Charity - Farewell Talk

I can’t believe it is actually time to serve a mission. As I look out into the audience, I see loving family and friends. You are all here because you have helped me become who I am today – a departing full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I want to thank you for all you have done in my life and hope to see you when I get home in 2012.
Serving a mission is something I have always wanted to do. Primary taught me to follow Jesus Christ and try to be like him always, while in Young Men’s I learned how to study and teach from amazing leaders, which helped me prepare spiritually to serve. And so when it came down to the time to decide to serve a mission, the decision was easy.
When I got the mission call to Seattle, I knew it was right for me. The Lord knew what I needed and listened to my prayers giving me a call which I gratefully accepted.
As I serve in Seattle I will meet people with all sorts of backgrounds. As I meet with them, I will be a messenger for Christ because “faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.” (D&C 4:5).
The Apostle Paul said that we must have, “faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor. 13:13). Charity is "the pure love of Christ," or "everlasting love" (Moroni 7:47). The prophet Mormon taught: "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).
Charity is the pure love of Christ, but what does that really mean? We find part of the answer in Joshua: “Take diligent heed … to love the Lord your God … and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Charity is our love for the Lord, shown through our acts of service, patience, compassion, and understanding for one another.
In Ether we find that, “[Jesus has] loved the world, even unto the laying down of [His] life for the world, that [He might] take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which [He has] for the children of men is charity” (Ether 12:33-34) Charity is also the Lord’s love for us, shown through His acts of service, patience, compassion, and understanding. The “pure love of Christ” refers to two things, our love for the Savior and His love for each of us.
Joseph Smith exemplified the pure love of Christ. Many asked why he gained so many followers and retained them. His answer: “It is because I possess the principle of love.”
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin once told the story of a 14-year-old boy who had come to Nauvoo in search of his brother who lived near there. The young boy had arrived in winter with no money and no friends. When he inquired about his brother, the boy was taken to a large house that looked like a hotel. There he met a man who said, “Come in, son, we’ll take care of you.” The boy accepted and was brought into the house, where he was fed, warmed, and was given a bed to sleep in. The next day it was bitter cold, but the boy still prepared himself to walk eight miles to find his brother. When the man of the house saw this, he told the young boy to stay for a while and said there would be a team that he could ride with. Although the boy had no money, the man said it would all be taken care of. Later the boy learned that the man of the house was none other than prophet Joseph Smith and the boy remembered this act of charity for the rest of his life.
The Apostle Paul said in a moving statement to Timothy, “. . . [obedience to the commandments] is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned" (1 Tim. 1:5). This promise is relevant to all of us. Paul’s testimony to Timothy was that in good conscience, happy relationships with our families and friends, and in the true faith that grants us confidence in the presence of God lie the blessings of life.
The Savior gave us the ultimate example of His life to follow. He is the literal Son of God. He had perfect love and shows us how to love. He shows us that the needs, spiritually and physically, of our fellowmen are as important as our own. What more charitable act could He have done than give His life for us and suffer our sins for us? Before He died, He said, “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13).
Speaking to Christ, Moroni said, “And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.” (Ether 12:34).
It isn’t necessary to give our lives like the Savior, but we will have charity when we make Him the center of our lives and follow his teachings. We can bless others as we serve our fellow brothers and sisters in our Church and throughout the Earth.
In early 1946, president Cornelius Zappey was called to reorganize the Netherlands Mission after World War II. Holland was left in dismal condition. During the war, Nazi troops occupied Holland. Many Dutch resisters were taken to concentration camps and the Germans killed many others. At the end of the war, Nazis robbed Holland’s food and other basic supplies. This left Holland’s people impoverished and starving.
When President and Sister Zappy arrived, hunger still haunted. President Zappy saw the justified hatred between the Dutch and Germans, but he wondered what he could do to break down the bitter feelings towards the Germans.
“Mamma, all we can do here is pray for the people to overcome their hate,” the President told his wife. Then he went to work to try to find an answer to his own prayers.
President Zappy instructed the local priesthood leaders to start growing potatoes, Holland’s best crop, wherever they had spare land to do so. Planting days became special days for the Church branches with singing and other festivities. By the autumn of 1947, prospects were good and members expected to reap the bounty of their hard work.
