We shift from gratitude for a moment. Occasionally out of bed in the morning or after lying down for sleep or in the middle of the night thoughts will come. Distractions out of the way, we can hear or think most clearly.
The following is pulled from the Gospel topics and will be used to organize my thoughts.
“Charity is the pure love of Christ. It is the love that Christ has for the children of men and that the children of men should have for one another. It is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul (see 1 Nephi 11:23).”
Me: It may seem that Charity is a lofty, faraway goal, perhaps something to be pursued after we have acquired other attributes, but Charity should be our first pursuit, and we will find that along the way other attributes will of necessity be added to our virtues. As the apostle Paul wrote “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 (1 Corinthians 13:2).”
“Charity is ‘the pure love of Christ,’ or ‘everlasting love’ (Moroni 7:47; 8:17). The prophet Mormon taught: ‘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 see also 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).”
Me: I love this definition and to pretend to try and do better would be far from my desires and skills to do so. However, like Nephi, for me to understand a beautiful passage of scripture like the one above I need to “liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning (1 Nephi 19:23).”
Me: In every interaction that I have with another person I am one of two people, the speaker or the listener. This does not however mean that in every interaction there is a speaker and a listener. Many times there are multiple speakers and no listener. Sometimes there is one speaker and one listener, and in some of the sweetest of life’s moments thre are two listeners. What does this have to do with Charity?
Me: I believe that to have Charity, a person has to be given the understanding by God of when to be a listener and when to be a speaker and then to follow through with his commands every time.
“Jesus Christ is the perfect example of charity. In His mortal ministry, He always ‘went about doing good,’ teaching the gospel and showing tender compassion for the poor, afflicted, and distressed (see Matthew 4:23; Mark 6:6; Acts 10:38). His crowning expression of charity was His infinite Atonement. He said, ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). This was the greatest act of long-suffering, kindness, and selflessness that we will ever know.”
Me: the paragraph above to me reads this way — Jesus Christ is the perfect example of charity. In His mortal ministry, He always ‘went about doing good,’ Being the speaker by teaching the gospel and Being the listener showing tender compassion for the poor, afflicted, and distressed. His crowning expression of charity was His infinite Atonement - the reconciliation of God and humankind. He said, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life, his daily concerns, his problems, his desire to speak, his desire to be heard, his competing voices, for his friends. This was the greatest act of long-suffering (some interactions may have you wanting to rip your hair out in frustration), kindness (giving total attention to someone may be the greatest act of kindness they will ever receive), and selflessness (this kind of love may bless us, but it will only do so as a byproduct) that we will ever know.
The Savior wants all people to receive His love and to share it with others. He declared to His disciples: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35). In relationships with family members and others, followers of Christ look to the Savior as their example and strive to love as He loves, with unfailing compassion, patience, and mercy.
Me: The Savior wants all people to receive his love through his word and through speaking to him and by listening and speaking to others when prompted to do so by his spirit. He declared to His disciples: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye be like me, I know the problems of everyone perfectly and because of that knowledge can then speak to them with perfect understanding. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. In relationships with family members and others, followers of Christ look to the Savior as their example and strive to love as He loves, with unfailing ears, unfailing trust, and merciful mouhts given utterance by the Savior.
Me: Some of us may need to work on declaring the gospel, we are great listeners but timid at the promptings of the Lord to share, some of us may need to practice listening, for you cannot give a full answer until you have listened fully. The most precious interactions come when two parties The listener and the speaker share those roles. If ye are not one, ye are not mine (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27). We can never pretend to achieve this goal without his charity.