The Power in Asking

I have often felt guilt pangs as I have participated in Church service—guilt not for having done a good thing, but for having done it for the wrong reason. At times my service in the Church has not been motivated by feelings of pure love and concern for others, but by a sense of duty. After all, a Relief Society president is supposed to participate in the ward welfare projects and occasionally take meals to sick ward members. While genuine feelings of love and concern seem to come naturally and spontaneously for some, I suspect others of us find little comfort in Mormon’s observation that without charity we are nothing.

For those of us who at times find ourselves “performing acts of kindness” but not feeling kind, Mormon has given a key: “Wherefore, … 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” (Moro. 7:48). Charity is a spiritual gift, available to all who ask for it and actively seek its blessings. When I have done this I have found myself serving, not only because I knew I should, but because I wanted to. At such times I experience that “change of heart” the scriptures talk about, and what I do becomes more at one with what I am. Linda Stahle Cooper, Salt Lake City, Utah