What Charity Is

Ether 12 is a marvelous chapter about faith, hope, and charity.  I never really thought of it like that before, but I feel like Moroni gives us a glimpse into some of his personal struggles and worries and how these principles have helped him gain understanding.  My last posts talked about faith and hope being an anchor to our souls, so although there are many more gems in this chapter about faith and hope, today I am going to focus on charity.

In Ether 12:22, Moroni begins telling us about a worry that he has.  He says that he knows that these writings will, in the future, come to the Lamanites through the Gentiles, but he is afraid the Gentiles will mock because of the weakness in the writing.  He prays about this concern and is answered.  Moroni outlines for us the things he has learned by taking this worry to the Lord which are definitely worth reading, but the one I want to focus on is Ether 12:36 when he says:

"...I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity."

Moroni goes onto to say that he was told it was not his concern if the Gentiles have charity because he has been faithful to that which he was asked to do.

I read a quote by President Monson this week that helped me as Moroni was helped in this chapter.  It brings the principle of charity into my life as an answer to how I can more fully live how Heavenly Father would want me to live without worrying so much about the actions of others.  President Monson said:

"Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down.  It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily.  It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings.  It is accepting people as they truly are.  It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time.  It is resisting the impulse to categorize others."

All of this has made charity a little more real to me, and as it becomes less abstract it is easier to put into my daily life.  The only trick left is to remember.  Remember this lesson and put it into action.  That is always the great challenge, isn't it?  Well, I may not do so perfectly, but I will strive to live this lesson.