni 7.) In this sermon Mormon explains that faith is the means by which we obtain everything good.  He goes on to explain that the reason we can hope for (or expect) all things good is because of the atonement of Jesus Christ.  

At the end of the sermon Mormon tells us to seek after charity which is the pure love of Christ. Charity is “Benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity; The providing of help; The inclination to think well of others; or spiritual benevolence.” This love is not an emotion like we experience as mortal love, it is a power that fills us with divine attributes.

But one of the factors that helps us understand faith, hope, and charity as Mormon is teaching them is not in the words themselves but in the prepositions used with the words. Mormon speaks of “faith in Jesus Christ.” In is a function word used to “indicate inclusion, location, or position with limits.” It also indicates “means, medium, or instrumentality.” Thus the means by which faith works is for us to use our agency to choose to place (position) our belief in Jesus Christ. In other words, we trust in Him.

When Mormon speaks of hope he tells us to “hope for.” For is a function word that indicates a goal or an intended purpose. So our goal is to receive the promised blessings of Jesus Christ. We expect them to come to us because we have faith in Him.

But when Mormon speaks of charity he explains that this pure love is of Jesus Christ. Of is a function word that indicates origin or derivation. It also indicates possessiveness or characteristics or distinctive qualities. Thus charity belongs to Jesus. It is possessed by Him and it comes to us as a gift that empowers us to feel toward others what God and the Savior feel for us.

Faith and hope, then, are things that we use our agency to gain and develop. They are things we choose by our thoughts, words, and actions. But charity is a power of divinity that is shared with mortals who use their faith and  hope to seek after and be worthy of it. It is not something we can generate on our own. As Mormon says, “Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ” (Moroni 7:48).

Fire in the Belly

At the close of Alma’s beautiful sermon on the priesthood of God that is found in Alma 13, Alma says,

“But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord . . . having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest” (28-29). This reiterates a theme that runs throughout all of scripture—that we should have faith, hope and charity.

The problem is that too often we don’t recognize a difference between faith and hope. But Alma helps us understand that difference. Faith centers on the Lord Jesus Christ and means we believe what He teaches us. 

He will save us. Therefore, if we have faith we will naturally believe that we are going to receive eternal life. So hope is the next step. It is to expect eternal life.

I am often startled by my students who don’t think they are going to make it. They know they aren’t perfect and there are so many commandments and there is so much to do and  . . .  But we are saved not because we are perfect. We are saved because Jesus Christ is perfect. Therefore if we have faith in Christ, we should all place our hope (our expectation) in the fact that we are going to receive eternal life. We will be exalted.

When you live your life with that expectation you live very differently. Instead of looking at the gospel as a burden that has to be met in order to "earn" your way into the celestial kingdom, you see it as a way to show Jesus Christ how grateful you are for making your eternal life possible. That hope then empowers you.You live confidently. You live peacefully. You can withstand trials, adversity, persecution, disappointment and every other negative occurrence in life because you have hope. You know all this telestial experience is temporary and that you are on your way to a much better eternal destination.

Hope, then, is the inspiration and motivation to hang in there. Hope is the mortar that holds together the brick of our eternal mansion. Hope is peace in the heart and fire in the belly. Hope brings a smile to the face whether the sun is shining brightly or storms are raging.  

Hope is Jesus Christ.

A Glimpse Into A Pure Heart

Have you ever thought about what would happen if suddenly there were thousands of refugees seeking help in your neighborhood? Would you open your door? Better still would you open your pantry? I’ve thought about it a lot and hoped I would, but reading Mosiah 25 showed me what a group of righteous people did.

The people were living in Zarahemla about four years after the famous speech by King Benjamin when the people repented to the point that they experienced the mighty change of heart. At this time the people from Helam who were led by Alma and the people from Lehi-Nephi who were led by Limhi escaped captivity by sneaking past sleeping guards and made their way to Zarahemla. We don’t know how many people there were but between the two groups it would be safe to estimate they numbered in the thousands. So we have thousands of people converging on a city needing food, homes, land to grow crops, and many other things. But instead of complaining or selfishly sending them away the people of Zarahemla opened their homes and hearts to the refugees.

In Mosiah 25:8-11 we discover that upon the arrival of the strangers, “they were filled with exceedingly great joy.” When they heard the story of the adversity the newcomers had suffered they were “filled with sorrow, and even shed many tears of sorrow,” for those who had lost their lives. But the amazing thing is that they “raised their voices and gave thanks to God” for helping their brethren. How many times have we given thanks for the good fortune that befalls someone else?

This is a beautiful insight into the hearts and behavior of a righteous people. I love reading it and coming to understand more what the Lord means when He encourages us to be a Zion people.

Charity and Fear

Mormon says something very interesting in one of his letters to his son Moroni. He says, “Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear” (Moroni 8:16).

Mormon is at war and has watched his people being slaughtered by the hundreds. He knows the torture, the cruelty, the horrors that wicked men can inflict on others. And yet he says he is not afraid because perfect love casts out fear. I pondered on this a long time trying to understand. Does he mean that because he loves those inflicting the cruelty with a perfect love, he isn’t afraid of what they will do? Or does he mean that loving God with a perfect love, which we call charity, casts away fear so much that no matter what they do to us, we aren’t afraid?

I think the meaning lies within the latter. Having perfect love isn’t about forcing ourselves to love our enemies. It is about loving God and receiving the gift of charity from Him so that love fills us and expels all negative feelings and thoughts. It is so contrary to the natural man that it is difficult to image. But to a man like Mormon, it comes naturally. Perfect love fills him so that he cannot feel fear.

Perfect love or charity is God’s love—a love he shares with us when we seek it with all our heart, might, mind, and soul. And because it is His, it never fails us even in the face of grave danger.

F + H + C = Miracles

I’ve had a lot of time to think about miracles lately. I’ve also said many a prayer expressing thanks for the miracles I’ve received. One of the things I’ve learned in this process is that faith is an essential principle for facilitating miracles, but not the only principle. Faith as an essential principle I already knew. As a matter of fact, it is the only principle I'd considered as part of a miracle. What I hadn’t realized is that there is more to miracles than faith. Two other essential principles that facilitate miracles are hope and charity or, as Mormon calls it, the pure love of Christ. (See Moroni 7:47.) Together, faith, hope, and charity ALWAYS facilitate miracles.

As I’ve been reading in the Book of Mormon it has confirmed this finding. In every instance when faith, hope, and charity exist miracles happen. That isn’t a coincidence!