My talk today is about Charity. Charity has easily become one of my favorite topics to study. I love learning about charity so much and it is something that I strive to have more of each day.
The very first thing that I think of when charity is mentioned (besides Jesus) is an old companion from my mission. First let me just describe this wonderful sister to you. This Sister was suuuuuper tiny and so baby-faced she was often mistaken for my daughter. We became companions her second transfer and close to my last. She had actually been emergency transferred to me for various reasons (none good) the last week of her first transfer and we ended up staying together, (ain’t it funny the way the Lord works). So, long story short I had heard the rumors about all kinds of disobedient things she’d done and I thought I knew everything about her. I was doubtful that she was going to change for the better so I was just gonna do the best I could to work hard and show her how it was done. But one thing that I noticed right away about this “wayward” sister was the ginormous amount of charity that she had in her little body. She literally (Literally!) would’ve given the shirt off of her back if she saw someone with a need for it. She was constantly out of her mission allowance money because she had spent it buying baby diapers for an investigator or paying someone else’s bus fair and I constantly had to bail her out. I told you that Charity has become a favorite topic of mine to study, but back then I thought that walking the streets in the hot, humid summers sharing the gospel with strangers was charitable enough. There were countless times that my companion would give everything she had, and sometimes try to give things that she didn’t even have, to others, complete strangers even.
Here’s an example for you: As a missionary in São Paulo Brazil we sisters always tried to have an umbrella, because it could be sunshine one hour and pouring rain the next. Now I’ve told you a bit about this Sister, and I absolutely love her now, despite how crazy she made me. I remember those short six weeks with this Sister quite clearly. There was a night in particular that we were walking around going door to door trying to get someone to let us in and out of the rain. We weren’t having any luck, but as we were walking we passed by an older woman walking home with a battered, broken umbrella with the rain dripping through onto her clothes. My companion immediately offered to trade umbrellas with the lady, who accepted. We tried to start a conversation with her, but she declined and we kept walking. As we walked we saw someone else walking in the rain, this time without an umbrella, and my companion then offered all that she had to him: the measly, battered umbrella she had traded for. But I couldn’t let him take the broken one so I offered mine instead, and then we ended up walking home soaking wet trying to share the useless umbrella. I remember being a little bitter that my companion was so nice and wondering why she had to offer our umbrellas so we had to walk home in the rain. I had a lot to learn.
Thankfully, I changed my attitude and repented. After many similar instances of service and love, I soon began to wonder how I could judge her for having broken mission rules when I was ignoring the words of my Savior, when He said “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity NEVER faileth (except maybe when we choose to ignore it and be selfish). Wherefore CLEAVE unto charity, which is the greatest of all…”
I remember the very day that I began to realize the importance of charity in my life, and this day contains a moment for which I am very ashamed of, and has been one of my biggest regrets. My companion and I were walking along the crowded city streets of São Paulo, probably walking to an appointment of some kind, when a woman stopped us and asked us for one Real to be able to go across the street to a place that gave meals to the homeless for just that much. (Just to give you an idea, one Real was worth about 30 cents when I was serving.) My kind companion searched in her bag and didn’t have any money to give her, but she literally told this lady that if she had it, she would give it to her. Now here is what I am so ashamed of: I had one Real in my bag that day, more than one even, that I could have given to her. I could have easily reached into my bag and handed her that one Real so that she could buy a decent meal. But I rationalized with myself, as I recited our missionary spiel, that if this lady joined the church then we would be able to help her, or that if I gave her money then I would have to give every homeless person money or that this lady might buy drugs with the money or whatever it was that I was thinking. And when she did not accept our offer to teach her, we walked away-- my companion with a clear conscience, and me-- me?-- Not so much. I know that maybe it wasn’t a big deal, and maybe we shouldn’t give money to every homeless person that asks...but I am now haunted by the scripture in Matthew 25 that reads “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me NO meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me NO drink...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it NOT to one of the least of these, YE DID IT NOT to me.”
Beloved Thomas S. Monson was known for his countless acts of service and his charitable nature. He once said “I have always considered myself as a bishop who erred on the side of generosity; and if I had it to do again, I would be even more generous.” Can you imagine all that President Thomas S. Monson did for others? And he’s saying that he would have done more! He wished he had given even more to those who need it. I, on the other hand, have not considered myself to be the most generous, but ….if I had it to do all over again...I would be more generous. I would give EVERYTHING that I have, until all that I do have are wet clothes and a clear conscience.
I am not perfect, but I am slowly but surely learning what it means to have charity, the pure love of Christ. Having charity does not mean that we need to give all of our money to strangers. I have learned from my experiences that to have charity is to have the love of God in our hearts. We all know the primary song and the scripture that it is based on, John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” So having charity means that we see everyone as a child of God, as our family. And what wouldn’t you do for YOUR family?
I want to be the kind of person that my companion was to me. I want to inspire others to serve and be more Christlike. I hope and pray that we can all be more like our Lord and Savior and give to those that are in need, and love all of God’s children with our whole hearts.
And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
