Faith, Hope, and Charity

Paul wrote in his famous epistle about charity, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13).  I believe this is the only reference to these three Christian virtues as a group in the Bible, but the scriptures of the Restoration affirm their special relationship to each other and the importance for us to acquire them today.  To be a true follower of Jesus Christ, we must be seeking to develop these three “interlacing virtues” as Elder Wong called them.     

                The Doctrine and Covenants makes it clear that we cannot really do the work of the Lord if we don’t have—or at least seek to have—faith, hope, and charity.  In the famous section giving missionary requirements for the last days, the Lord said, “And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work” (D&C 4:5).  To Joseph Knight the Savior again emphasized, “And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care” (D&C 12:8).  And to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, the Lord said simply, “And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing” (D&C 18:19).  We focus often on whether we have enough time or knowledge or physical capacities to serve in some particular calling that the Lord has given us, but perhaps the first question we should really ask is, “Do I have enough faith, hope, and charity to serve?” 

                The Book of Mormon similarly focuses on our need to continually develop these three great Christlike attributes.  Alma encouraged the people of Gideon, “And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works” (Alma 7:24).  Mormon gave a whole sermon to the Saints of his day—when the vast majority of wicked Nephites and Lamanites had lost all goodness—“concerning faith, hope, and charity” (Moroni 7:1).  He taught the Lord’s promise about faith: “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.”  He confirmed the connection of faith to hope: “Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.” And he taught that faith and hope were meaningless for a man “if he have not charity” (Moroni 7:1, 33, 42, 44).  Moroni likewise emphasized that it is imperative for the follower of Christ to develop faith, hope, and charity in the final chapter of the Book of Mormon: “And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope” (Moroni 10:21).  To truly follow Christ we don’t have to be wealthy, have advanced degrees, or obtain worldly honors, but we do need to be cultivating the divine attributes of faith, hope, and charity. 

                As Moroni abridged the Jaredite record and struggled with his own inadequacies, he came unto the Savior and found comfort as he recorded in Ether 12.  He called on us to do the same with this powerful invitation to come unto Christ: “I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever” (Ether 12:41).  He also recorded how we are to come unto the Savior when he gave us these words of the Lord: “Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness” (Ether 12:28).  Seeking to develop faith in God, hope in Christ’s atonement, and charity for all is what brings each of us to the Savior’s saving grace.