Charity Towards All Men

Recently I was in a meeting where our temple president invited us to imagine that the Savior was outside the door to the room and was waiting to meet with each of us. My first thought went to a consideration of how I was treating people, and I felt I was not ready to meet Him. The temple president’s question stemmed from President Nelson’s most recent talk in general conference in which he spoke about having confidence in the presence of God. My initial reaction matched the message of President Nelson in that he suggested charity is essential to develop if we are to be confident in God’s presence. He based his remarks on this verse: “Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45). If we have mistreated others, if we have not shown charity towards the people around us, then we will be uncomfortable in His presence. How we love the people in our lives will surely be central to our discussions with the Savior when we are again in His presence and we consider how we have lived our lives. President Nelson encouraged us in these words, “Let us plead with our Heavenly Father to fill our hearts with greater charity—especially for those who are difficult to love—for charity is a gift from our Heavenly Father for true followers of Jesus Christ.” Mormon gave us a similar invitation in this famous verse: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:48). When we develop charity through His grace, we become like Him and purified as He is—that is why it leads us to have confidence in His presence. Without charity in our hearts for all of God’s children, we will be very uncomfortable going before Him to discuss our lives.

                This reminds me of the way that S. Michael Wilcox once described what our judgment day might be like before the Savior (see “What the Scriptures Teach Us About Raising a Child”, pg. 41-42). He described a scene he envisioned as he pondered his stewardship for his family:  

             Into my mind came an image of a waiting room, much like the waiting room in a doctor’s office.  The walls were lined with about twenty chairs, in each of which sat a man waiting to be called through a side door.  To my surprise, when I looked closely at the men in the chairs, each one was me.  There were about twenty Michael Wilcoxes waiting there.

In a short time, the door to an inner room was opened.  I knew the Lord was on the other side and that I was going to enter into his presence for judgment.  An angel came through the door, pointed at the man in the first chair, and said, “Would Michael Wilcox, the husband of Laura Wilcox, please come forward and render and account of his stewardship?”  I watched as the first man rose, followed the angel, and closed the door.  He was in the other room a long time and did not return to the waiting room. 

In time, the door opened again, and the same angelic receptionist entered.  He pointed to the man in the second chair and said, “Would Michael Wilcox, the father of Kirsten Wilcox, please come forward and render an account of his stewardship?”  The man in the second chair rose and entered the judgment room.  He also stayed there a long time and did not return.  

He continued through each of his children and eventually got to his mother. Surely the Lord will want to know how we have treated and loved and cared for those closest to us, including our spouse, our children, our parents, and our siblings. As I thought about these discussions we might have with the Savior, I imagine myself saying something like this in justification of less than charitable actions, “Well, when they did this, it was hard….” And He would stop me, look me in the eyes and say, “I’m not asking about what they did. How did you love them?” For us to be confident in His presence, we need to learn to love with a perfect love, no matter how others treat us.

                President Nelson invited us with these words: “As followers of Jesus Christ, we should lead the way as peacemakers. As charity becomes part of our nature, we will lose the impulse to demean others. We will stop judging others. We will have charity for those from all walks of life. Charity towards all men is essential to our progress. Charity is the foundation of a godly character.” If we want to become like Him and be confident in His presence, we must seek to be filled with charity towards all of His children.