“Charity: The Pure Love of Christ,” Come, Follow Me: For Individuals and Families at Home (2015), 32–35
“Charity: The Pure Love of Christ,” For Individuals and Families at Home, 32–35
Charity
January 2016
Charity: The Pure Love of Christ
What Is Charity?
Charity is the pure love of Christ, and the Savior is our ultimate example of how to love others. The crowning expression of charity was His infinite Atonement. In relationships with family members and others, we can strive to love as He loves, with unfailing compassion, patience, and mercy.
The prophet Mormon taught us the characteristics of charity: “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). Having Christlike love is a commandment and is essential to our salvation (see John 15:12; Moroni 10:21).
How Can I Develop Charity?
One essential step to develop greater charity is to “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love [charity], which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ” (Moroni 7:48).
We can also be patient with others despite their faults. Mormon referred to this characteristic when he said, “Charity suffereth long” (Moroni 7:45). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 428–29).
Mormon also taught that charity “is kind” and “seeketh not her own.” When President Heber J. Grant was a young boy, he already knew the importance of being kind and seeking to meet the needs of others.
On young Heber’s birthday, his widowed mother gave him what he wished for—a beautiful, warm coat. Because she was too poor to buy one, she had made it from fabric left over from her work as a seamstress.
A few weeks later, Heber saw a boy wearing only a thin sweater. Heber knew how cold the boy must be, so he quickly took off his new coat and gave it to him.
Later that day, Heber’s mother asked him what had happened to his new coat, and Heber replied, “I saw a boy and he needed it lots worse than I did so I just gave it to him.”
“Couldn’t you have given him your old one?” she asked.
Heber looked up at his mother and saw her eyes fill with tears. He threw his arms around her as she answered her own question, “Of course, you couldn’t, Heber,” she said, “of course, you couldn’t” (see “The Coat,” retold by Lucile C. Reading, Children’s Friend, Nov. 1966, 5).
How Can I Make Charity the Reason I Serve?
When we serve others, we should strive to do so because we love them and are willing to sacrifice for them. Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught, “Our service should be for the love of God and the love of fellowmen rather than for any personal advantage or any other lesser motive. … God expects us to work to purify our hearts and our thoughts so that we may serve one another for the highest and best reason, the pure love of Christ” (“Why Do We Serve?” Ensign, Nov. 1984, 14–15).
Elder Oaks also related the following experience to illustrate the importance of charity as the motive for our service. He was assigned to visit a less-active member and called him near the end of the month to ask if he and his companion could come over right then to visit. Elder Oaks recalled:
“His chastening reply taught me an unforgettable lesson. ‘No, I don’t believe I want you to come over this evening,’ he said. ‘I’m tired. I’ve already dressed for bed. I am reading, and I am just not willing to be interrupted so that you can report 100 percent on your home teaching this month.’ …
“I hope no person we approach with an invitation to hear the message of the restored gospel feels that we are acting out of any reason other than a genuine love for them and an unselfish desire to share something we know to be precious” (“Sharing the Gospel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2001, 8).
Record Impressions
What am I learning from the Spirit as I study the principle of charity? What questions come to my mind? What am I inspired to share with members of my family?
A Simple Pattern for Family Learning
Prepare
What can we study in preparation to learn together? What questions do we have?
Learn
What scriptures, stories, experiences, or quotations can we learn about together?
Act
How will we act on what we learn?
Family Discussion and Family Home Evening
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As a family, consider acting out the Heber J. Grant story on the first page of this study outline or the parable of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:30–35). You could also watch the videos “The Coat” or “Parable of the Good Samaritan” (LDS.org). If you study the parable of the good Samaritan, children could color the picture of the good Samaritan on page 57. How did serving help both the giver and the receiver in these stories?
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You could share scripture stories and look at pictures of the Savior serving people (see the Gospel Art Book [2009] for examples of such pictures). How did He show love? What picture could we display in our home to help us remember and follow His example?
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As a family, consider how you could work together to develop charity. For instance, you could make paper hearts and write on them things you learn from Moroni 7:46–48 about developing charity. Or consider applying Elder M. Russell Ballard’s counsel, found in the “Prophetic Teachings” section of this study outline. Over the next week, family members could pray daily for opportunities to serve, and at dinnertime they could share experiences they had.
Additional Study
Scriptures
Luke 10:25–37; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 3:16–17; 2 Nephi 26:30; Ether 12:33–34; Moroni 7:45–48; Doctrine and Covenants 121:45–46.
General Conference Talks
Thomas S. Monson, “Love—the Essence of the Gospel,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 91–94.
Dallin H. Oaks, “Loving Others and Living with Differences,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 25–28.
Other Resources
“Charity,” Gospel Topics, topics.lds.org.
“Charity,” chapter 30 in Gospel Principles (2011), 173–78.
Prophetic Teachings
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“In our premortal life we learned firsthand, from the Father of our spirits, a universal language—one that has the power to overcome emotional, physical, and spiritual barriers.
“That language is the pure love of Jesus Christ.
“It is the most powerful language in the world.
“The love of Christ is not a pretend love. It is not a greeting-card love. It is not the kind of love that is praised in popular music and movies.
“This love brings about real change of character. It can penetrate hatred and dissolve envy. It can heal resentment and quench the fires of bitterness. It can work miracles.
“We received our ‘first lessons’ in this language of love as spirits in God’s presence, and here on earth we have opportunities to practice it and become fluent” (“Your Wonderful Journey Home,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 128–29).
Elder M. Russell Ballard
“How do we ingrain this love of Christ into our hearts? There is one simple daily practice that can make a difference for every member of the Church, including you boys and girls, you young men and you young women, you single adults, and you fathers and mothers.
“That simple practice is: In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children. Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help. … If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible. …
“I know that if you do this—at home, at school, at work, and at church—the Spirit will guide you, and you will be able to discern those in need of a particular service that only you may be able to give” (“Be Anxiously Engaged,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 31).
President Gordon B. Hinckley
“My message to you today, my dear friends … is that you resolve to dedicate a part of your time, as you map out your life’s work, to those in distress and need, with no consideration of recompense. Your skills are needed, whatever they may be. Your helping hands will lift someone out of the mire of distress. Your steady voice will give encouragement to some who might otherwise simply give up. Your skills can change the lives, in a remarkable and wonderful way, of those who walk in need. If not now, when? If not you, who?” (Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley, 2 vols. [2005], 1:544–45).