My father- and mother-in-law were the temple president and matron of the Bolivia Cochabamba Temple at that time. One of the perks of being temple president is that you get a few tickets to General Conference . . . I’m talking seriously good tickets. Jolene, Jill, Marie, Heather and I were lucky enough to be blessed by those tickets. We sat in the first few rows and could actually see the general authority’s faces up close and personal.
One of my favorite memories was seeing President Hickley “knight” President Eyring with his cane. It was so funny!
Another memory that sticks out is when Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave his talk. When he stood up, he started shaking badly. His voice was trembling. He was a little short of breath. I just knew he was having a stroke and was going to die right there on the spot. Elder Russell M. Nelson got up and stood behind him gently holding on to him. Thank goodness he was a doctor. I kept thinking the emergency personnel were going to show up any time, but they didn’t. My heart was pounding and I was so nervous. I could not concentrate on anything he was saying. I leaned over to Heather and told her to start praying for him. I sat there and prayed for him during his entire talk. But nothing happened . . . he just kept on giving his talk. I didn’t hear a thing he said. I was so relieved when it was over and he sat down. We learned later that he was okay.So when the November 2007 Ensign magazine came out that contained all the general conference talks, I was so curious to read his talk since I missed the whole thing. After reading that talk, I strongly felt and still feel there was something so very important that he needed to say to us that day. He was only able to stand there because the angels were holding him, Elder Nelson was holding him, and our prayers were sustaining him. The talk was titled, “The Great Commandment.” It was brilliant. It is a classic.
I had to speak in church today on the topic of Charity. I am so happy that I had Elder Wirthlin's words help me with my talk. It was a wonderful topic of study for me this week. I really needed a refresher course on charity. I thought I would share some of my talk's highlights here on my blog.
How can you tell if someone is converted to Jesus Christ? Basically, by how well we treat one another.
The Apostle Paul taught that nothing you do makes much of a difference if you do not have charity. He taught, "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or arrogant. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it is not resentful. It does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
So what’s do you think the difference is between charity and love? I think that charity is love in action. Charity encompasses His love for us, our love for Him, and Christlike love for others. Charity is love, action, work, and sacrifice.
In Brother Wirthlin’s talk, he told a story about an elderly man and woman who had been married for many decades. Because the wife was slowly losing her sight, she could no longer take care of herself the way she had done for so many years. Without being asked, the husband began to paint her fingernails for her. “He knew that she could see her fingernails when she held them close to her eyes, at just the right angle, and they made her smile. He liked to see her happy, so he kept painting her nails for more than five years before she passed away.”
That is an example of the pure love of Christ. Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes of movies, or poetry, or books that have been immortalized. Often, the greatest manifestations of love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the way.
Elder Marvin J. Ashton has said, “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 say 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.”
We should try to nurture and build . . . be understanding and have a forgiving heart . . . look for the best in people. If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I know we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.
We should try harder to open our arms to each other, accept each other for who we are, assume everyone is doing the best he or she can, and look for ways to help leave quiet messages of love and encouragement.
Kindness should be right at that top of everyone’s to do list. We should write it down every day: “Be kind.”
So how can we have charity?
The first thing we can do is study the life of Jesus Christ and keep his commandments. We can study what he did in certain situations and do the same things when we are in the same kinds of situations. President David O. McKay said, “that man is most truly great who is most Christlike. What you sincerely in your heart think of Christ will determine what you are, will largely determine what your acts will be . . . by choosing him as our ideal, we create within ourselves a desire to be like him, to have fellowship with him.”
I think that if you think about Him long enough, you will begin to act like Him. If you act like Him long enough, you’ll truly become like Him. When we love the Lord, we seek less for things that benefit us and turn our hearts toward things that will bless and uplift others. We can experience a “mighty change in … our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.”
The second thing we can do is pray to have charity. In the Book of Mormon, Mormon says, “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.” I think Charity is given to those who seek it, to those who earnestly pray for it, to those who are Disciples of Christ. And when you have uncharitable feelings, pray for help.
The third thing we can do is to practice charity. If we demonstrate Christlike love for others, I think that our capacity to love will increase. We will experience the joy of being in the Lord’s service. The Holy Ghost will be our constant companion, guiding us in our service and in our relationships with others. In the end, the development of this love is the true measure of success in our life.
In the end, the Savior will not ask about how much wealth we have or fame we have gained. He will ask if we ministered to the sick, gave food and drink to the hungry, visited those in prison, or gave succor to the weak. That is the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is love, that is charity.
Love is the greatest of all the commandments—all others hang upon it. It is our focus as followers of Christ. It is the one trait that, if developed, will improve our lives the most.
I would like to bear my testimony that God lives. His love is infinite and eternal. He loves all of us equally and unconditionally. He has provided living prophets and apostles to guide us in our time. Through the greatest act of charity of all, Christ laid down his life for us that we may return to live with our Heavenly Father. My prayer is that our hearts may be filled with charity and that we may reach out to others with love. I believe that if we do, we will discover a greater measure of joy in our lives.
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