Charity: Love For All God’s Children

Christ With The Children, by Harry Anderson (lds.org)

Alrighty! I plan to keep this one short today – for real this time XD I had an interesting study today. General Conference was AMAZING this week, and I could say SO much about that, but it’d take forever. I took almost 5 pages of notes, and got answers to every question I had! Where would I start? XD

After the conference, I felt prompted to study more about charity, since that’s something I struggle with (don’t we all). So, I spent over an hour this morning, reading from all different books to find the meaning of charity. I learned a lot: Charity is kind, charity is not prideful, charity is humble enough to put others first. Charity is able to say, “I’m not more important than you.”

One thing in particular stuck out for me though.

2 Nephi: Religious Freedom In America

Alrighty! It’s off to a new day, and after a nerve-wracking trip to the dentist, I’m apparently all good! Yay! *PHEW*

So, this morning I was reading from 2 Nephi 2, which is just a classic chapter, because it clarifies so many beautiful truths that we don’t get hardly at all in the Bible. Referring to my Institute manual was also very helpful today. Seriously, if you want to get more out of your studies, open up an Institute manual whenever you do your reading. It helps a lot. It really does.

Speaking of Institute manuals, credit goes to that manual today. I had a deeply reassuring realization today, one that’s given me greater confidence for the future of America as a free society. I know some days, it’s easy to look ahead with a sense of grimness, with all these antagonistic forces rising up in the States. I’ve fallen prey to that as well. But after reading what I did, I don’t think we need to worry at all. Not even, really, from a temporal point of view.

The Restoration Of The Gospel

Alrighty! Another beautiful Sabbath day draws to a close, and I look forward to getting to see my beloved in the morning. Monday is P-Day for him, so yeah. He’s coming home really soon too, in just a few weeks! Y’all can join me on the countdown if you want. Today marks 19 days before he gets home! X3

Anyway. As it’s Sunday, I always try to post something about church, and today, church was wonderful. I fasted today for help with a lot of things, and Heavenly Father helped me tremendously. I received signs, guidance, and a full spiritual recharge. It’s been a good day. ^^

Church was kinda funny too. I’m my ward’s bulletin specialist, so I’m in charge of making those little programs that tell you where all the upcoming events will be. While doing that, I stumbled across an amazing talk about Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Gospel. And, lo and behold, the very first speaker at church was referencing that exact talk! I mean, wow. God works in mysterious ways. Guess I know what to talk about, huh! XD

For those of you who want to see the talk, it’s by Tad R. Callister, called Joseph Smith – Prophet of the Restoration. And it’s exactly what it sounds like; it’s talking about Joseph Smith, and how God used him to restore the missing parts of the gospel. Those things that were lost over time, things that the Bible either doesn’t show clearly, or doesn’t show at all. And not just side-details either! These are really important things!

Honestly, the whole talk is excellent, and I could just go on and on about it. But I’m just gonna summarize for y’all. Thank God for Joseph Smith. It’s the only way we could’ve gotten a guy like him. 😉

Charity: My Conversion And Testimony

Today is Andrew’s birthday. It’ll be just a month before he comes home from his mission now. Today’s one of those days when I miss him the most. Especially in light of how hard this week has been. Happy Birthday, Andrew. I miss you.

I decided to wait until after church to write this post. I like to write about what I learned at church. Today, Sacrament Meeting was one of the most powerful I’ve been to in a while. I guess Heavenly Father knew how badly I needed it this week. Charity was the word of the day, and we heard many beautiful talks about the pure love of Christ. One speaker in particular caught my attention – I’m ashamed to admit I don’t remember their name. But it was said that charity – true, Christlike love – is not something we give to the righteous only. It’s something that, like Jesus, we give freely to all. No matter how weak, broken, or wicked.

