Charity and the Apostles 1 Corinthians 11-16

1 Corinthians 11-16

In the past few months I have taken the challenge to read and reread the words of our modern day Apostles.  For a few of the prized quotes I used some of my photos to create image meme’s that help to share the deep emotion their words bring.

My quest began with the April 2015 General Conference addresses. As I pondered the varied topics and realized that not one of these men are assigned the topic of their talks but rather speak from their own hearts, my love for these men began to grow. For the first time I saw them as men whose lives have not been without tribulation but rather have been given in service, sacrifice and as examples to the rest of us as how to live in this dispensation of gospel time, how to live midst the trial and difficulties we must all face. 

 

The Apostle Paul who lived almost two thousand years ago said it best,

            

 “ Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

These men have chosen to be followers of Christ. Their actions, their service, their leadership of family, and their lives of integrity reflect their high moral characters and the true desires of their hearts.  While many of the topics of their talks are universally pertinent, a few could not be found in the indexes of our sacred scripture. Topics such as social media or “The Proclamation on the Family” are distinct to our social time.   As I read their words, my hope returned and I saw that if they could learn to serve our Savior through all of their trials then I could, in this time and place, do the same. While I revere the testimony of the many ancient prophets and their words will forever ring true, the words of the modern day prophets give needed direction for the choices we face in our day and time.

When Paul spoke to the Corinthians, it was if he was speaking at a General Conference. He spoke on the topics that were pertinent to the church during his time. He spoke of the need to preserve marriage (11:3-15), of the accepted length of a woman's hair, reverencing the sacrament ( 11:20-30), of Spiritual gifts (12-14) and of the resurrection.

This past weekend we had the privilege of visiting our daughter’s congregation where she, as the Sunday School Teacher, taught a beautiful lesson. She grabbed the class’s attention by asking what topics of discussion had been covered at the last General Conference of the church and comparing Paul's teachings in Corinthians to a General Conference.  As the class responded I pondered all of the topics I had studied. The list was long and varied.

And I began to marvel at how the Lord in his infinite wisdom has drawn on the diversity of the church to feed and reach those members who seek his love. I thought if only the Prophet had spoken, we would have only learned about temples and the priesthood. No doubt these are pertinent subjects but how many more souls were lifted up by being able to hear about the Young Adults, or integrity, or Elder Teixeira’s talk on  "Seeking the Lord" amidst the myriads of social media distractions. I am always amazed at how at least one or two talks seem to be directed at my life and serve to answer to the  difficulties I am facing.

My daughter’s genuine smile is large and contagious. As she led our class through the many lessons of Paul she kept reminding us of the upcoming October conference and how once again we will have the privilege of hearing wise words of our Apostles meant for our day. As she taught I felt her joy for the gospel and I felt gratitude for the grace of God that we have such a church which gives us not only instruction for our day, but opportunities for growth and learning. 

I truly felt God’s charity for me and my family. As I enjoyed the lengthy class discussion on charity and the many other gifts of the spirit, I found a renewal of my faith to seek charity within myself and share it with others in my family and social circles.

Paul’s words on charity remind us that of all the gifts this is the most prized. Why?

It has to do with how charity changes both the giver and the receiver. While the gift of tongues bridges cultural communication gaps, it cannot change hearts the way charity can. And while some are given to wisdom and others knowledge, miracles, or prophecy all of these call attention to the bearer of the gift, but charity alone gives back what it receives and bonds the giver to the receiver. Still, all gifts, like all parts of the body are needed.

I love to think about how charity brings us closer to God, for we truly cannot have charity without having a relationship with God. We need God’s love to help us suffer long, to be kind, especially in difficult or negative relationships, to find contentment in our possessions and social situations, to not puff ourselves up. Charity teaches us to be humble and to be strong in the midst of provocation. It teaches us to think only good, even when evil is present. We may recognize the evil, but we choose to think only good.

Charity rejoices in truth and through the power of he atonement learns to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

Paul goes on to say that prophecies and tongues, and knowledge may cease but charity never faileth. 

And that is when I realized that from the Apostles at General Conference I found charity. Charity for my weakness for they have had to live through their own. Charity for my lack of knowledge for I am still a toddler in the gospel. Charity for my wisdom for I err in my judgment often. Charity is the gift that the Lord Jesus Christ gives us when he instructs and nurtures us. 

 

Now as we begin to prepare for yet another conference of topics that come from the heart of these chosen men of God, I will look for answers to my prayers that these men will speak to our day yet again. And that they will borrow from the wisdom of the ages and the experience of this day and age and give me the guidance to help me follow them, even as they follow Christ.

"Because I drew him out of the water" Exodus 1-2 Moses' mother Jochebed

Jochabed and Miriam send Moses Off 

Yesterday was mother's day. I was able to spend it with my Mother, in her 83rd year and feel grateful for the joy that she has given me. On Saturday, I drove her to the store, purchased seed and flowers and planted her a garden, and then helped her shop for food. Sunday I drove her to church and afterward we, with my husband enjoyed a delicious meal together.  Afterward as we walked by the water's edge near her home together we felt peace and joy.

Through the years she has protected me from the world. She has fed, loved and instructed me, placed limits on me, given me opportunity to play and grow and learn, and all she has asked in return is my love and respect, plus some shared moments  of time here and there.  A little more time as she matures and her body slowly fails her. Time is my gift of love to her. Time is the greatest gift.

Is she perfect? No. Is she humble about her imperfections. Not really.  Does she still have her wit and humor? Yes, delightfully so.  Does she try to make my life better? Always. Has she always done the best that she knew how? Yes. Does the life she has lived teach me to live by faith? Most assuredly.

