Some Thoughts on Charity

If you have read most of my blog entries, you are aware that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you are at all familiar with our church, you know that we do not have a paid ministry and that from time-to-time, members are given the opportunity to speak in meetings. Today’s blog posting is the text of a talk I gave a while back. For those of you out there who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this is not an attempt to convert you. I believe that everything I’ve written can be appreciated by anyone who considers himself a Christian. I have quoted a few passages from The Book of Mormon. I hope these quotations do not offend you.

Charity Believeth All Things

Earlier this week, I was given the assignment to speak today on the topic: “Charity Believeth All Things.” This phrase is taken from the 13th chapter of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians. In this chapter, the apostle provides a short discourse on the importance and traits of this virtue. Beginning in verse 1 he writes:

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.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

In pondering this statement that charity “believeth all things,” I have come to the conclusion that if we have charity, we believeth all things which are true and righteous and which will inspire us to make the changes in our lives that will lead to our eternal exaltation. And not only that, but we will develop this virtue so that it not only leads to our own exaltation, but also blesses the lives of others.

Over the past few weeks, we have heard several talks from this pulpit concerning charity. During that time, I have thought about what charity is. In Moroni 7:47 we are taught, “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.” This pure love of Christ is the love that the Savior has for each of us, which caused Him to atone for the sins of the world and to suffer death to help “…to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

Having charity means having a concern for the needs of others. King Benjamin taught:
And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind? (Mosiah 4:16-19).

But some of us do not have the means to provide for those in need. King Benjamin realized this and also taught:
And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give. And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received. (Mosiah 4:24-25)

So, charity is as much an attitude as it is an act. Whether or not we have the means to provide for others is not as important as how we treat them. And how we treat others should not depend on how they treat us. When we truly have charity, this pure love of Christ, we will have it for all people and in all circumstances. We do not have the luxury of picking and choosing to whom we will feel charitable—Christ’s atonement is an infinite atonement, available to any and all who are willing to accept it. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you… (Matthew 5:43-44)

People often say or do unkind things to us, sometimes on purpose. But how we respond is an indicator of the depth of our charity. To illustrate this, I brought in a comic strip, “For Better or for Worse” by Lynn Johnston, which appeared in the newspaper on this past Thursday. I won’t show it from the pulpit because you probably can’t see it from where you’re sitting. In this strip, April and Shannon are high school girls. April is a typical young lady of about 15. Shannon is also 15, but is a “special needs” student who has been attending the public school for about two years, and April is her only “normal” friend.

In the first panel, April speaks first: “Shannon—who calls you ‘retarded?’”
Shannon responds: “Jeremy, Jones, Miriam, and that guy over there.”

In panel 2, Shannon continues: “They call everyone in special needs ‘retarded.’”
April says: “I hate them for that!”
Shannon says: “I don’t.”

Then in panel 3, Shannon says: “They just don’t understand. They just don’t know us.”
April says: “They’re ignorant, and they’re mean.”

In panel 4, Shannon says: “Well, it’s not their fault if they were born that way.”

One of the most difficult trials we face in this life is how we respond to others who have hurt us or treated us unfairly. Charity is not always easy. On his last day of mortality, the Savior was buffeted, hit, spit on, and beaten. Then he was put before the people and rejected by those he came to save. He was nailed to a cross where he was mocked by both the Romans and the Jews. And yet, His final request of Heavenly Father was: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).

This is charity. This is the pure love of Christ. “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him” (Moroni 7:47). I pray that we might all develop this virtue that we might all become more Christ-like. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.