It struck a cord with me. Hearing that, the rest of the meeting kind of faded away. The rest of that time, I thought about Andrew. Not just because I miss him, but because he’s the one who taught me what it means to be filled with the love of Christ. For those of you who don’t know, Andrew is the one who converted me. The only reason he could do that was because he wasn’t afraid to face my demons. He got right into the ugly of my life, and wasn’t afraid of the crossfire. He saved my life, though he’d never take credit for it. I thought I was beyond even Christ’s help, but he showed me who Christ really is.

As you can probably guess, this is a fairly dark story. If you’re intimidated by learning the grimdark details of one’s very personal life, you might want to click another post. But still, I want to share this story, because it’s in the grimdark details that I learned, firsthand, that Christ really could change anyone. Even someone like me.

Through Fire And Water: Baptism And The Second Coming

(Picture from LDS.org)

Alrighty! I’ve got a short but interesting thought for y’all today. I really took my sweet time with scripture today, to the point where I honestly dunno what to focus on. Sure needed that today tho. It’s been a rough morning. I’ve had to fight a war with fire ants all week, and a sick cat leaving messes all over the house for me. It’s been a rough morning.

It’s days like this that I’m grateful for the holy scriptures. Sometimes you just need to take your sweet time with the scriptures and ignore the clock for a while. It’s been a while since I gave myself that luxury. Clearly I needed it today. However, I’m not gonna share something from my actual studies today. Instead, I’ll talk about something fun I realized at church two days ago, while learning about the Second Coming, and the way the world will be prepared – and is being prepared – for the return of Jesus Christ.

Trusting God When Things Go Wrong

In everyday life, it’s easy to get swept aside by all the ugly and all the heartache and forget we’ve already won the battle. We’re just waiting for the end-game. God keeps all his promises.

Alrighty! Sorry for missing a post yesterday, y’all; I got caught up with making a birthday present for my beloved. His birthday’s this coming Sunday, so I had to make him something special. Happy early Birthday, Andrew! 😉

Anyway. As I pondered what to write about this morning, I decided I should look at a BYU talk that Andrew sent me. You can read it here if you want; it’s called “Trusting God When Things Go Wrong.” As always, Andrew managed to send me something I really needed to hear myself, so I figured I’d share it with you all as well. Naturally, BYU talks are always super long, so I can’t really talk about the whole thing here. But, I can focus on the core message, and that is simply this: No matter what we go through in life, our trust in the Lord will be what always pulls us through.

Moroni 7: We Have The Power To Know The Truth

 All good things come from God, and all evil from the devil. We have the power to judge right from wrong. It’s how we can know a truth is from God. It’s how I learned that the Book of Mormon is true.

Why do I always photograph green things? I dunno. I like nature a lot, I guess. XD

Alrighty! So, this is the third and final post i plan to do on Moroni 7, and I’ve saved this one for last. Kinda ironic, since it’s the first subject the chapter covers, but oh well! Today I’m gonna take a look at a lesson that really changed my whole view on the gospel itself: How we can know if something – anything at all – is good and of God, or evil and of the devil.

When I was first investigating the Church, this was critical for me to know. I used to be a nondenominational Christian, and it was a huge personal risk for me to look outside of that. I wasn’t in a place emotionally where I could’ve handled another doctrine-based betrayal; I had to know this was real, and of God, or I’d be in a bad way real fast.

Reading the Book of Mormon changed everything for me. When I first started reading the Book, I was beyond dubious, and it was only the Christlike example of my fiancé, Andrew, that gave me the courage to dare and try it. Long before I reached Moroni 7, however, the Spirit had already reassured me on the matter. It just felt right… I’d been raised, however, with the general premise that “that nonsense in the Garden of Eden” has made humans inherently bad. Therefore, we can’t trust our own judgment or desires, because we’re inherently evil at the core, and “trusting your heart” will just lead you into sin.

So, even after feeling the peace of the Spirit, I was still a little paranoid. Who was I, a lowly human, to believe I could tell right from wrong. Who was I, barely sane as I was, to judge that I wasn’t somehow being deceived by the devil? Those feelings faded pretty quickly as I read, but I still needed an answer to that question.