Motherhood gives us the gift of time. Time to learn, to grow, to mature, to become. It gives us the gift of living water that comes from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am thinking now of Moses' mother. I have never really thought of her before. I knew what she did to save Moses, but when you put it all into perspective, it is really amazing what she did and why?

Of the house of Levi, Jochebed had migrated with Jacob's family to Egypt. She knew the pharaoh's decree to kill all of the male children, to destroy the Hebrew family. She knew of his fear that the Hebrews would grow so numerous that they would threaten the Egyptian culture. Still, She, Moses' mother, feared God more.

She feared God more than Egypt, more than the soldiers who would have surely killed her if she had been caught. She feared God and chose to help her son live. She chose faith over fear. She needed time to ensure his safety and time to listen to God's love as it taught her what to do, so:

• She saw that he was a goodly child
• She hid him three months 
• She made an ark (a boat) of bulrushes 
• She coated it with slime and pitch
• She put the child in it 
• She put the ark near the river's edge
• She pushed it towards the Pharaoh's daughter who was bathing 
• She set her daughter Miriam to be near by
• She had Miriam arrange for the Pharaoh's daughter to hire her for pay to nurse her own son. 

With God's help, Jochebed devised a plan. With faith in God she knew that she would not be killing her son, nor allow others to do so. She employed her mother's love to conquer the fear that ruled the day.

Not only did she want to protect him from the world that would drown him in the river Nile, she also desired to carve out a place where Egypt and the world could see his worth and learn to revere his life, his family, his culture, and his God.

Jochebed both created life and crafted life. By faith she released him into the water and by faith she prayed him drawn out again. She defied the Egyptian laws, she defied the midwives orders, she defied the lack of compassion in a world gone mad,  and she prayed in faith for guidance. She prayed in faith for hope in a plan that would save her son and her family. 

What did she rely on? The rules of men? No. The rational of men that lived in fear? No. Jochebed relied on compassion. Compassion born of faith and inherent to women. Compassion for the gift of life and for a better way. Compassion that does not live by rules but rather by the hope for emotional security.  

The Pharaoh's daughter was not alone when she discovered the ark in the bulrushes. She was with her handmaid's, who knew of the command of her father. And because her party was without the presence of men, she was empowered to choose compassion over obedience.  Men might have been strict to the law, they might have denied her the right to exercise her compassion. Driven by compliance to the Pharaoh's edict, a man would have seen the child with different eyes.  A mother's love is eternal.

The maids drew Moses from the water and Miriam, who watched nearby to both protect her brother and aid her mother's plan, came quickly to disclose that she knew of a Hebrew woman who had recently given birth, but was without child and could nurse the child. She had sent Miriam to guide the ark, to watch over. Another part of her plan to protect him, like she had protected him with pitch.

Why did she put pitch on Moses' ark? To protect him from the water that would cause the small boat to sink. The pitch kept the water out and Moses dry. What does this mean metaphorically? The pitch that Jochebed used to cover the ark that she would place her son in can be likened unto the love and faith that she was exhibiting in sending this child forth into the waters. She knew she could not keep him, for as he grew he would certainly be discovered, but she could protect him with her love, her faith, her good works, her songs and her craftsmanship, and then, once protected send him forth and rely on God's love to continue what she had begun. The pitch both protected him physically and spiritually.  

And it worked. Her foundation of faith that God would protect her son worked to not only save his life but the lives of all of the Hebrews whom he delivered from captivity eighty years later. 

The faith of a mother. What she will not do to stand between the evil that will destroy her child and the living water that will deliver him. How diligently she will pray and problem solve. So great was Jochebed's love that she would have, if needed given her own life.

For every day that she kept him alive was not her life in peril? For every day that his voice grew within him and he cooed in comfort and cried in hunger was not her life and the life of her family in peril? Yet she did this for three months. Each day praying for one more day before the day she must let him go. Praying for a plan that would ensure his survival in a world that certainly wanted him dead. 

And think of her plan to save him, was it not born of God's love for both her and the Hebrew nation?  Would a realistic plan have encouraged the hiding of her son in the household of those whom wanted him dead? Only the Pharaoh's daughter could convince her father to allow the child to live. Only the Pharaoh's daughter would pay Jochebed a wage to nurse her own son. Did the Pharaoh's daughter know the bond between mother and child? I think so, for true compassion can never be naive, but requires an eye of empathy. 

I wonder what Jochobed knew of the Pharaoh's household? Were his wives allowed to bear children? Was it a house of faith or one of desperation? How well did she know the goings on within the palace that she knew to send her son into this home? What faith she must have had to do such a thing. 

And the surprise of course is that because of Moses being raised within the household of the pharaoh as his adopted son, he knew the governmental weakness and he alone was the one who could stand before him and declare the Lord's command, "Let my people go." 

Moses' name means "drawn from the water".  And it is too the water that many people go to renew themselves, to cleanse themselves, and to find peace and answer.  Consider how Jochebed sent him into the water. Think how and why the Pharaoh's daughter visited the water edge: to find peace, to give peace, to pray, to seek answer.   Think how she she sent Miriam to stand within the water, and how Moses not only came from the water, but because of a mother's faith in the living water of our Savior, Jesus Christ was saved not from the water but because of the water.

I am grateful to all mothers that do for their children what Jochebed did for Moses. For those who must give their child up for adoption, for those who do not but strive all of their lives to place pitch in their child's boat before they send them out upon the waters of life, so that they like Moses might be drawn from the waters to save not just himself but all of his family.