Charity – The Pure Love of Christ 

~contributed by Suzie Wilde

 

·        Ether 12:33-34 “And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou has loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightiest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men.

And now I know that this love which thou hast for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou has prepared in the mansions of the Father.”

The Book of Mormon contains many plain and precious truths that have the power to change lives.  One of the most powerful parts of the Book of Mormon describes the time when the Savior, after his crucifixion and resurrection, visited the people of the American continent.  Chapter 17 of 3^rd Nephi is one of my favorites because it illustrates beautifully Jesus’ love for the people, for you and for me.  This pure love of Christ has changed my life.  It has made me who I am.  When I read this chapter, I feel a desire to understand and feel his love.  I want to love people the way that He does, so that, through me, others can feel His love.

·        Moroni 7:47 “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

Several months ago, I was in a Sunday School class when the following story was read:  “Years ago, a woman’s husband left her only five days after she had surgery due to cancer. She was left sick and alone with no one to care for her.

Many years later, her daughter called asking if her father–the very man who had left this woman in her time of need–could rent a room. He had developed dementia and had nowhere to go. With tears in her eyes, this woman told our class how she had taken him in and cared for him, feeding him and tending to his needs when he didn’t even remember his misdeeds to her. He did not even know who she was!”

As the story continued, I learned that this sweet lady had overcome her cancer, investigated the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and been baptized between the time when her husband had left her and when he had returned to her, needing help.  As a disciple of Christ, she decided that her ex-husband’s hopeless situation was a perfect opportunity to practice charity or the pure love of Christ.

·        1 Corinthians 13:4 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.”

Thomas S. Monson, Latter-day Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, “In speaking of charity, I do not at this moment have in mind the relief of the suffering through the giving of our substance. That, of course, is necessary and proper. . . I have in mind the charity that manifests itself when we are tolerant of others and lenient toward their actions, the kind of charity that forgives, the kind of charity that is patient. . . There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, and aid to those who are afflicted. True charity is love in action. The need for charity is everywhere.”

I am far from perfect.  But I know that as I daily strive to follow the Savior’s example of pure love or, in other words, charity, I can know Him, feel Him and be more like Him.  These are some of my greatest desires in life.  I love my Heavenly Father and His Son, my brother and exemplar.  I know they live and love me.  I know the Book of Mormon to be the true word of God and I am grateful for its teachings.

Christ Visits the Native American People

One of the true gems of the Book of Mormon is when Christ comes to visit his people, the Nephites and Lamanites on the American continent. 

What can I say that hasn't already been said or say to even try to understand how amazing this event was? 

Let's break it down into 3 key events: 

• Showed and Testified of Himself
• Established and Organized the Priesthood
• Healed the Sick/Afflicted and Blessed the Children

Showed and Testified of Himself

The very first thing Jesus says when he descends upon the American people is to come unto him: 

"14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world." 

I see this statement as literal and figurative. He wanted them to see him, feel him and know for sure that he was the Christ that had been prophesied about. But I also believe figuratively, he was also saying, come unto him in the gospel and choose light over darkness, good versus bad. 

This must have been an amazing experience and truth be told, I have a hard time trying to fully visualize what this event truly was to experience. I do feel like the people who did come unto him and felt him were spiritually prepared to be in his presence. I would imagine there might have been some who felt ashamed because they weren't living the gospel and just watched from afar. 

So when Christ returns again in these last days for the last time and if I'm still alive to experience it, I hope I am prepared to meet him and bow down and bathe his feet in my tears. 

Established and Organized the Priesthood

Now that the law of Moses was fulfilled, Christ established and organizes the priesthood, in which they received the priesthood. After some research I found this on the churches website: 

"President Joseph Fielding Smith explained what “order” of the priesthood the Nephites exercised: “The Nephites were descendants of Joseph. Lehi discovered this when reading the brass plates. … Therefore there were no Levites who accompanied Lehi to the Western Hemisphere. Under these conditions the Nephites officiated by virtue of the Melchizedek Priesthood from the days of Lehi to the days of the appearance of our Savior among them”" 

The way I read this is" by virtue" they officiated the melchizedek priesthood, but it wasn't until Christ's arrival that they could fully operate under the melchizedek priesthood. Please correct me if I don't understand this quite clearly. 

As in the east and as in our day, Christ established His church with prophets and apostles. During his visit he called 12 apostles to administer in His church. 

Healed the Sick/Afflicted and Blessed the Children

It was said that there was 2500 people in the multitude, yet He had compassion and love for them that he wanted to heal them: 

"7 Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy." 