Finally, I hit Moroni 7, one of my all-time favorite chapters of the entire Book. And finally, I got the confirmation I needed. Moroni had perfectly put into words the things I needed to know.

“For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil.” (Moroni 7:11)

This resonated with me on a powerful level. I never forgot how Matthew 7:20 and 3 Nephi 14:20 said “by their fruits ye shall know them.” I’d seen many fruits by that point, beautiful blessings from reading the Book. I was happier than I’d ever been in my entire life. Things just didn’t get me down anymore. The haze of sickness around my mind was swiftly fading away. I could pray to Heavenly Father. He’d actually answer me. And, I’d seen the loving example of my husband-to-be. Then came verses 13-18, to really seal the deal…

“But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.” (Moroni 7:13-18)

This is something I deeply wish everyone understood. Heavenly Father has blessed us with the Light of Christ – our conscience, as many people would call it – to help us determine right from wrong, even when we have nothing else to go on. And even though a lot of people believe it’s often wrong, I find more often that we just ignore it. Think about it. We’re better at recognizing something dubious or shady than we often realize.

Have you ever heard someone tell you something they believed was true, and you got that feeling in your gut like something was wrong with this? Or maybe it didn’t even go that far. Maybe all you felt was that it made you feel unhappy, or hurt, or betrayed. I think of an example from my own life…when my parents would tell me to do something “because they said so.”

Even if their logic was perfectly sound, even when I knew it was, I hated it. The message I took from it was, “because I’m a child, my feelings are not worth as much as an adult’s.” After a while, I accepted that as an inevitable fact of life, but it hurt. It made me angry. It twisted my gut inside, every time I thought about it. Then I joined the Church. I learned that all God’s children are equal in his eyes, and even the youngest among us can contribute as an equal member. And that felt right. It didn’t hurt me to believe it. It didn’t force me to believe that God’s children should be second-class citizens until age 18. And it let me believe that God really can give truth, and wisdom, and a viable voice, to absolutely anyone.

More often than not, our conscience is far more accurate than we realize. From this, I’ve learned that whenever a supposed “truth” makes me feel this way, it means one of two things: Either something is wrong with that truth, or something is wrong with my understanding of it. It’s always one of the two. And when in doubt, well, that’s what prayer is for.

Everything that invites us to do good, and believe in Christ, is of God. Everything that invites us to sin, and to defy Christ, is of the devil. God has given us the power to tell the difference, and it’s as easy to tell good from evil as the day from night. That’s God’s gift to us. And once we’ve been given the Gift of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit’s presence more than makes up for any human errors. He won’t lead us astray. So long as we stay close to him, we’ll always choose the right, at the end of it all.

That’s how I know the Book of Mormon is true.

Thanks for reading, y’all! If you liked this post, go ahead and hit that little star button below; it really helps me know that my writing helps someone besides myself. And if you think your friends can benefit from it, go ahead and share it with all of them! Think there’s anything you can add to the conversation? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear it. And keep reading, y’all! The scriptures just keep getting better, I tell ya! Keep on searching them! And have a good day. 😉

Moroni 7: Charity Is The Love Of Christ

And it endureth forever. So I take a look at Moroni 7 once again and visit what it means to be charitable, and how we can know if we have the spirit of charity in our hearts.

The art of looking sideways.

Phew! Getting to this a little late today. Been doing a little spring cleaning around the house. Yeah, who cares if it’s August? It’s spring indoors with the AC going, right? XD

So, I’ll just keep this one short, cuz I’ve got a lot of cleaning to get back to- XD I really freaking love Moroni 7, not gonna lie. It’s one of my favorite chapters in the entire Book of Mormon. So I plan to revisit it here, and likely tomorrow too. Cuz seriously, Moroni 7 is a spiritual gem. It covers so many topics so clearly and so thoroughly, it’s like a Swiss Army Knife for life’s problems. A Swiss Mormon Knife.

