Faith Hope and Charity

 

Many years ago my mother asked me to make an Amish doll for my aunt, her sister.

Roberta, an elderly single woman, said she felt hopeless. I made three Amish dolls, Faith, Hope and Charity.

 I sent Hope to my aunt so she wouldn’t be hopeless.

A few weeks later my mom, depressed over her health said she was lacking in faith.

I took Faith to her, a symbol of love.

I never finished Charity. She sits naked in my closet. She reminds me that we should never be finished with Charity.

Moroni 7:46,47

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth.  Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--

47 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.

What have you done lately to increase you hope, your faith, and your charity? I just got a new book called “All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir” by  Emma L. Thane  and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Reading about the lives of these two Mormon friends has made me think about what I am doing with my life. I want to be more, do more, experience more. I have been a drone for a few months now as I get used to a new community, and sort through the memories of the last forty years.

Another example of charity was posted on the Yahoo news page today

  

‘Lance Cpl. Myles Kerr may have lost the Jeff Drenth Memorial 5K footrace in Charlevoix, Michigan, last weekend, but he won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of admirers.

On Saturday, the 19-year-old Marine noticed 9-year-old Boden Fuchs struggling to complete the race. The boy had become separated from his group. According to the Facebook page, Seal of Honor, which posted a photograph of the pair running together, Boden asked Kerr, "Sir, will you please run with me?" Kerr, wearing boots and fatigues, and carrying a full backpack, stuck with the boy, encouraged him to complete the race, and helped him reunite with his party at the end of the course—even though Kerr was dead last in his age group, clocking in at 35:43 minutes (five seconds behind Boden). He came in so much later than his Marine buddies, in fact, that they were concerned he had been injured.

 The Seal of Honor page—which was established in the memory of Lt. Michael Murphy, who served as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan—went on to praise the young man: "By his unwavering commitment to help those in need through his ability to inspire others by his unequivocal level of motivation, Lcpl Kerr reflected great credit upon himself and was keeping in the highest traditions of the United States Marine Corps."

Look for small acts of charity this month.

Add opportunities to increase your faith

Live your life with a hopeful outlook.