CHARITY QUOTES

Said the Savior, “Judge not.” 1 He continued, “Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” 2 Or, to paraphrase, why beholdest thou what you think is dirty laundry at your neighbor’s house but considerest not the soiled window in your own house?

None of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to be so. And yet for some reason, despite our own imperfections, we have a tendency to point out those of others. We make judgments concerning their actions or inactions. President Thomas S. Monson, Charity Never Faileth, 2010 General Relief Society Meeting, http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-relief-society-meeting/2010/09/charity-never-faileth?lang=eng

Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who worked among the poor in India most of her life, spoke this profound truth: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” 5 The Savior has admonished, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” 6 I ask: can we love one another, as the Savior has commanded, if we judge each other? And I answer—with Mother Teresa: no, we cannot. President Thomas S. Monson, Charity Never Faileth, 2010 General Relief Society Meeting, http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-relief-society-meeting/2010/09/charity-never-faileth?lang=eng

Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Infinite Power of Hope, October 2008 General Conference, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/the-infinite-power-of-hope?lang=eng

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,” he told them, “I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”  Paul’s message to this new body of Saints was simple and direct: Nothing you do makes much of a difference if you do not have charity. You can speak with tongues, have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries, and possess all knowledge; even if you have the faith to move mountains, without charity it won’t profit you at all.  “Charity is the pure love of Christ.” The Savior exemplified that love and taught it even as He was tormented by those who despised and hated Him.  Joseph B. Wirthlin, The Great Commandment, October 2007 General Conference, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-great-commandment?lang=eng

Because the Savior laid down His life for us, we have a brightness of hope, a confidence and security that when we pass from this worldly existence, we will live again with Him. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be cleansed of sin and stand as partakers of the gift of our Almighty Father. Then we will know the glory that God “hath prepared for them that love him.”

This is the transforming power of charity.  Joseph B. Wirthlin, The Great Commandment, October 2007 General Conference, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-great-commandment?lang=eng

The Book of Mormon provides insight into the relationship between patience and charity. Mormon, after pointing out that if a man “have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity,” goes on to name the 13 elements of charity, or the pure love of Christ. Robert C. Oaks, The Power of Patience, October 2006 General conference, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/10/the-power-of-patience?lang=eng

Moroni taught that “charity is the pure love of Christ.” (Moro. 7:47.) It was the suffering Redeemer who said, as he hung on Calvary’s cross and looked down upon those who had so brutally crucified him, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34.)

If there be any within the sound of my voice who have harbored grudges, who have let hatred develop in their hearts one toward another, I ask you to make the effort to turn around. Hatred always fails and bitterness always destroys, but “charity never faileth.” (1 Cor. 13:8.)

President Gordon B. Hinckley, Charity Never Faileth, October 1981 General Conference, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1981/10/charity-never-faileth?lang=eng

We read in Moroni, “Cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all. … Whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.” 8 Charity can be the outward expression of faith and hope. If sought and obtained, these three foundation elements of celestial character will abide with us in this life and beyond the veil into the next life. Remember that the “same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that [you] go out of this life … will have power to possess your body in [the] eternal world.” 9 We should not wait a single day to intensify our personal efforts to strengthen these virtuous, lovely, and praiseworthy attributes. Joseph B. Wirthlin, Cultivating Divine Attributes, October 1998 General Conference, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/10/cultivating-divine-attributes?lang=eng

The pure love of Christ. Let’s look at that. What does this phrase 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.” 11 Charity is our love for the Lord, shown through our acts of service, patience, compassion, and understanding for one another. Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, Choosing Charity: That Good Part, October 2003 General Conference, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/10/choosing-charity-that-good-part?lang=eng

Charity, the Savior’s pure love, is the “highest, noblest, strongest kind of love,” 1 which we “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart” 2 to possess. Elder Dallin H. Oaks teaches us that charity “is not an act but acondition or state of being [one becomes].” 3 Our day-to-day offerings of charity are “written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; … in [the] fleshy tables of [our] heart[s].” Sis. Anne C. Pingree, Charity: One Family, One Home at a Time, October 2002 General Conference, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2002/10/charity-one-family-one-home-at-a-time?lang=eng