Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if you have not charity, you are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail -
But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
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 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.
That Mormon could even be thinking such beautiful thoughts while he is watching the Lamanites destroy his nation is remarkable in and of itself. But this section is critical in our understanding of the nature of deity and our destiny - to be like them.
Charity suffereth long and is kind
Those who follow Christ are not just kind to those who are kind to them. No! They are kind even when they suffer. Can you just hear the Savior's words? Love your enemy. Do good to them that hate you. When we are filled with God's love - that pure love of Christ - we don't DO kind things. We ARE kind.
Envieth not
Envy is the response of the empty soul trying to fill itself with anything because emptiness is painful. When we are filled with the love of Christ there is no more hollowness. Envy fades away.
Is not puffed up
Only the self-centered are puffed up. This also is a cry from an empty soul; an attempt to be someone when we don't know we are beloved, divine beings, children of God Almighty our Heavenly Parents.
Is not easily provoked
Why? because we are too busy loving that person whose actions are less than perfect. We don't need them to be perfect. We love all because we are filled with God's love. We see as he sees.
Thinketh no evil
God does not look at our mistakes and assume the worst. He sees us on our path toward godhood and assumes we are doing our best and that we are learning from each experience. He assumes we are doing the best we can given our circumstances. Just as we picked up that baby learning to walk and urged him on - so God does to us. We fail. He encourages.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity
Since life is not a competition we don't have to win at the expense of another. God's world is plentiful and bountiful. There is enough for all. So we can be generous to those who fail. We can bestow heavenly gifts.
Rejoiceth in truth
There is a truth that frees us and allows us to rejoice and to be filled with joy. That truth is the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ filled with chapter after chapter of truth about who we are, who God is, the purpose of life on Earth and our eternal destiny.
If that gospel does not give you cause to rejoice it is because you are misunderstanding something. The truth is beautiful. It is that Gospel of Super Abundance
- Filled with love
- Inclusive
- Expansive
- Redemptive
I love how Mormon says pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart that you may be filled with this love - the love that will allow us to be like Jesus and our Heavenly Parents. If we do indeed pray with all the energy of heart it means we are ready to accept that gift. He will change our hearts when we are ready. This is a prayer he will and can answer.
We spend all of our lives praying for this and that - for a new job, for a healing, for a spouse, for a child, for success, to have our problems removed. My prayers have often been self-centered desires for all problems to be erased.
What I really needed were spiritual gifts; these beautiful things Mormon talks about and which he promises the Father will bestow. They often come as the learned results of the very problems I asked God to remove.
We need not fear life and it's adversity. Mortality itself is a gift given by loving Heavenly Parents who wants us to become like them and who are shepherding us toward that end.
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