Charity

I've been thinking a lot about Charity lately. I was having a conversation with a Doctor on Thursday that really humbled me and made me think a lot about charity.

In the LDS scriptures we have a Bible Dictionary and in the Bible Dictionary this is how charity is defined - The highest, noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; The pure love of Christ. It is never used to denote alms or deeds or benevolence although it may be a prompting motive.

 1 Corinthians 13 is a beautiful chapter about Charity.

It doesn't matter what you achieve in life if you don't have charity. 

You can't even be saved without faith and charity is greater than faith.

  Charity is our love for the Lord, shown through our acts of service, patience, compassion, and understanding for one another.

Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships. It is the bond that unites families, communities, and nations. Love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect. It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate. Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope. Love should be our walk and our talk. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton beautifully observed: “Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.”