Ether 12: Faith, Hope, and Charity

The piece above is one of my favorite pieces of art. To me it represents our founding fathers being guided by our creator, to build a nation greater than all others on this promised land. For several years now, I've tried to use these three principles as my guiding compass.

As I continued to read the Ether chapters in the Book of Mormon today, I was comforted by the guidance given in Ether 12. It is made clear by Moroni that Faith, Hope and Charity are essential to our salvation. v28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness. 

Let me share some scriptures that touch on these attributes specifically.

Faith: 
v3  saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled
v12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracles among them
v29 O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith
v31 for after they had faith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show thyself unto them in great power.

Hope: 
v4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.
v32  wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.


Charity:
v34 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.
v35  if the Gentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent, yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly.
 v36 If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful

 These scriptures tell me that in order to receive all the blessings the Lord has promised us, we must have faith that his promises are possible.  It reminds me of a book I read years ago, that said that believing in Christ, is different then believing in the powers of Christ. We must also remain hopeful and positive in life. That need for hope reminds me to Love other regardless of their downfalls and to have hope in humanity, even when the world is looking grim. Having no hope in your heart can harden it and give Satan a way in. Last, but not least is Charity. There is no action greater on this earth, then giving of yourself mentally, physically and spiritually. If we are struggling and can still give charity in any of these 3 ways, we will always have an anchor to the gospel and to Christ. When we loose hold of that anchor, we can become lost. Giving ourselves to others, gives us a purpose. It reminds us that all men and woman on earth are children of our Heavenly Father and deserve his love, regardless of where they come from, their circumstances or their sins. 

While I sat here and compiled this post, I've thought more about the actual picture above. It was made years ago for the Glenn Beck TV show on Fox. I wasn't a viewer at the time, so I don't have first hand knowledge of his thoughts and purpose behind the piece. I do know however, he is LDS and I can't help but wonder if he used this chapter as one of his inspirations.

In The Service of Your Fellow Beings

There are so many guiding principles King Benjamin taught throughout Mosiah, but the topic of Service is one that is particularly close to my heart. Let me share with you Mosiah 2:16-17; the scriptures I'll be focusing on in this post.  

16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.

 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

 18 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?

In these scriptures he teaches that by serving others, you are directly serving God. He continues by challenging his people to service one another, as he has served them. He tells them not to thank him for that service, but to thank their Heavenly Father and if they give thanks, with their whole soul, they will leave in peace with one another. 

That promise of peace is why I've chosen to devote more of my time to serving others. Heavenly Father lived his entire life serving all of us and serving GOD. He gave everything for us, knowing the outcome, so I choose to repay him by making service a priority in my life. 

I've always gone out of my way to try and help others when needed, but in the last few years, I've dedicated the majority of my extra time to doing service and my heart has changed from that. President Henry B. Eyring wrote a Presidency Message in the March 2014 Liohona magazine titled "Service and Eternal Life". In that letter he talks about how "James the Apostle taught us how the desire to serve others springs from gratitude for what the Lord has done for us." I have a personal testimony of this desire I'd like to now share.

3 years ago in Dallas, I attended a Glenn Beck rally called Restoring Love. One of the planned days was called a "Day of Service". Mercury One had planned an entire day of service for thousands of people, at various locations around the city. When we all gathered at the Dallas Stadium, the shear site of all those people and the buses it required to transport all of us, was an life changing moment for me. 

My daughter and I were able to serve at a local church facility that provided assistance to the needy in the community. I served in the foot pantry and my daughter served in the nursery, where the kids could hang out, while the parents shopped in the clothing area for things they needed. The heat made it miserable that day, but when we left our hearts were filled with that desire to do more. 

That weekend I was blessed with meeting a group of people who had this same desire. The story behind Labor of Love is to long to share in this post today, but I've now found comfort serving with a group of people, from all over the United States, that has made their primary goal to service others as Heavenly Father has commanded.

President Eyring also wrote "The Savior teaches us how we can learn to serve others. He served perfectly, and we must learn to serve as He learned—line upon line (see D&C 93:12–13). Through the service we give, we can become more like Him. We will pray with all the energy of our hearts to love our enemies as He loves them (see Matthew 5:43–44; Moroni 7:48). Then we may at last become fitted for eternal life with Him and our Heavenly Father."

We use that example and choose to service those who others might now feel are worthy. We teach our children to with us side by side. We aren't always the most efficient group, because the people we are serving are the priority and not the project. In following these guiding principles, we often come broken, but leave with our souls healed. 

 Nashville-2015

 Birmingham-2015

If you do not have service in your life or have not made it a priority, I challenge you to do so. The opportunities are right in your backyard and if you can't find the right opportunity, MAKE the opportunity.  I have a testimony that our loving Heavenly Father will reward you for your service, with blessings in this life and in the eternal life.