Thursday, April 11, 2013

Charity Never Faileth

In our world today, the word "charity" is often regarded simply as giving aid or help to someone, typically in the form of money. However, it has a much broader, deeper, and important meaning than that. Charity, as defined in the Book of Mormon, is the "pure love of Christ" (Moroni 7:47). This phrase can be interpreted in several ways. I love to think of charity as our love towards Christ, which we show and express through our prayers and testimonies of Him. In another sense, the word "of" indicates possession, in which charity is the pure love that Christ possesses towards mankind. This manner of love is perfect and lasts forever. In Moroni 7:45-46, a description of charity is given. If we replace the word charity with "Christ", this description becomes a depiction of our Savior and His nature: "And Christ suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not His 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. / Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not Christ, ye are nothing, for Christ never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto Christ, which is the greatest of all". As we pattern our lives after that of Jesus Christ, we will be able to love others and help to build them up. Christ does not just love those who loved Him, He loves everyone. This includes the sinners, the outcasts, and those who revile against Him. Though we will not be able to reach that pure and perfect kind of love that Christ showed in His life and the Atonement, we can try our best to improve. In following this example, we must try to remember that everyone we meet is a divine child of God, and treat them as such.

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