THE PATH OF CHARITY

President Howard W. Hunter condensed our mission in life in three words: to save, build, and exalt (Teachings of Presidents of the Church, p. 255). This, he pointed out, is accomplished through travelling the path of charity. We often relate to charity as blessing the lives of the poor or doing good deeds of service. Whereas these are important, charity entails more than that. Charity is a two part concept: LOVE and SERVICE. Love is the feeling part, service is the easy, doing part. Service, however, if not born out of proper motives, profits us nothing. Therefore love is the more important part. Charity is defined in the scriptures as "the pure love of Christ" (Moroni 7:47). It is the purity of this love that makes it different to any other love because it enables us to serve others without selfish motives. It is defined thus: "At its' core, charity is all about 'purity of motive'. Moroni defines this purity of motive as the 'pure love of Christ'. Christ's pure love is simply this....It is His perfectly pure desire to bring each of us to His own station of character, glory, power and dominion. This is His only motivation (D&C 76:94-95, Moses 1:39). His love is pure because it is free of any ulterior motive or hidden agenda. Charity, therefore, is not an act, but rather the pure motive which prompts or inspires the act" (Larry D. Keeler, "I Do Always Those Things That Please Him", p 2). This kind of love is not easy to develop. In fact it is impossible for us to do so. We are told in Moroni 7:47,48 that this pure love is a gift bestowed upon the true followers of Christ. If we follow Christ in all things, aspiring unto righteousness, we will become more and more like Him and acquire His attributes, including charity, the most most crucial one for us to have. We must want it and we must have it. To what end? To build, save and exalt.

"The world in which we live would benefit greatly if men and women everywhere would exercise the pure love of Christ, which is kind, meek and lowly. It is without envy or pride. It is selfless because it seeks nothing in return. It does not countenance evil or ill will, nor rejoice in iniquity; it has no place for bigotry, hatred, or violence. it refuses to condone ridicule, vulgarity, abuse, or ostracism. It encourages diverse people to live together in Christian love regardless of religious belief, race, nationality, financial standing, education or culture" (President Howard W. Hunter, "Teachings of Presidents of the Church", p. 263).

"Out of the abundance of His heart, Jesus spoke to the poor, the downtrodden, the widows, the little children; to farmers and fishermen, and those who tended goats and sheep; to strangers and foreigners, the rich, the politically powerful, as well as the unfriendly Pharisees and scribes. He ministered to the poor, the hungry, the deprived, the sick. He blessed the lame, the blind, the deaf, and other people with physical disabilities. He drove out the demons and evil spirits that had caused mental or emotional illness. He purified those who were burdened with sin. He taught lessons of love and repeatedly demonstrated unselfish service to others. All were recipients of His love. All were 'privileged the one like unto the other, and none were forbidden' (2 Nephi 26:28). These are all expressions and examples of his unbounded charity." (President Howard W. Hunter, "Teachings of Presidents of the Church", p. 263).

I asked God to take away my pride;

And God said "No"

He said it was not for Him to take away,

But for me to give up

I asked God to grant me patience,

And God said "No"

He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation

It isn't granted, it's earned.

I asked God to give me happiness,

And God said "No"

He said he gives us blessings;

Happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain,

And God said "No"

He said suffering draws you apart from worldly cares

And brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow,

And God said "No"

He said I must grow on my own,

But He will prune me to make me fruitful.

I asked God if He loved me,

And God said "Yes"

That's why He gave me His only son to die for me,

And I will be in heaven someday because I believe.

I asked God to help me love others

As much as He loves me.

And God said

Finally you understand what you truly need.

-Author Unknown

FOR THIS PURPOSE

When President Joseph F. Smith received the revelation regarding the spirit world in 1918 it was concluded by his vision of spirits who were reserved to come forth in the 'fulness of times to take part in laying the foundations of the great latter-day work'. These he stated 'received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men' (D&C 138:55-57). The Prophet Joseph Smith affirmed this truth with the following statement: "Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabits of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was (TPJS, p 365).  Whenever I look at people throughout history who have accomplished something great I am convinced they were chosen for that particular task in pre-mortal life. We of the last dispensation are fortunate enough to have history yield worthy examples for us to follow. We learnt of one such example in Sunday School this past Sunday. Her name was Mary and she was a young girl living in Nazareth.

