AFTERWORD TO THE

LECTURES ON CHARITY

A certain man was caught up by the Spirit of the Lord into an exceedingly high mountain.

“Look!”, commanded the Spirit of the Lord; and as the man looked, he thought he saw the throne of God. His eye caught sight of what appeared to be a river of light flowing forth from the throne. As his eye followed the flow of the river, he saw it led to a garden below.

In the garden, the man saw his Lord. Blood and grief adorned his face; and he heard his Lord cry out, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

The man’s heart groaned in pain for his Lord. He wanted to go to his Lord, to comfort Him, to ease his suffering.

Then he saw an angel, sent from the presence of the Father with a robe of comfort and strength.

The man’s perspective changed; and at first, he thought that he was the angel sent with the robe for his Lord. The thought caused his heart to rejoice. But then he realized that he was not the angel, he was one of the strands in the robe which the angel carried. Around him and intertwined with him were many others, also represented as threads and fibers, each a part of the robe.

The angel came down and placed the robe on the shoulders of his Lord.

The robe seemed to strengthen his Lord and give some comfort in his struggles. Such a robe, knit from the strands of those for whom he struggled, seemed to help him focus on his great and eternal purpose.

The man saw his Lord discern each and every strand.

Each strand had stains of affliction, sin, temptation, trial, mistake, iniquity, fault, sickness, pain, inadequacy, fear, pride, selfishness, unbelief, and loneliness. Each strand was imperfect, flawed, weak and stained.

As his Lord continued the atoning act, the man saw his Lord groan in pain. His Lord began to sweat great drops of blood. Some fell to the ground, but many of these drops were soaked into the robe which had been laid across the shoulders of his Lord.

The man saw and felt the stains, the flaws, the weakness, and the imperfections of his own strand purged and become clean and white, as the blood of his Lord soaked into the robe. Around him he saw other strands also turning white; until, one-by-one, each strand in the robe had become a dazzling, brilliant white.

The strands of the robe, in unison, shouted for joy. Their Lord’s blood had been shed for them.  Their Lord had strengthened them. Their Lord had cleansed them. Their Lord had redeemed them.

They rejoiced, not only that they were made clean through the blood of their Lord, but that they were woven together, a beautiful white robe to adorn their Savior.

“Look!”, said the Spirit of the Lord. And, as the man looked, he saw that his Lord was not finished. The sacrifice and atonement continued.

The strands of the robe began to reach out, to expand, to find other fibers and threads that had fallen to the ground. These they caught up and joined to themselves, causing the robe to grow and expand as their Lord’s sacrifice continued. Each thread, no matter how ruined or stained it appeared, turned a beautiful white as it was woven into the robe.

There was no pride, no exclusivity, no concern about the placement of one strand versus another in the robe. The joy of each strand was that it could be a part of their Lord’s robe. Each strand’s singular desire was to see the robe continue to grow in whiteness and to expand to include all who would come, join, and be a part of the robe—a living, growing, vibrant, pure white testimony of the sacrifice and the love of their Lord.

The very thought that any action on the part of one or more of the strands of the robe might result in any portion cut away grieved them, and they labored all the more to adorn their Lord and master. Not one strand should be ignored, cut out, or lost.

The vision closed and the man found himself kneeling before his Lord.

The man cried out in gratitude and love and praise to his Lord. His heart was full, and tears streamed down his face, as the power of the experience he was given burned in his heart and in his mind.

The man then asked, “Lord, is it finished?”

“My son”, his Lord said, “My atonement is infinite. I am always in the garden. You are always with me. And as many as will come, will be with us. Always.”

I am humbled and honored to have been allowed to write and to present these lectures on charity to the world. When the Lord told me to write them, I was quite taken aback. I am nothing. I hold no call, no position, no title, and have no fame that would help send the message of these lectures into the world.

Regardless, it was impressed upon me again and again that this was a work I was given; and that many would be able to build upon the structure this work provides in the future. It comforts me to know that others will bring forth more light and truth on this subject than I have done here.

Nothing presented here in these lectures can I claim as my own—except the mistakes, of which I am sure there are a few… For these I ask the reader’s forgiveness.

Joseph Smith once said, “If you will not accuse me, I will not accuse you. If you will throw a cloak of charity over my sins, I will over yours—for charity covereth a multitude of sins.” (DHC, vol. 4: 445.)

I’ve come to understand this a little differently than I did when I was younger. At first, I thought it meant that our charitable acts and service towards others would help “offset” our sins in some way—that perhaps our charitable service would hide our wickedness.

But that is no longer how I take Joseph’s meaning.

What I have come to understand is that when we obtain charity we do not see the sins of others, because all we can see in them is their potential—to be a Son or Daughter of God—to be like Him, as much as mortal man can be like Him. We see this potential in others because when we receive charity, God shows us, or perhaps better stated—he activates—this potential hidden within each of us since our creation.

“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. Amen.” Moroni 7:47-48