Love has the ability to make everything it touches sacred

        This past week has been really hard on me and some really important relationships in my life. The only thing that has  pulled  me through it all is that i had to teach the lesson in Relief Society. Choosing the topic was the hardest part. What did I feel the need to teach? I wanted to go with the February theme of Love, So immediately I thought well I could teach on Eternal marriage. However whats more cliche in happy valley than a lesson on marriage. haha. I then started going through and reading talks just by the topic of love and it easily made up my mind on what to talk about. What better to illustrate the love this time of year then by teaching of pure love. Charity.

The idea for this lesson came mainly from One of President Monson's Addresses to the Women of the church. In his talk Charity Never faileth he speaks of two different kinds of charity. There is that of action and service and then there is charity in your attitude and state of mind.

      His talk hit home to me in how I live my life and how I should treat others. I loved this quote in his talk: " I consider charity—or “the pure love of Christ”—to be the opposite of criticism and judging." He also quotes Mother Teresa when she says:  " If you judge others how do you have time to love them?" Answer is you don't. Its amazing how when I watch my thoughts I see those tiny things creep in, and it stresses to me that if I want the Lords mercy for my shortcomings and mistakes I am asked individually to be patient and forgiving to those who may disappoint me or to those who have made mistakes.
   
     The three aspects that I want to stress are 1) A person filled with the love of God is anxious to bless others. 2) We have a special obligation to love and care for those in need. 3) Charity is long suffering, merciful and kind. President Henery B Eyring has said concerning charity:

"The great legacy those who went before you in the Relief Society [has been] passed on to you.

The part of the foundation they laid for you which seems to me most important and persistent is that charity is at the heart of the society and is to come into the heart, to be part of the very nature, of every member. Charity meant to them far more than a feeling of benevolence. Charity is born of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and is an effect of His Atonement working in the hearts of the members."

This quote seriously gave me chills when I read it. To think that the only way to receive our Lords atonement and become more like him is to give his other children, our brothers and sisters here on earth the same opportunity. How simple and divine is our fathers plan for us.That he sent down his only begotten as an example to us so that we might learn to carry each other as he has carried us. Charity is the backbone of Christ's Message to us, it forces us to enlarge our souls and hearts and in the end makes us become more like our savior.

So I guess those were basically my thoughts and  what I learned from preparing the lesson this week. I am grateful that I finally found a good meaning and application for this month of love. That I might be able to gain that pure form of Love, Charity, the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love to posses.