Charity

Position statement: Charity is essential, we cannot please God without charity. we need charity if it is our goal to become like our father in heaven and to live with him again someday. some of the truest joys in this life come from exercising charity and serving others with out a thought of what we could get in return. 

”You Are My Hands,” Ensign, May 2010
“I hope that we welcome and love all of God’s children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently. It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient. Let us lift those around us. Let us extend a welcoming hand. Let us bestow upon our brothers and sisters in the Church a special measure of humanity, compassion, and charity so that they feel, at long last, they have finally found home.”
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"The Priesthood Quorum," Ensign, Nov. 1998

"In 1918 Brother George Goates was a farmer who raised sugar beets in Lehi, Utah. . . . An influenza epidemic . . . claimed the lives of George's son Charles and three of Charles's small children—two little girls and a boy. In the course of only six days, a grieving George Goates made three separate trips to Ogden, Utah, to bring the bodies home for burial. At the end of this terrible interlude, George and [his young son] Francis hitched up their wagon and headed back to the beet field.

" '[On the way] they passed wagon after wagon-load of beets being hauled to the factory and driven by neighborhood farmers. As they passed by, each driver would wave a greeting: "Hi ya, Uncle George," "Sure sorry, George," "Tough break, George," "You've got a lot of friends, George."

" 'On the last wagon was . . . freckled-faced Jasper Rolfe. He waved a cheery greeting and called out: "That's all of 'em, Uncle George." . . .

" 'When they arrived at the farm gate, Francis jumped down off the big red beet wagon and opened the gate as [his father] drove onto the field. [George] pulled up, stopped the team, . . . and scanned the field. . . . There wasn't a sugar beet on the whole field. Then it dawned upon him what Jasper Rolfe meant when he called out: "That's all of 'em, Uncle George!" . . .

" '. . . This man who brought four of his loved ones home for burial in the course of only six days; made caskets, dug graves, and even helped with the burial clothing—this amazing man who never faltered, nor flinched, nor wavered throughout this agonizing ordeal—sat down on a pile of beet tops and sobbed like a little child.

" 'Then he arose, wiped his eyes, . . . looked up at the sky, and said: "Thanks, Father, for the elders of our ward"
-D. Todd Christofferson

“The Value of Self-Esteem,” CES fireside for young adults, May 6, 2007
“The commandment given by the Savior was to love others and yourself. Am I secure enough in my love of myself to laugh at myself, to admit mistakes, to graciously accept a compliment? Am I secure in my love of others to smile and say hello to a perfect stranger?” 
-James E. Faust

"Lift Where You Stand," Ensign, Nov. 2008
"When we seek to serve others, we are motivated not by selfishness but by charity. This is the way Jesus Christ lived His life and the way a holder of the priesthood must live his. The Savior did not care for the honors of men; Satan offered Him all the kingdoms and glory of the world, and Jesus rejected the offer immediately and completely (see Matthew 4:8–10). Throughout His life, the Savior must have often felt tired and pressed upon, with scarcely a moment to Himself; yet He always made time for the sick, the sorrowful, and the overlooked."  
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"The Great Commandment," Ensign, Nov. 2007

" 'Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,' [Paul] told [the Saints at Corinth], 'I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal' (1 Corinthians 13:1).

"Paul's message to this new body of Saints was simple and direct: Nothing you do makes much of a difference if you do not have charity. You can speak with tongues, have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries, and possess all knowledge; even if you have the faith to move mountains, without charity it won't profit you at all.

“‘Charity is the pure love of Christ' (Moroni 7:47). The Savior exemplified that love and taught it even as He was tormented by those who despised and hated Him."

-Joseph B Wirthlin

"The Dawning of a Brighter Day," Ensign, May 2004

"We must live as true followers of the Christ, with charity toward all, returning good for evil, teaching by example the ways of the Lord, and accomplishing the vast service He has outlined for us." 

  -Gordon B. Hinckley

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 22
"We ought to be full of charity, of brotherly kindness and affection and love one towards another and love towards all men. We ought to feel as our heavenly Father does."
-John Taylor 

Charity Never Faileth General Conference, October 2010
I consider charity—or “the pure love of Christ”—to be the opposite of criticism and judging. In speaking of charity, I do not at this moment have in mind the relief of the suffering through the giving of our substance. That, of course, is necessary and proper. Tonight, however, I have in mind the charity that manifests itself when we are tolerant of others and lenient toward their actions, the kind of charity that forgives, the kind of charity that is patient.
-Thomas S. Monson 

"The Power Of Scripture" General Conference, October 2011

“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—

“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.

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:45–48).

-Richard G. Scott

"Stand Firm In The Faith" General Conference, October 1994
Those who follow Christ seek to follow his example. His suffering in behalf of our sins, shortcomings, sorrows, and sicknesses should motivate us to similarly reach out in charity and compassion to those around us. It is most appropriate that the motto of the longest-standing women’s organization in the world—the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—is “Charity Never Faileth.”
-Howard W. Hunter