Examples of Charity

Elder Soares taught this at the most recent general conference: “One of the most evident signs that we are drawing closer to the Savior and becoming more like Him is the loving, patient, and kind way with which we treat our fellow beings, whatever the circumstances.” He suggested that we should strive for charity, describing it this way: “When we think of charity, our minds usually turn to generous acts and donations to relieve the suffering of those who are experiencing physical, material, or emotional difficulties. Still, charity is not only related to something we donate to someone, but it’s an attribute of the Savior and can become part of our character. It is not surprising that the Lord instructed us to clothe ourselves ‘with the bond of charity, … which is the bond of perfectness and peace.’” Indeed, the world generally defines charity as giving to those in need, but the Lord requires much more of His disciples than offering physical gifts. Paul wrote this surprising statement about charity: “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” (1 Corinthians 13:3). We can give all our possessions but still not have our heart filled with charity; we can make significant sacrifices without becoming more like the Savior is. Of course, the physical offering is still important—Jesus told the rich young ruler to sold all that he had and give it to the poor—but what the Lord most wants from us is for our heart to be turned to Him and to others in love and devotion.

                Elder Soares cited three examples from the end of the Savior’s mortal ministry in which He exhibited true charity to those around Him. He then commented, “Through these three tragic incidents, the Savior, despite being burdened with excessive sadness and stress, taught us by His example that ‘charity suffereth long, and is kind; … envieth not; … vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, [and] thinketh no evil.’” It struck me as I thought about this list which the Savior perfectly exemplified that many of these attributes that we are to seek if we have charity relate to pride: we don’t vaunt ourselves, we aren’t puffed up, we don’t seek our own, and we aren’t easily provoked or offended. All of these relate to how we feel about ourselves and would suggest that we are not prideful; charity is an antonym for pride because it means we focus outwards instead of inwards. Our greatest desire is for the welfare of others instead of the welfare of ourselves. I learned what this looked like firsthand from my mother as I grew up. Her greatest desire was always to serve her family, and her total focus was on us. Whether it was freshly baked cookies after school, very early mornings cleaning the house for us, or late-night homework sessions when someone was struggling in school, she always seemed to put her family ahead of herself. She indeed did not seek her own but sought ours. She was endlessly driving us places, whether it was daily ballet classes for my sisters or soccer games for me or the egg farm where my brother and I had our first jobs. She sewed and cooked and shopped and cleaned, over and over and over again, so that we could be happy. She essentially earned two eagle scout awards, pretty much graduated from high school an extra four times, and put her whole heart and soul into raising us. To say that she “suffered long” hardly does the endless labor in our behalf justice. So thank you Mom for all of your loving sacrifices—both physical and of the heart—as you showed us what charity really looks like!