Charity, The Pure Love of Christ

The scriptures teach that charity is the pure love of Christ. But what does that mean? What does the pure love of Christ look like?

Mormon wrote, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (Moroni 7:45)

Charity is the attribute of Christ I have chosen to work on for the last couple of weeks. I've noticed an increase in patience, forgiveness, being able to put myself in other's positions, and my desire to be more like Christ, as I have tried to center my life around this attribute of his. I've not been perfect, by any means. But that's not the point, is it? Christ routinely showed charity towards others by healing them, offering them forgiveness, teaching them how they could have eternal life, and, ultimately, sacrificing his own life to perform the atonement. If we look at the kind of life he led we can imagine how we would be if we lived a life of perfect charity.

In the most recent session of conference, President Thomas S. Monson spoke about six attributes of Christ he felt were important for us to have in order for us to be an example of the Savior and a light in the world. He felt this topic was so important that he gave finished his talk, even though it was clear he was struggling to even stay standing. He said, "I am confident there are within our sphere of influence those who are lonely, those who are ill, and those who feel discouraged. Ours is the opportunity to help them and to lift their spirits. The Savior brought hope to the hopeless and strength to the weak." And in the October 2003 General Conference, then Relief Society President said concerning charity, "Charity is our love for the Lord, shown through our acts of service, patience, compassion, and understanding for one another."

There's a lot of talk today about laws that need to be enacted. Gun laws, immigration laws to try and prevent terrorism, etc. One thing you'll never hear politicians say is that if we just showed the pure love of Christ towards each other, these laws wouldn't be necessary. Knowing Christ's desire for us to show charity to one another, I have a responsibility to exhibit it to everyone I meet, no matter how difficult the circumstances. The world can be changed just one small act at a time. As the saying goes, out of small things shall great things come to pass. Hearts can be healed, wounds bound up, whole lives set on a different course. It's something worth striving for.

Behold, Thou Art Nephi, and I Am God.

I had a rough week. I didn't get much sleep, I worked every day, and I had a lot of homework. I also had to make a pretty big decision about my house and where I thought I'd be in the next little while. I felt anxious, and uncertain that I could even make the right decision. My friend had told me to pray for a miracle, but what miracle was I supposed to pray for? I didn't know.

As I was driving to work Friday morning I felt pretty despondent.  I had been assigned to write a letter over the weekend and hadn't done it right. I had gone to bed only about four hours before, staying up till the week small hours of the morning rewriting it.  As I drove I began to feel overwhelmed with fear that I still hadn't done it right, that the person who had asked for it would be disappointed, that I'd have to rewrite it yet again, and that it wouldn't even make a difference anyway.

As I started to give into those feelings I felt that I should listen to my scriptures on my phone. I plugged in the auxiliary cord and pressed play. It had left off on Helaman, chapter 10. Then the narrator got to verse 6, and I started to cry.

"Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God."

Right then, I knew I, too, was known. God knows each of us intimately. He is aware of our struggles, and waits to support us in them. I'm really grateful for a loving Father who allows us to go through situations that, although painful, will help us to grow and become the people who can live with Him eternally. And I'm especially grateful that through those situations, if we will remember that He is aware, he will give us the strength to get through them.