Charity — the Ultimate Teacher's Gift
By C.S. Bezas

Jesus taught repeatedly about the importance of love and charity, both through His words and through His ultimate sacrifice. Never once did He tell his disciples to wait to love another until that person manifested love. Instead, the Savior taught a renegade concept (renegade to the Mosaic culture of the time):

Christ's teachings always indicate we are to love others, regardless of whether they love us in return. We simply are to fill our lives and those of others with love. It is such an important trait that the prophet Moroni quoted his father Mormon's clarion call at the end of the Book of Mormon record:

As disciples of Christ, we are always to extend the trait of charity/love. Nowhere is this more important than in a gospel setting. As young students walk through the doors of our classrooms, they may not instantly be likeable. They may be mouthy. They might be troublemakers. Or they might be silently rebellious. Regardless of any of this, we as their seminary teachers (or in any other gospel scenario) are to manifest love first, regardless of others' treatment toward us.

The Perfect Example

Loving others first, before they love back, perhaps may well be one of the Savior's most amazing traits. After all, Christ set the perfect example in all things. How could one argue with the following example, stated by John clearly and succinctly?

What an astonishing trait — and how essential in light of today's conditions! The apostle Paul foretold well the "lovers of self" in the last days. In fact, one can see the egoistic lifestyle Paul spoke of in daily society around us.

Paul prophesied of our times:

Imagine what influence and potential pull this kind of society has on our youth today, whether in academic environments, at work, or at social gatherings. No wonder our young men and women might sometimes be troubled. No wonder at times a few of our young men and women act out. No wonder they need us to love them. Oh, that they might learn from us the potential, the impact, and the possibilities wrought through the miracle of charity expressed first!

But How?

Expressing charity is not easy, especially when in the face of rejection. Not only that, but persecutions do come to the kind in heart. Paul knew this well. He shared:

Paul finishes his message with profound advice, in the face of such hatred and lack of charity:

Being Able to Love First

Regardless of whether we teach seminary, Sunday school, or any other gospel class, it is imperative we love our students first, as Christ loved us first. The apostle John teaches us:

It was my own seminary teacher who brought me back from the brink of confusion during my high school days. As a teenager, I was lost and unsure of my way through life. But my seminary teacher's warm handshake and twinkling eyes steadied my soul, as he welcomed me to seminary every day.

Because my seminary teacher loved me first, I soon began to wonder if perhaps I was worthy of love. Because he extended himself first, he fashioned himself as my mentor through the ways of charity and self-extension. As the days and weeks and years flew by in my high school years, this great man shaped me more than perhaps he'll ever know. All because he loved me first.

Summary

From the aforementioned scriptures, we can learn the following points to bring charity into our classrooms:

• We as gospel teachers know and believe the love that God has towards us (1 John 4:16).

• Our faulty attempts at expressing love towards our students can be made perfect within Christ (1 John 4:17), because His love is perfect. If we are unable to extend personal love, we still can extend and hold high His love toward every student who walks into our classroom.

• We need not fear our students, or any difficult days, when we are filled with the Savior's perfect love (1 John 4:18).

• We love others, because our Redeemer loved us first (1 John 4:19).

• If we love God, we will love all within our reach (1 John 4:21).

• When struggling to do any of the above, we choose to "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that [we] may be filled with this love" (Moroni 7:47-48).

Jesus taught repeatedly about the importance of love and charity, both through His words and through His ultimate sacrifice. Never once did He tell his disciples to wait to love another until that person manifested love. And although charity might have been a renegade concept during the Savior's mortal ministry, today all those who follow Christ do seek to love others first, simply because He loved first His disciples.