…I’m sorry. I’m in a punny mood. XD

Anyway! Another one of the great things I took from Moroni 7 was a lesson in what it means to love like Christ. Though I’ll admit, I learned this by a certain someone’s example before I ever read about it (looking at you, Andrew~) …this chapter put it into words for me. Fun fact: As a convert, the word “charity” took a long time to wrap my brain around. I grew up reading the NIV version of the Bible, not the KJV. And although Moroni’s description of charity basically mirrors that in 1 Corinthians 13, the NIV just uses the word “love,” not “charity.”

That one word confused me so much when I first converted. Cuz let’s face it: Charity is an archaic word now. It’s specific to a few religious dialects and that’s it. Society certainly doesn’t use it anymore either ¬_¬ Only way I’d ever heard it used was for nonprofits like Locks of Love, or World Vision. And that’s what a lot of people interpret charity to mean. Generosity. Which is good, but there’s more to it than that.

I think it’s good that we actually have a word for “the pure love of Christ” specifically, cuz otherwise we use the same “love” for anything and everything generic. Makes me think of how the ancient Greeks had many words for different kinds of love. Closest one they had to charity would probably be agape. So, what is agape, or charity?

Luckily, Moroni summarized it up for us in one convenient verse. XD

“And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (Moroni 7:45)

I’m gonna take a quick look at each of these.

“Charity suffereth long.”

In plain English? Charity is patient. Charity endures what comes its way. Charity turns the other cheek. Long-suffering is similar in meaning to “enduring.” So, being charitable – or filled with the love of Christ – does not make us weak. It makes us strong, and able to endure anything.

“Kind, and envieth not.”

Pretty straightforward; it’s kind and understanding, not jealous and envious. Which just makes sense. You can’t be kind and understanding when you’re focused on yourself, and how much you hate that Sally has a newer toy than you. Hard to love Sally with that kind of attitude. Jealousy is an ugly thing, and it destroys kindness.

Christ sure wasn’t jealous, tho. But if anyone ever had reason to be jealous, seriously… He didn’t have a home, he wasn’t rich or respected, he lost followers practically every day, worked himself to the bone for the sake of un-freaking-grateful people, and eventually died the worst of deaths for people who – he surely must’ve known – would largely reject and ridicule him for it. Imagine the kind of life he could’ve had if he hadn’t been so busy with the whole Son-of-God thing! But that’s just not the point, is it. And I’m pretty dang sure he never would’ve thought something like that. That’s not how charity thinks. His concern was never for himself – which overlaps with the next section quite nicely.

“Not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked.”

Puffed-up. Man, I love that wording. It’s a phrase we still hear nowadays, so most everyone knows it refers to pride. I just love it though. It makes me think of a bird ruffling his feathers, puffing up into a fat little ball, just to try and look more impressive. Instead, you get this ridiculous ball of fluff who doesn’t look half as cool as he thinks he does. And that’s how pride is, by the end of the day – a ridiculous sense of self-entitlement, like we’re better than everyone else.

Christ sure wasn’t like that. The Son of God, holiest and most powerful mortal to ever walk the earth, with all the elements at his command, who could’ve just swept his enemies off before his face like the pitiful insects they were, compared to him. He could’ve just snapped his fingers and they would’ve like, exploded. But it wasn’t about him. He didn’t seek his own, even though he could very easily have come in, swinging lightning bolts with divine retribution, and had the whole world give him the respect he deserved. Instead, he showed us what it really means to be humble. And he didn’t seek his own. He wasn’t selfish. Neither is a charitable heart.

