Chapter 51: Charity Suffereth

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth..."1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." Romans 12:5 "So ought men to love [each other] as their own bodies. He that loveth his [neighbor] loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." Ephesians 4:28-30 It's been a crazy week, but as a missionary, that's simply how it goes. We were able to do quite a bit and have a lot of fun, but also face a myriad of challenges and opposition. With some certain struggles going on in the Zone with and between different missionaries, it's given me a lot to think about, pray about, and I've been trying to work out some sort of understanding. There's been a lot of pain. There's been quite a bit of frustration. There's been sadness and confusion. Just, there's been a lot. And to be frank, life simply isn't easy. If our expectation for how our lives are meant to go is that we will never experience these emotions and difficulties, then we are in for incredible disappointment; we are simply meant to struggle. No, not meant to be depressed or miserable all the time, but yes to struggle. The more we understand that, the better equipped we are to face such trials with faith in God and his purposes for us. With that said, I've wondered a lot about the why. Why are people I care about struggling? Why am I having such a hard time with this? These types of questions. As I thought about this in respect to the different challenges we are facing, the phrase, "charity suffereth" came into my head. Now what does that mean? To put it simply: part of striving for charity, part of becoming charitable, is suffering. In fact, it's quite a large aspect. To understand, we look to the example of the Savior. He is the perfect example of inexhaustible and all-encompassing charity, and he is also the one who suffered the most. Why did he suffer? Because of others. Because of us. Not only for us, but because of us as well. Because of our sins, yes, but not only that. He suffered our pains and temptations, our loneliness and bitterness, everything. Because we feel pain, Christ has felt all pain. Because we suffer, He suffers. To think of it in another way, we have the metaphorical teachings from the New Testament above, which help us understand that we are one body in Christ; we are members of his body. We know that no person ever hates or causes pain to his/her own body. To maim one's leg would be to cause pain to the entire self. So it is with the proverbial "Body of Christ," of which we all are take part. When one member of the body, one of us, suffers pain, Christ in turns feels that pain. That is the nature of the Savior in his role: because of his infinite Atonement, he will always understand perfectly all pain we experience in life; he is simply so in tune with us due to his intimate sacrifice that he knows just as intimately how to aid us in our own sufferings (Alma 7:11-13). But what about the rest of us? We don't understand perfectly. We don't know as Christ does. But, like the scripture says, as we become part of the Body of Christ through earnest discipleship, we all are "members one of another." Members of each other's body, to share in their experiences. We begin to feel the pain others feel. When others feel pain or go through hard times, we hurt with them. Charity is what binds us on behalf of Christ to another person, to feel the hurt they experience. Charity is what causes us not to suffer that the fellow laborer in Zion should perish, because we understand that when one member perishes, all suffer (2 Nephi 26:30). We can't help ourselves without helping others, it simply isn't in line with the anatomy of the Body of Christ. It isn't in line with Heavenly Father's plan for his children. Life is hard, it's full of conflict and stress, but we are here to become one and to help each other. We are here to develop that charity which allows us to feel the pain of others, and then nourish and cherish, not reject or cast aside. Charity suffereth. And as we suffer, we hold on. We continue in the love of Christ, and ultimately rely on him, the source of pure charity, which never faileth. His promises are sure, please trust in them. Trust in him.

Life is good. God is wise. Don't give up. Elder Childers

Lui's baptism! I was able to interview him and I am grateful for his example to me.

Loop and Scoop

Flip Out for pday—trampoline Park

Authentic Chinese Hotpot for Sunday dinner with the Chinese speaking Elders. Elder Lambert is quite the cook! Loved the squid and lobster.