At the same time, the conditions of the German saints were harsh and tragic. What few reserves the people had a year before were completely exhausted. Clothing was hard to obtain; food was rationed on a sub-subsistence basis.
By harvest time, President Zappy knew the Lord had different intentions, than what the Dutch expected, for the welfare potatoes. He knew that they must go to the starving German saints. He wondered how the Dutch might react to giving the Germans the potatoes they worked so hard to grow, as the Germans had caused them so much grief during the war.
The problems of the Dutch saints weren’t fully solved, either. President Zappy called a mission conference to propose that the potatoes be given the Germans.
He said, “Some of the most bitter enemies you people have encountered as a result of this war are the German people. But those people are now much worse off than you, and we are asking you to send your entire potato harvest to the German saints. Will you do it? Do you want our own saints to die of hunger there?”
Impacted by the spirit, the leaders humbly agreed to give the potatoes to the starving Germans.
Missionaries and members moved the large potato bags into the trucks, which delivered the potatoes into Germany. The German saints were astonished by the generosity of their fellow brothers and sisters in Holland. The potato project created a new spirit of unity among the saints. President David O. McKay called this loving act, “one of the greatest acts of true Christian conduct ever brought to my attention.” (Story from War and Peace and Dutch Potatoes by William G. Hartley)
As the Dutch saints did, we should not try to decide if someone really deserves our help. We must try to help all those who may need help. This way we will be like the Father, who causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
President Thomas S. Monson reminds us that there are also those that need to be fed spiritually, “let us ask ourselves the questions: ‘Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?’ What a formula for happiness! What a prescription for contentment, for inner peace – to have inspired gratitude in another human being. Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.” (Conference Oct. 2001)
When we give to those in need, we must have compassion for them in order to have charity. The apostle Paul taught, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (1 Cor. 13:4-7) When we have charity, we are patient and kind. We are loyal and believe the best in others, for “charity never faileth.” (1 Cor. 13:8)
Christ exemplified charity. He loved the sinners in spite of what they had done. He taught us that if we don’t forgive others, we too will not be forgiven. Christ has taught, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good unto them which despitefully use you…For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?” (Matt. 5:44, 46) We too must learn to “love one another”, as Jesus did.
How might we become more charitable? The first way we can become charitable is by studying the life of Jesus Christ and following His commanments. There isn’t a more perfect example to follow. We gain a deeper love for Christ as we study Him. As our love for the Lord deepens, we will become purified. We experience a “mighty change in … hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5:2)
Second, we are told to “pray always.” When we have uncharitable feelings, we can pray to have charity. Mormon teaches us to “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.” (Mor. 7:48)
Lastly, we must avoid thinking that we are better than others. We must be patient and understand their faults, for we all have them. Joseph Smith said, “The nearer we get to our Heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion of perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our backs.” (Teachings of Presidents: Joseph Smith)
In the Book of Mormon we read of Enos, who wanted to know if his sins had been forgiven, “And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.” (Enos 1:4-5)
The Lord explained that because of Enos’ faith, his sins had been forgiven. When Enos knew this, he was no longer concerned about himself. He felt concern for his friends and family, the Nephites and the Lord said that they would be blessed according to their faithfulness to the commandments. Enos’ love increased even further and pled with the Lord for his enemies, the Lamanites.
Enos was so grateful for the Lord’s love and forgiveness of himself that he spent the rest of his life helping others receive this gift. He had become truly charitable. We too must become like Enos and be charitable. We must do so in order to obtain the Kingdom of God.
As we live the gospel of Jesus Christ and follow His example, we will feel happiness. He will forgive our sins. He will heal us and replace guilt and shame with joy in our life.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, “The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities. The means of this refinement is our Christ like love. There is no pain it cannot soften, no bitterness it cannot remove, no hatred it cannot alter…The most cherished and sacred moments of our lives are those filled with the spirit of love. The greater the measure of our love, the greater is our joy. In the end, the development of such love is the true measure of success in life.” (The Great Commandment, 2007)
I bear my testimony that Christ lives. He is the perfect example and when we follow Him, we will feel everlasting happiness. I am thankful for the prophet Thomas S. Monson who guides us in our time. I am thankful for the Book of Mormon, which teaches and testifies of Christ and shows us how to live our lives, for as President Ezra Taft Benson said, “it answers the greatest questions of the soul.” I am thankful for loving family and friends and for all that have come today to show your love and support. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.