I Seek After Charity

The reason I am on this earth is so that I can learn to become like my Father in Heaven. My elder brother, Jesus Christ, is the perfect exemplar I can look to and follow. In the scriptures it is said that charity, the pure love of Christ, is the greatest gift to seek after; that "if ye have not charity, ye are nothing." (Moroni 7:44, 46) To me, charity means truly caring more about serving others than serving one's self. Having charity means to serve God with all of the heart, might, mind and strength, and with no ulterior motives. Being charitable is seeing everyone, ourselves included, as children of God and treating them as such. Serving with charity means seeking the inspiration of the Lord so as to be an instrument in His hands in bringing love, peace and comfort to a heart in need. A charitable person is focused on Love.

The antithesis of charity, I believe, is selfishness and victimization. It is when one is more concerned with getting as much as possible for as little effort, time or money as possible. It is only caring about personal wants and how to satisfy personal "needs" with little or no regard as to how one's actions may affect someone else. It is ignoring personal accountability in any given situation and believing that someone else is always to blame and someone else should fix the problem. An uncharitable person is focused on themselves.

These two dualities are the end result of what individual, daily choices lead to. They are a state of being, not who we are. I believe we are children of God, all equal in His sight. It is through our own choices in life that we end up at one end or the other. Change is a choice away. One of the greatest gifts we have been given is agency. We "are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death according to the captivity and power of the devil." (2 Nephi 2:27) The way we view the world, our belief system, governs our actions. If we want to make a change in our actions, first, we must be willing to change the way we believe.

I believe we are all in a great moment in the eternities with the opportunity to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior. I believe that He will come again. And I believe that He will come among those who live as He did. I want to be among that group. My intent in my life is to become like my Heavenly Father. The way to become as He is, is to seek after charity.

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren (and sisters), if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail - but charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whosoever is possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren (and sisters), 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 (and daughters) 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. Amen." (Moroni 7:46-48)

The Spirit of Giving

At Christmas time most minds are thinking a lot about giving and receiving gifts. I love the spirit at Christmas time because it seems that there are so many people who are thinking about others. This is the real spirit of the season: the spirit of giving.

When I carry this spirit with me throughout the year, I am happier, more at peace, more successful, and more in line with the reason why I am here in the first place. I do my best to keep my thoughts centered on what I can do for others, to help them feel a little more love in their life. I have so much love to give and I know it is wasted if I chose to consume my time with my own worries and cares.

Take some time to reflect on how the gifts you give this year can be filled with love and meaning for those you care about. Take time to reach out a little further with love.

Here is an amazing story about Dick & Rick Hoyt.

http://www.jetstarcourier.com/hoyt.htm

And here is a link to a little video of their story. Seeing this example of the spirit of giving really helps me to think a little more of others and a little less of myself.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2632954908718914053