May 30

Yesterday was interviews and they held it at our chapel so we had to prep the chapel and I had to conduct the meeting until the zone leaders came, so our preparation day got moved to Tuesday so that's that. I hope no one was maimed yesterday due to this 

I talked with President and Sister Stevens and they both gave me some heavenly advice about leadership, priorities, and some personal advice. President Stevens is probably the most 'real' guy you will ever meet. 

This week I have been studying charity, and there are a few things that I really like about it. The thing about charity is that you can not fully explain it with out faith and hope, they are compound into one. If you focus you attention and efforts on improving one Christ like attribute the others will be effected as well. To summarise what i have been taught this week.  Faith is focused on the past, that Christ truly did suffer for our sins and perform the atonement that through him we can become clean. Hope is focused more on the future, that through our righteous living and faithful obedience of Christs Gospel we will attain exaltation and live with our Father again. Now charity, being the pure love of Christ, is focused on the present; because love can only truly be manifested through our present actions. These past couple of transfers my district has been a little 'righteous' at times. The sister not showing up to district meetings or leaving early and the elders not being as diligent as they could, this gave me a great opportunity to build my charity and therefore my faith and hope . i have learned there are three degrees of charity.

 The first degree of charity, and the lowest, is listening. Listening is probably the most important thing a missionary could do and also in my opinion the least anyone could do for someone else at any given time. Listening shows that you care enough to take in what someone is saying, but more importantly what they are feeling. We learn from elder bednar that listening is more than ears to hear, but eyes to see. some of us see but do not observe, not everything someone is feeling will be expressed in what they say. In preach my gospel it says   People  also  communicate  by the way they sit, their facial expressions, what they do with  their hands, their tone  of voice, and the movements of their eyes. Observe these unspoken messages; they can help   you understand the feelings of those yo u(serve). Also be aware of your own  body language. Send a message of interest and enthusiasm by listening sincerely.

We need to physically show we are listening, this will take effort on our part, but it will let them know that we truly care what they have to say and that their words are not wasted. To further manifest that we are listening we need to ask questions, to engage with them. So instead of someone dumping their emotions at your feet you are now in council with them and reasoning with them on what could and should be done. quoting preach my gospel again in says 

 When you feel that you understand what is being said,  make comments that show you understand, such as “So what you are saying is. Is that right?” or “If I understand, you are feeling that” When you are not sure if you understand, ask the person for clarification.

The second degree of charity is giving.This form of charity is probably the charity we all know quite well through watching the many superhero movies, this is to do service with no intent other than to 'go about doing good'  To quote the talk where i got the degrees of charity from it say's 'The second degree of charity involves the way we give to and seek to serve others. Charity in this sense is often associated with almsgiving, which can easily lead to a distorted understanding of what charity really means. The British have a phrase, “as cold as charity,” which they use to describe the heart and attitude of charity given in a way that is condescending or self-righteous.When we act with genuine charity, we seek to lift others up or to give them a boost, perhaps while we stay below.'  In preach my gospel it says During His mortal ministry, the Savior “took upon him the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). He went about “doing good” (Acts 10:38) and “preaching the gospel” (Matthew 4:23). As you follow this example, you will find those who will receive you.

Through service, you and those who are prepared for the restored gospel come together in a powerful, inspiring way. Your good works will help people recognize you as a (disciple) of God and will lead to opportunities to (share) the restored gospel. 

The third and celestial degree of glory is to care for and love others; Moroni put it best by stating 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. To quote the talk i got these degrees from again it says There seems to be a progression from the easier to the more difficult among the three degrees of charity. We cannot hope to have genuine charity if we are not charitable as listeners and givers. Not surprisingly, cultivating the “pure love of Christ” involves taking steps. We do not simply develop such love instantly; for most of us, it will be a lifelong process. Ultimately, it is a gift of God. 

No matter the amount of goal and plan setting we have attaining charity will be in vain with out Christ atonement to not only giving us the redeeming power to over come our stumbling and failings in the development in our attribute of charity, but also the enabling power to push us through. To keep us going and give us the Hope needed and the power of faith required to develop this the most important attribute needed for exaltation. Because with out charity we are nothing, and we also know that charity never failith. I just want to leave my testimony with you that i know that I am imperfect, I know that i am no where near calling myself even mediocre, but i know that christs atonment will make up the difference. We dont need to be perfect, because that would take away our oppritunities to grow and their is only one who was and is perfect, and we shouted for joy when He accepted His calling as our Saviour and Redeemer. Christ is the reason we are here, why we live the way we live, and why we are able to see our families again. I leave this with you in His name, even jesus christ, amen.

River Grear Ouse