Good morning Brothers and sisters, my talk today was given to me by my lovely wife, while being over stressed and over worked, felt unable to give this talk so I volunteered to help out and I must say that it is not only befitting for myself to give this talk but also a huge blessing to be able to speak on such a wonderful subject, The topic today is Charity. The first thing I thought of when I looked at the subject line on the talk sheet was , “I am charitable”, but after thinking about the subject matter more deeply and reviewing my own role in the charity towards others I found that perhaps I have some areas to improve upon myself.
Some of the greatest stories in the history of the Scriptures have charity in them, we all remember the story of the 10 lepers that Jesus so kindly healed or the woman who’s disease of the blood was healed at the touch of His robe, or one of my favorite were the woman being convicted at the steps of the temple for adultery was pardoned by the Savior with His soft spoken words “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. Those are just a couple of the very many that stem from a long list of so many examples of how Charity was overflowing from the Savior. As with so many of the other important Prophets and Apostles of both yesterday and today.
So my question to myself and also to all of you is “are we being Charitable to others, have we put aside our own concerns and focused upon another’s, are we consumed with self help books and c/d’s on how to fix our own lives and better ourselves in all aspect first and for most, and then we worry about our family, friends, or neighbors.
We as Latter day Saints have something that no other church in the world today has, we have the gift of restored truths with principles that allow us to not only excel l above normal expectations but be a light in the darkness of society today to set the example of the ever legendary commandment of “Love thy Neighbor” Something found amongst the Latter Day Saints that is our huge legacy that comes from the Relief Society as well as the Priesthood ,is the ever necessary need for service among the children of God. We truly are people who are willing to give of ourselves whenever we can and I am proud to be able to be a part of service.
From Corinthians comes the beautiful truth, “Charity never faileth.” A wonderful line from new testament that is so appropriately used by our beloved Sisters today in the Relief Society, the very motto found at ever ward or branch worldwide by these special examples of the Savior’s love.
What is charity? Moroni, in writing a few of the words of his father, Mormon, recorded, “Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever.”
Joseph B. Wirthlin once stated, when we reach out to assist the least of Heavenly Father’s children, we do it unto Him.
Paul’s message to this new body of Saints was simple and direct: Nothing you do makes much of a difference if you do not have charity. You can speak with tongues, have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries, and possess all knowledge; even if you have the faith to move mountains, without charity it won’t profit you at all 1 Corinthians 13:1–2.
Currently in my own life, I have looked at a few of my own personal trials, for some there have been struggles great , for others struggles light, both though can carry the burden of guilt, sometimes shame and, almost always regret. The true love of Christ is charity, by that charity we feel of His grace, something I have spoken of many times within my blog that I write, it is that grace that sets us free from the despairs of the world that I just spoke of. Not very long ago in a council with our dear Branch President , we spoke of personal trials and the struggles we sometimes face as men and women, and His words were that of the Saviors as he so Prophetically quoted , “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Words of our Savior testifying again of His eternal Charity.
True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us.
We all yearn to experience love like this. Even when we make mistakes, we hope others will love us in spite of our shortcomings—even if we don’t deserve it.
It is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will.
We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities.
I so bear my testimony that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ and that this work, the work of Charity is for all the Saints as well as all of mankind to be ever engaged in, I testify that as we adhere ourselves to the principles of living righteously and maintaining the covenants that we have made through baptism , that we will be able to live up to the expectations that Christ and our Father in Heaven has for us, and we will be Charitable in all our dealings, I bear witness that I know these principles are true and leave you this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
6 comments:
You quoted Moroni, “Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever.”
What does it mean to love Christ, and what kind of love did Christ have? Christ obeyed His Father's commandments and taught His disciples to do the same and to obey Christ. He said, "If you love me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15).
As I point out in my book, God requires that we believe Him and strive to obey Him in everything.
For example, Jesus taught obedience to the Ten Commandments, including the fourth commandment to rest on the seventh-day Sabbath. The rich young man asked Him what he must do to obtain eternal life, and Jesus answered, "You know the commandments" (Mark 10:17-19). This was a New Covenant question and answer, because it refers to eternal life which was never offered under the Old Covenant, so Jesus' answer applies to us today. And Jesus was referring to all ten of the Ten Commandments, including the fourth commandment, because he said, "You know the commandments." The commandments the young man knew were all ten of the Ten Commandments.
