Sunday Morning Talk on Charity....

I'm speaking in church this morning and I thought I would share what I've prepared on the subject of Charity...

I’m grateful for the opportunity to talk on Charity because it gives me the chance to reflect on many of the beautiful expressions of the Pure Love of Christ that have been shown me and my family. It renews the love and connection I feel towards so many of these people, who throughout my life have shown me by example the true meaning of Charity.

It’s everywhere. Here on this earth, we are surrounded by reminders of the perfect and supernal love our Savior has for us. And the more we do to reflect the constant reminders around us, the more others are able to see it as well. And the more people are able to see, the closer they can become to their loving Heavenly Father and their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Moroni 7:45-47 Charity

“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…”

This passage is, of course, a perfect description of what the Pure Love of Christ is. It can also serve as a guide to living a whole and purpose-filled life. It condenses an entire self-help manual into 3 verses of scripture:

1. It tells us what it is: The Pure Love of Christ.

2. It shows us what attributes we should have in order to refine such a character trait: suffereth long, is kind, not easily puffed up

3. It shows us the benefit of such a quality: Faileth Not AND those who possess it, it will be well with them. The possibilities of what ‘well’ translates into are endless and probably incomprehensible for our earthly minds to understand.

How do we attain ‘Charity’ in our lives? Once we have it, how can we increase the level of Charity we have for others? Because no matter what season of life we are in, no matter what our charitable contributions to the world are, we can always do more.

Perhaps it starts with understanding what it is, then doing all in our power to thread it into the very fiber of our souls.

In teaching seminary and institute, educators often try to teach their students how to ‘capture’ scripture; how to truly apply the principles to themselves, in other words, liken the scriptures unto them. Moroni 7:45-47 is one of my favorite scriptures to ‘capture’ partly because the words make it so easy. All you have to do is, replace the word charity for YOUR name. Let me demonstrate with my own family…

As we come to identify the definition of charity, we are able to recognize it in action. Sometimes we will see it in others. Sometimes we witness the blessings of acts of charity. And sometimes, we may even see ourselves as the receptacle of the Lord showing His love for others. So as you go through your week, I encourage you to watch for those moments and in the meantime, here are some observations of my own.

First of all, Charity suffereth long and is kind.

Example: Corrie Ten Boom and her account of “The Hiding Place”

Next, Charity is not easily provoked, even when we want to be…

When we first moved to our community we were warned about the ‘grumpy’ man at the end of the cul-de-sac. I had never met him, just heard horror stories from the neighborhood children.

As time when on and I became a little more comfortable, I allowed our older children to meet some of the neighbors and branch out a bit. The response was mostly positive with the exception of the first interaction with this man. The neighborhood children were playing near his home, had angered him and he lashed out.

A few weeks later, our oldest wanted to take a break and asked if she could ride her bike around the cul-de-sac for some fresh air, which she did. While she was out there, the man came storming out of his home and gave our daughter a few choice words. When I asked Sunshine what it was that he was so upset about, she looked at me with utter bewilderment because she didn't know either.

By this time, I was getting concerned.

About a month later, a similar scenario occurred only this time, he has very choice words for our daughter and her parents.

At that point we decided to discuss the problem and find a solution. We determined that perhaps something happened that may have set our neighbor off, that the kids needed to apologize for. Since our daughter was the only one of the circle of friends home at the time, she went alone. She came back only a few minutes later flustered and near tears. When she tried to apologize, the neighbor became harsh and once again left her humiliated and confused.

At that point I had had it!

I protracted my Mother Bear Claws, put my super intimidating game face on and was preparing to turn our neighborhood into an episode of ‘Wild Kingdom’.

As I walked nearer and nearer to his home, a little voice reminded me of the recent talk, “You Are My Hands” by Elder Uchtdorf. It reminded me that my actions should be reflective of what the Lord would have me do.

At first, I didn’t want to listen. I was mad. I felt completely justified in giving that guy a piece of my mind. But that voice persisted and I stopped foaming at the mouth and shaking with anger.

While I can’t say all of my anger left me by the time I approached him, I can say greater forces than my own, showed me a clearer picture of who this man was. He was a son of a loving Father in Heaven who at that moment needed kindness and long suffering, even if I didn’t think he deserved it.

By the end of the conversation, I understood where our neighbor was coming from. He was concerned about the safety of unsupervised children in our neighborhood. Out of love and care for his community and worry for these kids, he began to feel overwhelmed by what he felt was a lack of supervision.

After hearing his perspective, instead of seeing him as an ogre, I saw him as a man, who without children of his own, had a fathering heart.

Later that day, we determined to take him some homemade bread and a note thanking him for caring for the kids in our neighborhood.

A few days later, he went door to door, apologizing to parents for frightening and upsetting their children, showing charity to the people around him.

I can take no credit for the way this all played out. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, showed His pure love to this man. He softened his heart. Had I stayed unwilling to do what that still same voice pleaded for me to do, I would have robbed our neighbor of feeling the Savior’s love for him.

Lastly, Charity seeketh not her own.

Queen Esther of the Old Testament illustrates this beautifully. Facing the possibility of death, she defied not only social norms but also the very laws of the kingdom to save her beloved people. It may have been more comfortable and safe for her to stay quiet but she knew the grievous task was hers to bare:

Esther 4:13-14, 5:2-3

As you can see, Charity, the pure Love of Christ, has been evident since the dawn of civilization. Amazingly, though it is idea of antiquity it has the same merit and importance today. Each child of our Heavenly Father benefits from the knowledge of the love He has for them. We, as people who know of that love, have a responsibility to share it.

May we all truly do just that.