CHARITY.

During His mortal ministry, Jesus Christ was asked which commandment was the greatest or most important. He answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” 

When studying the life and ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ there is one attribute of our savior that stands out among the rest. Charity. The pure love Christ showed throughout his entire life. The purest kind of love in the history of the world being shown by him in the atonement. In reading Paul’s words to the corinthians, I ponder the meaning of this phrase “faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” In his farewell message to the Lamanites, Moroni declared “Except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God” And one of the strongest statements in all of scripture (and this occurs twice in Moroni) "For if he have not charity, ye are nothing"

I think what Paul and Moroni meant in these statements was that if we're not acting in love, it's not seen in the eyes of God. We can't go doing good when are hearts aren't moving in conjunction with good. 

Charity is pure love - and more specifically the pure love of Christ. 

President Thomas S. Monson said "There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are afflicted. True charity is love in action. The need for charity is everywhere.

Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others." 

As imperfect human beings obtaining this may seem very difficult and even impossible, but to you brothers and sisters I ask this question. 

What if love were our only motive? 

This past week in studying this topic I have been asking myself this question. As a student, I might be motivated to make good grades. This isn't necessarily an evil motive, but it isn't enough. I might make straight A's, get into graduate school, or land the best job, but again as Moroni taught "if we have not charity, we are nothing" We can even do things with less than lottable motives. 

When my parents ask me to do a simple chore, I can either complain and have a negative attitude about it, or I can go and do the things they ask with the intention of good in my heart. Doing the things they ask me because I love them and more importantly love the lord. 

For the Savior, love and charity were identical. All of His acts of charity were done not from a sense of duty, but from a deep feeling of love for all He encountered. 

Why we do things is more important than what we do. Acts that appear good on the surface may not be pure. And the purest motive of all is love. Is it really possible to do everything out of love? 

Is it possible to do something asked of us that we really don't want to do with full love? 

Is it possible to love someone who has wronged us? 

I think all of us in a way can relate to the story of the prodigal son. One who has gone away, but has come back to the right path. But we can also relate to the brother of the prodigal son, who resented is brother for all the positive attention he was getting from his father. The fathers only motive was love for both of his sons. He forgave one, and helped the other come in and celebrate the return of his brother. 

We learn in Moroni chapter 7 that charity suffereth long, it is kind, and not easily provoked. We learn that charity never faileth and it endures forever. Charity is strong. 

So how can we obtain this strongest of attributes? 

The way we can become more charitable is by studying the life of Jesus Christ and keeping his commandments. Look at Christ. He lacked selfishness, vanity, ego, self-centeredness, he never sought his own advancement. He looked outwards not inwards. 

The first step in obtaining Charity, would be to pray for it. Don't we take all our imperfections to the Lord and repent ask for his strength?! When we repent of our wrongdoings, don't we desire to become better?! 

Moroni 7:48 reads: "Wherefore my beloved brethren, pray unto the father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with his love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are the true followers of his son, Jesus Christ; that he may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have his hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure." 

I love what Preach My Gospel says about Charity in the Christlike Attributes Chapter, it reads: "Charity is a gift from God. The prophet Mormon said that we should "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that we may be filled with his love" As you follow this counsel and strive to do righteous works, your love for all people will increase, especially those among you labor. You will come to feel a sincere concern for the eternal and happiness of other people. You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like our Heavenly Father, and you will labor in their behalf. You will avoid negative feelings such as anger, envy, lust, or covetousness. You will try to understand them and their points of view. You will be patient with them and try to help them when they are struggling or discouraged. Charity, like faith, leads to action. You will develop charity as you look for opportunities to serve others and give of yourself." 

I think we can obtain this pure love by being anxiously engaged in seeking it. If we have real intent for obtaining it, then we can. Something I have discovered is that where much is desired, much is given. Our Heavenly Father knows our desires, and will reward us according to the desires or our heart.  

Again I ask, what if love were our only motive? Magnifying that gift of pure love in our hearts will bring an ever increasing love and peace. We will begin to act more like him, and the attributes of natural man will begin to diminish within us and will begin to be replaced by the heart and mind of our savior Jesus Christ.