So godly charity includes keeping the seventh-day sabbath. That is just one example. Charity, in its broadest sense, includes believing and obeying all of God's commandments in the Bible.
I wish we could have been there to hear your talk! It is wonderful. :) Love you guys!
You posted some questions to my blog, and I prefer to answer you directly rather than in my blog post so that comments in my blog can stay on-topic with the post. I looked for an email address in your blog and profile but found none, so I will answer you here and you can delete my comment if you wish. You can always correspond with me with any further questions or comments at penman@truegosp.org.
I prefer to be anonymous to keep the focus on my writings rather than on me as a person. I am unknown and my name would mean nothing. Also, some teachers are accused of gathering a following for personal gain, and I do not want that suspicion to hurt the credibility of my book and articles. Thus, I do not give my name or accept contributions. My book and articles are in the public domain. Everthing I write in my books and articles I give reasons for and doctrines are backed by scriptures, so my teaching stands or falls on its own merits. If you are curious about me, I am a member of the Church of God, in my fifties, a computer programmer by profession. If you do not want my comment on your blog because I do not give my real name, please feel free to delete my comment.
If you feel offended because someone outside your regular circle of readers has commented without giving his name, please don't be. Using a penname or nickname is common on the Internet, and many blog owners do not give their real or full name in their profiles. Also, blogger gives you the option to enter text instructions for those who comment, so you can simply give instructions such as, "This blog is for members of the Mormon church and those who are sympathetic to the Mormon teaching and those who have questions about the Mormon faith. Please do not use these comments to introduce teaching contrary to the Mormon view..." or something like that. I would honor such a request. You can also instruct contributors to give their full name (in which case I would not have commented). You can also set comments to be moderated, so you can intercept those you feel are offensive before they are published. It's your blog, so you should have complete control.
I was not trying to "lecture" you but to stimulate discussion. I have been blogging for years and have been able to engage in many stimulating, educational, challenging, and enjoyable discussions this way and built good relationships with other bloggers by seeking out opportunities for discussion, in the spirit of "iron sharpens iron." It is not my intend to offend. I have learned from others, and I like it when someone challenges my beliefs so I can be corrected when I am in error. As you point out, there are many more than one or even ten commandments. I chose to mention the fourth commandment because there are differences of opinion regarding that commandment, and it can highlight people's attitude towards the law of God. Many people have the idea that love (charity) is nothing more than an emotion or just service to the poor, and the point I wanted to discuss (if you were willing) is whether that is all it is or if love (charity) includes obedience to God's commands.
I am not a Mormon, but neither am I an anti-Mormon out to deface something I don't understand. If I have a difference of opinion with a Mormon doctrine, and if the Mormon doctrine is correct and I am wrong, I would hope the person who discusses it with me can show me my error so I can correct my position. But also, I am not trying to force anyone into a discussion they do not want, so feel free to delete this comment and my other comment, and that will be the end of it. I did not find your blog because I was looking for Mormon blogs in particular, but I search for various words in Google such as "Bible," "God," "prophecy," etc. to find blogs where I can engage in edifying discusions of Christian doctrine. I have learned many things this way.
If you want an example of the kind of iron-sharpens-iron discussions I have looked for, you can look at my earlier blog at http://ptgbook.blogspot.com. You will be able to see that I have gotten into some heavy discussions with those who disagree with me, and that has given me the opportunity to test my beliefs to see if they are in accord with the Bible. But I realize that is not for everyone, and I can see now that I should not have posted a comment to your blog in the way that I did.
Please keep in mind that before I commented on your blog, I hesitated, but was encouraged by what you said in the right sidebar column: "I invite all to enjoy my blog, but sincerely appreciate those who do so on a regular basis.... please feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts. Good or bad it is your opinion...."
I am sorry I offended you.
When you only do charitble acts when somebody is watching, does the selfishness of the act supercede the act itself?
How charitable are you when nobody is watching?
Some people only show charity when the "right" people are looking. And unfortunately give poor examples of charity and kindness to others in front of their children.
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