Faith, Hope, and Charity

One of the most marvelous things about taking the time to earnestly study the scriptures is that I learn from the spirit throughout my day so much more than when I let my scripture study slacken.

One morning, I learned about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ while carrying laundry to my sons' room and listening to the theme song to Clifford the Big Red Dog as it entertained Josie.  In the song it says:

"Clifford needed Emily, so she chose him for her own, and her love made Clifford grow so big that the Howards had to leave their home."

I thought to myself that if I were a very little child and didn't know better, I might falsely believe that if I loved my dog enough, I could make him grow as big as Clifford.  Then, because such a thing can't happen, I would be disappointed and might even feel that I had done something wrong.  I might conclude that if I had raised my dog right, he would have grown to be a giant.  This is like putting your faith in something other than Jesus Christ, like for example, believing that if I had faith enough in myself, I could overcome all my weakness alone.  This is not so (Moses 1:10).  It is not faith in myself that will cause a real transformation from weakness to strength.  Believing such a thing would almost be like believing that love can tranform a tiny puppy into a dog that is larger than a house.

That Wednesday morning, the spirit turned a child's cartoon into a teaching moment, and suddenly, I understood what years of repeating the fourth Article of Faith had failed to get through to me.  It is not simply the concept of faith that is so important, it is "faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" that is essential.

I learned about hope from the spirit years later, also from an unexpected place.  It came in the form of a book written for children by Lloyd Alexander called The Black Cauldron.  In this book, the hero, Taran, and his friends have been captured and have been told their demise is eminent.  They are told they will be thrown into the crochan (or black cauldron) which will turn them into living dead warriors.  Taran and his friend, Fflewddur Fflam, have this conversation:

"He will not succeed in this," Taran said.  "Somehow, we must find a way to escape.  We dare not lose hope."

"I agree absolutely,"  Fflewddur answered.  "Your general idea is excellent; it's only the details that are lacking.  Lose hope?  By no means!  A Fflam is always hopeful!  I intend to go on hoping," he added ruefully, "even when they come and pop me into the Crochan."

I recognized myself in Fflewddur's words.  I try to convince myself I have hope because hope is one of the big three--no, boys, not Zeus, Poseiden, and Hades.  I mean the big three that you really need to have in order to gain eternal life--faith, hope, and charity (1 Corithians 13).

For me, Paul's counsel to hope has always seemed a bit like Taran's--very general and lacking in detail.  I, like Fflewddur, might at times insist I have hope, even though I still feel the inevitabilities of life telling me that I can't possibly become what I want to become.  I, who am so imperfect, can't possibly hope to live with my Father in Heaven again.  But, as I thought about Fflewddur's statement I realized I felt that way only because I wasn't putting my hope in Christ.  Hope seemed very abstract to me and somewhat difficult to understand until I realized that I trust Jesus Christ completely to do what he says he'll do.  He is here, his arms outstretched in mercy and grace.  He lived as a great example, he conquered the grave and was resurrected, and, most amazingly of all, he suffered for all our sins that we might not have to suffer--he performed an infinite and eternal Atonement for mankind. 

It was hard to do, even for him, but he truly did it.  And, now, he has every right to offer us hope.  Our part in it is to keep his commandments and humble ourselves enough to call on him and learn to use the Atonement.  That is real hope--specific, spelled out, and hard won.

Charity is a wonderful thing, and I don't have an excellent grasp on it, but I caught a glimpse of it the other day in the temple.  I think the key to charity is to love God with all your heart.  I think loving Heavenly Father helps us to love others because we are the beneficiaries of our love for him--it sounds backwards, I know.  But, if we love him, we have his spirit always with us.  We have someone who is always there for us and that knowledge helps us to love others and be there for them.