I cannot imagine with what trepidation a young girl like Mary received angel Gabriel's announcement of her life's purpose, to be the mother of the Son of God. Scripture tells us that when Gabriel finished his announcement, she quickly reminded him that she was a virtuous young lady and that she was without the perimeter of intimacy with any man. Gabriel then proceeded to explain how the baby would be conceived and perceiving the alarm that must have arisen within Mary he quickly told her about her cousin Elizabeth who also was recipient of a miraculous conception. What comfort that would have been to such a young girl who had to explain to others of her condition with fear that she would not be believed. But there was another, her cousin Elizabeth, who had conceived by a miracle so this too was possible. Elizabeth, who languished for years in 'the waiting room' with her husband Zacharias, longing for a child, must have at times wondered what her purpose on earth was for she was being denied the role all women were appointed to before this world began. As years passed and motherhood eluded her she must have felt worthless and forsaken somehow not knowing the important role she was to play, that of being a mother to the forerunner of the long awaited Messiah. Elizabeth's role of giving birth to and raising John the Baptist was not her only purpose. Her other purpose was to be a witness of God's miraculous power. Gabriel attested to this when he referred to Elizabeth by saying: "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).  Another woman who served the same purpose was Sarah.

Sarah too languished in 'the waiting room' until it seemed that the promise of an heir could not be fulfilled. Imagine waiting for a promised child for 37 years and arriving to the day when you could plainly see that the time was past. What thoughts would run through your mind? Would you wonder if you had done something wrong and displeased the Lord? Sarah was infertile to begin with and well past the child bearing age when she conceived Isaac. Why such a long wait?  Why not give Sarah a son when she could have conceived normally, without divine intervention? Among other explanations that might come to mind,  Church Father Ambrose offered the most plausible one:  "An aged woman who was sterile brought (Isaac) to birth according to God's promise, so that we may believe that God has power to bring it about that even a virgin may give birth". (Didymus the Blind, On Genesis 2:41, in Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary, 2:45). I wonder where it would have left Mary if Elizabeth and Sarah had not served their purpose in being witnesses of God's miraculous power for they surely prepared the way and ministered to the inhabitants of the earth by the roles that they fulfilled as mothers of notable men. And what of Joseph, Zacharias and Abraham? What amazing men they must have been to be chosen to be protectors and providers of these amazing women who had been given such important missions. Joseph must have been a good man because he wanted to break off his engagement to Mary privately not wishing her to be exposed to public scorn (Matthew 1:19). Then when he was given instruction regarding her, he obeyed and fulfilled his task of being Mary's husband and her child's protector and guardian.

How would you feel knowing you are one of the great spirits chosen to come to earth to do a specific job and one of great importance and magnitude?  Would you feel important?  Would you understand the gravity of your responsibility and live up to it every day?  How would you feel if you knew you were responsible for salvation of the souls of men? Would it influence you to live a better life? All three women mentioned above fulfilled their life's purpose because of their steadfastness and obedience. Elizabeth and Zacharias were a temple going people, 'righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless' (Luke 1:6). Gabriel told Mary she was highly favoured of the Lord and blessed among women (Luke 1:28). She would not have received such a salutation had she not been as virtuous as she was. In fact she would not have had any salutation or visitation from an angel at all! Sarah, in her desperation to fulfill the law and her duty as an honourable wife, complied with the law of her day and gave her husband another wife so he would have offspring. What heaviness of heart must have been hers as she did so.

One cannot help but wonder if the course of history would flow as smooth if the noble and valiant failed to carry out the missions they brought with them. One thing I am sure of is that the Lord had chosen those valiant enough who He knew would not let Him down. His choice to reserve the strongest of us for the last dispensation of time must have been made with amazing foresight. The Saviour would have foreseen our day for all things are continually before him (D&C 130:7). Moroni stood as witness of our day when in his solitude he said: "Behold, I speak unto you as if you were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." (Mormon 8:35). The Saviour knew our day also and He knew who would oppose and withstand the forces of evil that threaten to destroy His works. We, the possessors of truth, have been called out of the world to build, pave and prepare the path for mighty events of history that are yet to happen. We cannot fail in this. The Church needs us, the Saviour needs us, the world needs us. We are the valiant ones who have kept our first estate. Now we are on the second leg of our eternal journey. It is our destiny to perform mighty works in preparation for the Second Coming and it is our destiny to go on to eternal life. The adversary will do everything he can to stop us in our tracks but we must press on. We are yet to see marvelous events unfold in the history of this earth. We will see the dawning of a glorious day if we continue to be as valiant as we were in our first estate. And what were we valiant in? In our testimony of Jesus. Our lives need to reflect this testimony so that when He appears we shall know Him for we shall be like Him (Moroni 7:48). Then when we are caught up to meet Him we will welcome Him back with tears of joy knowing we have fulfilled the purpose for which we were born and we will rejoice to have been chosen to be His faithful servants.