Charity Towards All Men

To my son, 

               It has now been almost exactly six months since you were baptized—can you believe how fast the time goes? You remember that I laid my hands on your head and confirmed you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and gave you the invitation to “receive” the Holy Ghost. You can have the Holy Ghost to comfort and guide you every day, but you must work to “receive” him by doing those things the help invite the Spirit. You are of course familiar with those: reading your scriptures, praying, fasting, repenting, and partaking of the Sacrament. I know that you have felt the Holy Ghost confirm to you the truths of the scriptures as we read together as a family and I encourage you to seek each day to listen to the “still small voice” of the Holy Ghost that will comfort, guide, and teach you.   

There is another thing which is very important for us to do if we really want to have the Holy Ghost with us. Joseph Smith learned about this while he was in Liberty Jail. He spent many months in the winter of 1838-39 in terrible conditions because of wicked men and even some of own his friends who betrayed him. You can imagine how depressing it was to be there in a cold room where he could not even stand and without adequate food, clothing, or water. And what was worse, while he was there he knew that his people were suffering as they had been kicked out of Missouri and had to flee in the snow in desolate conditions to find refuge in Illinois. After he had been there many months, he pled with the Lord for comfort and help, and he received a revelation (now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 121) in which the Lord told him, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment” (v7). Joseph was also given this magnificent promise, “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion.” To receive that blessing, the Lord invited him to do this: “Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith” (v45-46). The Lord did not say to have love towards all his friends or towards all those who were nice to him; no, the requirement was to have charity towards everyone. You can imagine that it would have been pretty hard for him to feel charity for all men, for that includes all those who were persecuting the Saints and who had betrayed him. But that is what the Lord asks—to have the Holy Ghost with us fully we need to strive to love all people, even those who might be mean to us.

The Prophet Joseph showed that he indeed did strive to do that after he escaped from prison.  One of those who had been a traitor during the time in Missouri was William W. Phelps who was a member of the Church but who turned away and bore witness against Joseph, helping him get imprisoned in late 1838. When Phelps later sought forgiveness and to come back to the company of the Saints, Joseph showed incredible love in his reply back to Phelps:  “We have suffered much in consequence of your behavior—the cup of gall already full enough for mortals to drink, was indeed filled to overflowing when you turned against us…. However the cup has been drunk, the will of our heavenly Father has been done, and we are yet alive for which we thank the Lord….  Believing your confession to be real and your repentance genuine, I shall be happy once again to give you the right hand of fellowship, and rejoice over the returning prodigal….  ‘Come on dear Brother since the war is past, For friends at first are friends again at last.’” What incredible love and forgiveness!  

I know that as you strive to love everyone, even when you feel they are being mean to you, the Holy Ghost will be with you. Do everything you can to listen to the Holy Ghost and it will guide you and truly be your constant companion.  

Love, 

Dad