Charity

"Be patient; be sober; be temperate; have patience, faith, hope and charity."
"Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love."
"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 truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things"
Charity is the "pure love of Christ."
"If ye have not charity ye are nothing, for charity never faileth."
Pray to be filled with charity.
"except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared"
"if the Gentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent"
"A new commandment I give unto you ... love one another; ... By this shall men know that ye are my disciples ..."
"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you."
An interesting tale where an innkeeper is treated poorly for rendering aid to unsavory characters. He swears to not do so again.
Properties of Charity.
Charity is greater than Faith and Hope.
Charity should operate in our conferences so that we do not offend the Spirit.
Those who seek to build themselves up and neglect the poor cannot be benefitted by the intercessions of the Spirit.

Notes

There is a tendency for many individuals to exalt Charity, not just as the greatest attribute of God, but as the only attribute we need to concern ourselves with. This attitude has its own anthem in The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".

I cannot deny that Charity is extremely important, but I will argue that "All You Need Is Love" is a false and damaging idea.

I cannot deny either that love is the foundation for God's law.

However, while Charity, for example, may be the greatest, it is not the first. Faith is the first principle with all it that comes with it. Charity without faith is only said to be sufficient when our faith has become perfect knowledge. Charity does not even breach the list of the first four things we need. Wisdom is not just focusing on the greatest attribute we need, to the exclusion of all else, but is instead found in developing the ability to identify the proper application of all principles.

When our knowledge, hope, or faith are weak, charity can lead us down paths of destruction. Hence, we need faith and hope to help guide us in the way we should go until we grow in those principles to the point that we can more deftly apply charity with a perfect understanding.

Cross-References