December 9, 2012

Definition of Charity

Elder Marvin J. Ashton, "The tongue can be a sharp sword", Ensign, May 1992

If we could look into each other's hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.

If the adversary can influence us to pick on each other, to find fault... to judge or humiliate or taunt, half his battle is won. Why? Because though this sort of conduct may not equate with succumbing to grievous sin, it nevertheless neutralizes us spiritually. The Spirit of the Lord cannot dwell where there is bickering, judging, contention, or any kind of 'bashing'.

 

Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again.

 

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 benefits 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 way 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.

 

Most of us are already well aware of the areas in which we are weak. What each of us ... need[s] is family, friends, employers, and brothers and sisters who support us, who have the patience to teach us. who believe in us, and who believe we’re trying to do the best we can, in spite of our weaknesses. Whatever happened to giving each other the benefit of the doubt? Whatever happened to hoping that another person would succeed or achieve? Whatever happened to rooting for each other?

 

Be one who nurtures and who builds. Be one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart, who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1992/05/the-tongue-can-be-a-sharp-sword?lang=eng&query=ashton+marvin+j.+charity+tongue

Learning how to Receive 
Brother Kent P. Jackson, BYU Devotional, June 28, 2011

     "We don’t need to be embarrassed about our debt to our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son. Our Father in Heaven will always be our God, and Jesus will always be our Savior. Through all eternity we will sing praises to Their names and acknowledge our indebtedness to Them. In this life we need to be truly and deeply thankful. Our thankfulness will motivate us to obediently keep Their commandments—not out of guilt or debt or fear, but out of genuine love for Them. We keep God’s commandments and love Him, as the apostle John taught, because He loved us first (see 1 John 4:19). And then He blesses us more.

     "How, then, do we translate this attitude of receiving into our relationships with other people? I suggest that we learn to ask for help when we need it, that we receive it when it’s offered, that we not feel guilty about doing so, and that we recognize that in serving us, others are the Lord’s ministering angels doing His work."

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1967

Planning for the Future
Brother Alan L. Wilkins, BYU-I Devotional, October 18, 2011

"Alan,” he asked me, “do you think I could have planned my career?” He said that if had known what he was headed for he might have been like Jonah and run from these assignments. He went on: “The only counsel that makes sense for me to give is this: Don’t live your life worrying about the future. You only have today. You can’t do anything about yesterday either except repent or feel good. So here is my counsel about finding a career: Get up each day and recapture your testimony. That is, do the things that bring the spirit into your life: repent, study the scriptures, and pray for guidance. As you feel the enlightenment of the Spirit, consider what you can do that day to follow the impressions you get. Have faith; the Lord will guide you step by step, ‘line upon line, here a little and there a little."

http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Devotionals/2011_10_18_Wilkins.htm

"Preparing for Your Spiritual Destiny"
CES Fireside, January 10, 2010
Elder Neil L. Andersen

"Your spiritual destiny will have obstacles, delays, and equipment malfunctions. There will be mistakes. You may wonder if you are going to make it. Don’t be discouraged! You will also have moments of hope and faith as doors open and obstacles are overcome. Continue, persist, above all, believe in Christ and learn to follow Him and His prophets; endure, as Nephi said, with a “brightness of hope” (2 Nephi 31:20). As you do, I promise you, one day you will hear your name. You will make it."

http://www.lds.org/broadcast/archive/0,7298,515-1,00.html

Elder Bruce C. Hafen, "The Atonement: All for All", Ensign, May 2004.
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2004/05/the-atonement-all-for-all?lang=eng

"One early Australian convert said: 'My past life [was] a wilderness of weeds, with hardly a flower strewed among them. [But] now the weeds have vanished, and flowers Spring up in their place.' 

 

"We grow in two ways—removing negative weeds and cultivating positive flowers. The Savior’s grace blesses both parts—if we do our part."

 

Lloyd D. Newell, "Life's Unexpected Changes" Music and the Spoken Word, March 29, 2009.

http://fans.musicandthespokenword.org/messages/printme.php?message=527

 

"Though none of us knows for sure what tomorrow will bring, we can determine to live with hope and optimism."

October 29, 2012

Brother Ray L. Huntington, "A Grateful Heart" BYU-Provo Devotional, October 2, 2012
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2072

Brother Huntington discusses how those people who practice being grateful are happier.  He gives scientific research information about the topic.  But especially, Brother Huntington discusses the prophetic and scriptural promises to those who practice gratitude.