Becoming Charitable

Today in Sacrament meeting we were blessed to hear some absolutely beautiful talks about CHARITY. I am so grateful for such inspired instruction to help me discover more about becoming charitable.

One aspect of instruction today that strongly impressed me was about how we receive charity. The only way to actually have charity is to PRAY for charity. Charity is "the pure love of Christ" and therefore, it being something divine, it must be bestowed upon us by divinity.

What we bring to the alter is our great desire for charity.

Then, when our heart is swollen with the love of our fellowman we change our character to be naturally inclined towards loving others. I think it is at this moment that we have grown to love God so much so that we understand now His love for us.

When we know the love He has for us then we can see how dearly he loves

the person we pass in the store,

the woman waiting for a bus,

the man behind the counter,

the friend,

the family member,

and every single individual who lives, who ever lived and who will live.

When we see this, our eyes are opened and suddenly it becomes clear that in order to love God we must treat what He loves with the most gentle care and kindness possible.



As we love God through loving others He then imparts that love of us to each other and we can love others as He loves them. We then know, not just from lessons taught or scriptures read, but from lived experience, that true JOY comes comes from a focus on bringing joy to others. It all begins with the heart and character we bring to the Lord in prayer. In those moments, we prove ourselves trustworthy with his gift of charity and He can bestow it on a humble and worthy heart that will use it to BETTER the lives of what He loves most.

"If we will put our lives, our thoughts, our actions and our hearts in tune with the Lord, and worship the Lord in His holy temple, then step by step, through the gift of the Holy Ghost will be "distilled" upon our souls as the dews from heaven, and we will be empowered to open the many "gifts" of the Holy Ghost in our lives." (from House of Learning)

What a miracle it is to think that in baptism and our strivings towards righteousness, we make ourselves worthy, not only to receive the blessings and guidance of our Heavenly Father, but to have a member of deity rest within us, to guide and protect and inspire our hearts and our minds towards our potential and our greatest happiness

- A member of the Godhead with us individually -

How remarkable and incredible that is! I feel that in growing up knowing this I have forgotten to really see it for the miracle it truly is.

I was also taught today that charity is not in fact doing good deeds for others, but is rather becoming more like Christ. Charity is a change in one's character where selflessness, thoughtfulness, kindness, humility, and empathy have full residence in one's heart.

We do not HAVE charity per se, but by desiring charity and praying for it we BECOME charitable.