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My dear brothers and sisters, I desire more than anything this hour to bear witness, a personal witness, of the love of God for me, for you, and for all mankind. What man is sufficiently adequate to be able to express the depth of his gratitude in recognition of the love of God? How blessed I have been for so many years to be with you and to have found the pure love of Christ emanating from you. I am deeply indebted to you and to God.

Defining Charity

The Lord said that charity is “the pure love of Christ,” that which is “most joyous to the soul,” “the greatest of all the gifts of God,” “perfect” and “everlasting.”

As difficult as charity is to describe, it is rather easily recognized in the lives of those who possess it:

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Some years ago my husband and I visited the eastern sector of Berlin, Germany. Chunks of what was once the infamous wall dividing the citizens of that city were lying about—preserved as a memorial to the triumph of freedom over bondage. Written on one piece of the wall in bold, uneven red letters were these words: “Many small people in many small places doing many small things can alter the face of the earth.” To me that phrase speaks of what each of us—as covenant women—can do to make a difference as we step forward offering our hearts and hands to the Lord by lifting and loving others.

It matters not whether we are new converts or lifelong members; single, married, divorced, or widowed; whether we’re rich, poor, educated, or uneducated; living in a modern city or in the most remote jungle village. We, as covenant women, have consecrated ourselves to the cause of Christ through our baptismal and temple covenants. We can alter the face of the earth one family and one home at a time through charity, our small and simple acts of pure love.

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I am so thankful today to be with you sisters, the great women of our Church. You represent many different parts of the world, many languages, customs, and cultures. And yet, your righteousness is constant and far-reaching. No matter when you joined this Church or where you attend your meetings, your righteousness is evident in your goodness. Your contributions and example reflect your love of God.

In a radio interview I was once asked, “If you could have any wish for women, what would it be?” I said, “I would want women to know how good they are. I would want them to feel valued for their own goodness.”

As I speak to you I can’t help but think of my mother, who died 26 years ago. Like many of you, I learned so much from my mother. She taught me the importance of grammar, manners, cleanliness, and education. She was a gracious woman. She taught me the principles of the gospel and doctrines of the kingdom of God. She was an example of great faith, hope in abundance, and pure charity.

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Our souls have rejoiced tonight and reached toward heaven. We have been blessed with beautiful music and inspired messages. The Spirit of the Lord is here. I pray for His inspiration to be with me now as I share with you some of my thoughts and feelings.

I begin with a short anecdote which illustrates a point I should like to make.

A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.

“That laundry’s not clean!” Lisa exclaimed. “Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!”

John looked on but remained silent.

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My husband and I recently visited the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. While there we sat in the upper room of the Red Brick Store, where the Prophet Joseph Smith had an office and a business. We listened intently to the guide, who outlined some of the historical events of the Restoration which took place there.

My thoughts turned to the founding of the Relief Society and to some of the teachings that the Relief Society sisters received from the Prophet Joseph in that very room. Those teachings became the foundational principles upon which the Relief Society was built. The purposes of increasing faith, strengthening the homes of Zion, and seeking out and helping those in need were established from the beginning. They have always been consistent with the teachings of our prophets.

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The following is a true story. For my eighth birthday I wanted to have a party. My parents agreed, and so a week before my birthday, I took the invitations to school.

On the school bus, I kept thinking about Alice. * I was hoping that she wouldn’t be there that day. Then my parents couldn’t blame me for not inviting her. You see, Alice’s clothes were old and worn, her hair was seldom combed, and she was very quiet. She always played by herself at recess, and as far as I could see, she had no friends. In other words, I didn’t see why I needed to invite her to my party.

When I got to school, much to my dismay, Alice was there. I handed out the invitations, and everyone was very excited.

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It’s wonderful to be together as Relief Society sisters, covenant women in the Lord’s restored gospel. Each of you—no matter your age, stage of life, or circumstance—is needed, valued, and loved in Relief Society. Thank you for who you are; thank you for all that you do.

