Nay, Speak No Ill

I've been thinking a lot about charity lately.  It's such a pure attribute that we will most likely not be able to achieve it in this impure, mortal state, but we can always be working towards it.  I can't remember where I heard this quote, but it has always stuck with me.  "Sometimes charity is just saying nothing."  When I heard that quote, the hymn, Nay Speak No Ill, instantly popped into my head.

Then speak no ill, but lenient be
To other’s failings as your own;
If you’re the first a fault to see,
Be not the first to make it known.

Many times, we can show charity by just keeping quiet.  We're not perfect, and neither is anyone else.  When we see some one's fault, we don't have to be the one to make them known.  Let them be, and go on.  Look past the imperfections and accept them as they are.  That is true charity.  Charity is one of the most important attributes we can attain.  Moroni puts it well in Moroni 7:46 when he says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing." 

Just Be Nice

As I go through life, I develop a list of things that I live by.  Some of them are quotes that have stuck out to me, others are learned from experience.  I call them my philosophies.  I always look for more and more each day.  One in particular I learned in High School.  I was asked how do you get through High School?  The question wasn't referring to the academic aspect of it, but the social.  My response was, "Just be nice."

Ever since then, that's been one of my philosophies: Just be nice.  It seems quite simple, but it really does work.  Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, addresses that same topic.  "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying...And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another."  (Ephesians 29, 32).

Kindness is one of our greatest tools in life, and it's extremely contagious.  Acts of kindness are never wasted.  Keep corrupt communication stopped, and create the contagious kindness wherever you go.  Throughout all of my years, I have never once heard anyone say they wish they were a little less kind.  When you make kindness a priority, you will feel as King Benjamin's people did and "have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."  (Mosiah 5:2).