What an amazing thing to experience. It must have been incredible to once have been crippled or blind and suddenly able to walk or see. And the joy that must have been felt by the loved ones of those sick and afflicted. I have family members who are afflicted with a sort of sickness and what joy would fill my soul to have that affliction removed. Wow! 

He also had the children come unto Him and blessed them: 

"11 And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought. 

12 So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him." 

And how can this experience be explained? Well it cannot: 

"17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father." 

And: 

"24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them." 

Amazing! 

It will be truly amazing what we will experience when someday, all of us will have a chance to meet him at the judgment seat. I just hope and pray that I'm ready to come unto him. 

Samuel the Lamanite Prophet

Samuel the Lamanite Prophet





I found this picture of Samuel the Lamanite on lds.org, and it is so simple, it made me ponder the short story of him in Helaman for a minute.

In Helaman 14-16, it says that the Lamanites were strictly observing to keep the commandments of God.  Samuel, a Lamanite prophet, came to the Nephites to preach repentance to them.  It must have been obvious to the Nephites that he was a Lamanite.  They didn't like what he had to say, so they kicked him out of the city.  

I think it would have been really easy for Samuel to leave the city and head back home, where his teaching was accepted by the people.  But, because he was in tune, he heeded the Lord and went back to teach the Nephites again.  They wouldn't let him into the city but that didn't stop him from fulfilling his assignment.  He climbed on the wall and began to tell the people what the Lord wanted them to hear.

Can you imagine having stones thrown at you and arrows shot at you for doing what the Lord wanted you to do?  Can you imagine being angry enough with the words someone else is speaking to want to kill them so you wouldn't hear them anymore?

We know that some of the Nephites repented and went to find Nephi to be baptized because of the teachings of Samuel.  We know that Samuel finished his teaching, jumped off the wall and ran home. He was never heard from again among the Nephites.

So what happened to those people who refused to hear what he said?  Did they remember, a few years later, when the prophesies were being fulfilled?  Did they just pretend that those things were unexpected and unheard of?

What are our prophets telling us now that we don't want to hear?  Will we slow down, and think about what they are saying and why they are saying it?  Will we try praying about it and getting a confirmation for ourselves, or will we 'stone and shoot at' the prophets, saying that they are just old men and they don't understand what's happening in the world today.

Whether or not we follow the prophet now may have little bearing on what happens during calamitous times in the world, but it will have a huge effect on what happens to us when this life is finished.

The Pride Cycle

I find the Pride Cycle very intriguing. If you've never heard of the pride cycle, here is a quick info-graphic that explains it in a nutshell (the pride cycle is the outer circle). 

Now I find it intriguing for a couple reasons.

First I am amazed at how in the scriptures, the people become wicked and suffer some sort of affliction and it is through and because of this trial that they are brought down to humility and repentance, then while they have it good and are enjoying some peace, there they go again and forget the Lord. Now it's not so much that they forget the Lord or that a God exists, but they forget the teachings of the Gospel and how it can help protect us from many of the pitfalls and traps Satan lays for us. We see in scriptures this "Pride Cycle" happening quickly, like with Laman/Lamuel and other times over the period of years.

Second and more importantly, I've seen it in my own life. There was a time when I had many comforts and luxeries in life. A beautiful home, 2 cars both paid off and no debt except for me home. I was also very selfish with my time. I felt that I had no time for the Lord and all that was asked of me in the church. I'd rather be playing games or doing something on the computer or photography. Those things were more important to me. It wasn't until I literally lost it all save it were my own family, that my heart was softened and I began to say "Yes" to the Lord. I say more important because I think one of the most important things you can do regarding this "Pride Cycle" is to realize when you have traveled this path. And in general, I think we all have taken the path of the "Pride Cycle", mostly in smaller amounts of time.

Now, this cycle can be stopped or minimized. As you see in the info-graphic, when we are blessed, we need to always remember God and give thanks. And we should always be mindful of our shortcomings, faults or sins.

I just finished reading about Samuel the Lamanite in Helaman 13:22 and found this great quote:

"Samuel pointed out that one way to tell if we love our treasures more than God is by observing how much gratitude we give to Him for all that He has blessed us with. Elder Milton R. Hunter taught, "Perhaps our lack of gratitude toward God is one of the most common sins among us (God's Greatest Gift, 3)."

And try to remember this when going through difficult times:

Elder Gene R. Cook said: "It's interesting that the Lord says those whom he loves he also chastens. Since he loves all his children, we can assume we will receive some of that chastening. The true purpose of the chastening is that our sine might be forgiven."

I hope I can always be mindful of my actions, remember the Lord and always be willing to change for good and try to stay in that "inner circle".