With that introduction in mind, I encountered some confusion when I was reading my scriptures recently, specifically 1 Corinthians 13. As you might know, that is the Apostle Paul's discourse on the subject of 'faith, hope and charity'. In an effort to study it in more detail I sought further light and knowledge by going to the internet. Most of what I encountered brought confusion. For example: In a comparison of 17 different bible translations 15 translated the key phrase as 'faith, hope, and love'. Only the King James version and the Douay-Rheims version use the word 'charity'. I also noted that in our LDS edition there is only a note that the word 'charity' was translated from a Greek word for love, but the Prophet Joseph Smith retained the word charity. I also discovered what most of us already know; that the definition of the word charity has definitely changed throughout history and we all have heard many LDS talks pointing out that charity as defined today is not the definition used by Paul. In fact, one source noted that "Satan has twisted the word of God..enough to mislead humanity " by changing the meaning from God to mere alms giving. The restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith has indeed, added light to our understanding of the definition of the word 'charity'. That is where I now go in my effort to understand what Paul (and Mormon and Joseph Smith) truly meant by use of the word: 'charity'.
Where are you? It is Sunday and you haven't written. I hope that you are feeling good. Charity is one of those things that people think is easy. They think it is all action. You give something to someone, you help them out with a need they have. And yes, this can be charity. But real charity is not an action. It is love. It is loving enough to forgive and let go of hurts. Loving enought to be willing to see the good in people even when all they show you is bad. I feel it is one of the hardest things to achieve and hang on to. When you have true charity, the actions will follow. And they will be more than just helping someone move.
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