In my office hangs a wonderful painting depicting Jesus with Mary and Martha. Every day as I am greeted by this piece, I reflect on our challenges as women. Sister Hughes, Sister Pingree, and I felt inspired to use the account of Mary and Martha as the theme for our meeting. The Lord taught, one thing is needful: choose that good part. That is what we are going to talk about tonight, choosing that good part.

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Brethren and sisters, I would like to ask one very important question. What quality defines us best as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Today I would like to speak about the answer to this question.

In the first century a.d., members of the growing Church in Corinth were enthusiastic about the gospel. Almost all were recent converts to the Church. Many were attracted to it through the preaching of the Apostle Paul and others.

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“The final and crowning virtue of the divine character is charity, or the pure love of Christ (see Moroni 7:47). If we would truly seek to be more like our Savior and Master, learning to love as He loves should be our highest goal. Mormon called charity ‘the greatest of all’ (Moroni 7:46).”

—Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.275

“‘A new commandment I give unto you,’ he said, ‘That ye love one another; . . . By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another’ (John 13:34-35). This love that we should have for our brothers and sisters in the human family, and that Christ has for every one of us, is called charity or ‘the pure love of Christ’ (Moroni 7:47). It is the love that prompted the suffering and sacrifice of Christ’s atonement. It is the highest pinnacle the human soul can reach and the deepest expression of the human heart.”

—President Howard W. Hunter, “A More Excellent Way”, General Conference, April 1992

“The world in which we live, whether close to home or far away, needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. It provides the only way the world will ever know peace. We need to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We need to be slower to anger and more prompt to help. We need to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution. In short, we need to love one another with the pure love of Christ, with genuine charity and compassion and, if necessary, shared suffering, for that is the way God loves us.”

—President Howard W. Hunter, “A More Excellent Way”, General Conference, April 1992

“The Apostle Paul taught that three divine principles form a foundation upon which we can build the structure of our lives. They are faith, hope, and charity. (See I Corinthians 13:13.) Together they give us a base of support like the legs of a three-legged stool. Each principle is significant within itself, but each also plays an important supporting role. Each is incomplete without the others. Hope helps faith develop. Likewise, true faith gives birth to hope. When we begin to lose hope, we are faltering also in our measure of faith. The principles of faith and hope working together must be accompanied by charity, which is the greatest of all. According to Mormon, ‘charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever’ (Moroni 7:47). It is the perfect manifestation of our faith and hope.”

—Elder M. Russell Ballard, “The Joy Of Hope Fulfilled”, General Conference, October 1992

“It may be of some significance to note that the word charity does not appear in a single verse in the Old Testament. Surely the prophets of ancient times understood the need for charity as did the Apostle Paul and the prophets of ancient America. And surely those prophets knew and taught that ‘charity is the pure love of Christ’ (Moroni 7:47). We are left to wonder if the enemies of Christ deliberately removed from the holy writings these saving truths as part of the plain and precious teachings that Nephi prophetically said would be removed (see I Nephi 13:20-29). Also, charity is only partially explained in the New Testament. But thankfully the Book of Mormon, another witness for Christ, has restored to us an understanding of this eternal precept. I testify that as we abide by this precept, we will draw nearer to God. Indeed, we will become more like him.”

—Elder C. Max Caldwell, Love Of Christ, General Conference, October 1992

24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

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.

17 And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and partakers of salvation.

21 And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.

44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

34 And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.

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—

30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing.

“Do we frequently reject the Lord’s love that He pours out upon us in much more abundance than we are willing to receive? Do we think we have to be perfect in order to deserve His love? When we allow ourselves to feel ‘encircled about eternally in the arms of his love’ (2 Nephi 1:15), we feel safe, and we realize that we don’t need to be immediately perfect. We must acknowledge that perfection is a process. This is a gospel of eternal progress, and we must remember to appreciate the journey.”

Bonnie D. Parkin

14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

4  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

“Many people imagine that charity is giving a dollar to somebody; but real, genuine charity is giving love and sympathy, and that is the kind of charity that the apostle had reference to in [the] 13th chapter of First Corinthians.”

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 147