Thoughts on Charity - So Good

Some Thoughts on Charity
7 May 2012 Spiritual Thought

Here are some great thoughts on charity.

President Thomas S. Monson-“Charity Never Faileth”
In a talk given during a General Relief Society Meeting broadcast, President Monson said:

I consider charity—or “the pure love of Christ”—to be the opposite of criticism and judging. In speaking of charity…I have in mind the charity that manifests itself when we are tolerant of others and lenient toward their actions, the kind of charity that forgives, the kind of charity that is patient.
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.

President Ezra Taft Benson – “Beware of Pride”
In a now famous talk on pride given by President Benson he taught us that:

We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. (See Hel. 6:17; D&C 58:41.) The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others. [Even our righteousness] In the words of C. S. Lewis: “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” (Mere Christianity, New York: Macmillan, 1952, pp. 109–10.)

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf- “The Merciful Obtain Mercy”
More recently in a Conference address President Uchtdorf reminded us that:

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, said that those who pass judgment on others are “inexcusable.” The moment we judge someone else, he explained, we condemn ourselves, for none is without sin. Refusing to forgive is a grievous sin—one the Savior warned against…

Of course, these words seem perfectly reasonable—when applied to someone else. We can so clearly and easily see the harmful results that come when others judge and hold grudges. And we certainly don’t like it when people judge us.
But when it comes to our own prejudices and grievances, we too often justify our anger as righteous and our judgment as reliable and only appropriate. Though we cannot look into another’s heart, we assume that we know a bad motive or even a bad person when we see one. We make exceptions when it comes to our own bitterness because we feel that, in our case, we have all the information we need to hold someone else in contempt.

Elder Paul E. Koelliker-“He Truly Loves Us”
In his Conference talk, Elder Koelliker explained that when we actually live the gospel in the pattern taught by the Lord Jesus Christ, our ability to help others increases.

He told the story of two young missionaries who knocked on a door, hoping to find someone to receive their message. The door opened, and a rather large man greeted them in a less-than-friendly voice: “I thought I told you not to knock on my door again. I warned you before that if you ever came back, it would not be a pleasant experience. Now leave me alone.” [And]He quickly closed the door. As the elders walked away, the older, more experienced missionary put his arm on the younger missionary’s shoulder to comfort and encourage him. Unknown to them, the man watched them through the window to be sure they understood his message. He fully expected to see them laugh and make light of his curt response to their attempted visit. However, as he witnessed the expression of kindness between the two missionaries, his heart was instantly softened. He reopened the door and asked the missionaries to come back and share their message with him. We become effective at helping others as we think, speak, and act the way the Savior would if he were here.

The Apostle Paul-“1 Corinthians 13:1-3”
Paul discusses the high status of charity in 1 Corinthians.

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (1Cor.13:1-3)
Charity has been defined as “the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love,” the “pure love of Christ …; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”
May it be well with us. May we think, speak, and act the way the Savior would if he were here to a greater and greater degree. May this wonderful, blessed mission become an even greater force for good than it already is because we do. It is good to be here with so many others who are striving for the same generosity and compassion that the Savior shows us.