Jesus was not easily provoked either. It took a lot to get him angry. Only thing that ever really got under his skin, ironically, was hypocrisy. Not the grievous sins of other people, regardless of how bad they were. The woman caught “in the act?” Who’d committed the sin of adultery? Didn’t even bat an eyelid at that. He told her, “Go and sin no more.” Now, those Pharisees, on the other hand… Ohh, he had a few choice words for them. Even then, he had great patience there. Think about how long it took for him to get angry at them. Even though I’m sure it must’ve been eating him up inside, seeing these guys twist around the beautiful truths of the gospel. It’s a virtue I hope I can someday live up to.

“Thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but in the truth.”

In a charitable heart, there is no room for evil thoughts. Because the love of Christ can only come to a heart that’s filled with the Spirit. That’s why Moroni tells us in verse 48 that we need to “pray for it, with all our hearts.” Charity has a perfect sense of right and wrong, and doesn’t celebrate sin, because it knows what sin really is: A destructive power that brings nothing but pain and suffering, sooner or later. Charity celebrates love, light, and truth, and resists the carnal man. And I think most of us know that we can’t get that way without the direct influence of the Holy Spirit.

“Beareth/believeth/hopeth/endureth all things.” 

In short, charity puts up with a lot of crap. XD Charity bears with even the most awful, unpleasant, inconvenient situations without getting upset or having a breakdown. Charity believes in the promises of the Lord, having faith as well as hope. Charity never gives up, and holds out as long as it takes to finish what it started. Charity is, in a nutshell, pure selfless love, and whoever has the spirit of Charity in their hearts at the last day, “it shall be well with him” (Moroni 7:47).

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, 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; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” (Moroni 7:48)

…So much for a shorter post. XD

Moroni 7: Faith Vs. Hope, What’s The Difference?

Faith and hope are two different things, even if they seem very similar. Though they intertwine, faith is a belief in what God can do, and hope is believing that he will actually do it.

It’s hard to get a good picture of the sky, but I’m trying. XD

Alright! Getting to this a little late today. It’s been a really difficult morning, so I’m behind  schedule in everything. Just gonna be one of those days, I guess. But that’s okay! Cuz I still had an awesome scripture session this morning, and I’ve got something to share with y’all.

Moroni 7 is a real jewel for pure spiritual understanding. I plan to visit it several times for these next few posts. Today I’ll focus on faith and hope, and what makes the two different. This is something I’ve only recently come to understand myself. I find faith comes to me much more easily than hope, though it was only because of Andrew that I noticed this. I’m a bit of a natural worrier, and he pointed out to me that sometimes, I’d believe God can do something, but not that he actually will. I had faith, but I didn’t have hope.

Moroni 7 has this to say about hope:

Ecclesiastes 7: Finding Wisdom In Affliction

Although Ecclesiastes can be pretty pessimistic, this chapter is a more upbeat one. It talks about how sorrow is turned into wisdom – and why the wise know the value of affliction.

Man, I just love bright green things. LOL

So, today I was reading from Ecclesiastes 7, and if you’ve read Ecclesiastes, you can definitely pick up on the pessimistic tune after a while. But really, that’s just the result of being honest about life without God. Cuz let’s face it: Life without God sucks. Like, really sucks. There’s no justice or goodness, nothing that lasts, nothing that’s really worthwhile. It’s all, as he describes it, “vanity.”

So, in trying out the advice from church leaders, I decided to take a look at this new chapter with the goal of finding optimism. And to my surprise, there was a lot here. You wouldn’t get that first impression tho, I imagine. I mean, just look at the second verse:

“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2)

So it’s better to suffer than to be happy? And happiness is never a good thing, but rather “the end of all men?” Talk about a letdown! But then I realized that can’t be the core message. Heavenly Father wants us to have joy in this life. Heck, just yesterday, I wrote about how God blesses us to enjoy our labors in life, even if they’re technically pointless in the grand scheme of things. He values our happiness very deeply, because he loves us. So, even if the chapter can be taken in a pessimistic way, that can’t be the real message. This is holy scripture, after all, given to us for our learning and benefit. Making us feel depressed about how much life sucks isn’t exactly keeping with that purpose.