Of the Love of Christ and the Law of Restoration

When Jesus Christ visited His people in the ancient Americas after His resurrection in Jerusalem He taught them lessons that He had preached to the Jews in ancient Judea. The pre-Columbian American record of Christ’s teachings proves that the Sermon on the Mount and other words of Christ in the Bible are not mere inventions of the Savior’s followers. Separate witnesses to the same message, with an ocean in between them, demonstrate the consistency of Christ’s words and the veracity of the record.

One of those important teachings involves our attitude toward others. In the Americas He taught, as He did to the Jews,

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of thine eye—and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother’s eye. (3 Nephi 14:1-5)

In short, fallible as we are, we are little qualified to judge the faults of others, and doing so puts us in danger of being similarly subjected to imperfect standards. If we prefer patience and tolerance applied to us, then we should practice them when considering others.

Now, let us add to this discussion another important virtue. In modern times, when Jesus Christ restored His Church on the earth He listed the virtues needed to do His work:

Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence. (Doctrine and Covenants 4:6)

I would particularly draw attention to the virtue of “brotherly kindness”. I would ask, what is the difference between being nice and being kind? I would suggest that being nice is related to manners and politeness, an important but perhaps shallow virtue. I have experienced people who are very nice and polite but who are rather unkind. I have, similarly, known people who were rather rough in their manners and outspoken and direct in their language but who were deeply kind and caring. In this context, I consider kindness related to charity and love. I think that is what is meant by “brotherly kindness” in the scripture. I prefer kind people to nice people, if I had to choose.

Next we turn to a greater and more important virtue, the most important of all. Here is how the ancient American prophet Mormon described charity (again, similar to the definition revealed an ocean away by the Apostle Paul):

And charity suffereth long, and is kind [notice again the connection between kindness and charity], 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. 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. (Moroni 7:45-47)

While this is an ideal, it is clear that God does not intend it to be an unreachable ideal. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ charity has been placed within the reach of all of us, and God intends all of us to obtain that supreme virtue.

When the Prophet Joseph Smith was being treated with anything but kindness, in the depth of a dank prison pit in a Missouri winter, the Lord revealed to him how to treat others. The Lord instructed the Prophet, and us, to engage with others “by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile. . .” The Lord further instructed us to “be full of charity towards all men,” and as we did so, the Lord promised, “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:41, 42, 45, 46).

Thus we see that it is through the atonement of Jesus Christ that we have access to the presence and influence of the Holy Ghost, which influence changes our hearts and fills us with charity, the greatest of all. It is with that changed attitude that God wants us to interact with our fellowmen here and in the eternities.

This may all still seem a bit theoretical. The ancient American prophet Alma explained a very simple and practical approach, one that I have found confirmed over and over again.

For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored. . . (Alma 41:15)

Alma called this the law of restoration and explained that, as we show mercy, justice, and goodness toward others, the same will return unto us. The more we try to give away love, the more that love grows within us. As we practice the love of Christ, we will develop the love of Christ as a personal virtue, a practical approach to something that means everything.