There are two kinds of gifts in the world, those that are given to us to help us to grow, and those that are given to us that we may help others grow. Not that there is no overlap in all things, however, there is a primary purpose for each gift.
Those gifts that we call "strengths" are the ones we have to help others to grow. We bless the lives of others with our "strengths" such as knowledge, wealth, administration, cheerfulness, and love. Our service to them connects us with them.
Those gifts we call "weaknesses" are primarily to help us to grow. We gain humility, wisdom, understanding, compassion, and charity as we suffer through our weaknesses. The stress of our weaknesses strengthens us, and helps us to grow. Suffering within ourselves connects us with God.
Jesus Christ had all strengths. He had all power. He was strong in every area such that He could bless the lives of all. He had the gift of healing, knowledge, wisdom, discernment, angels, prophecy, revelations, tongues, and so forth. He had all He needed to "succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." (D&C 81:5) He gave freely to all who desired, Jew or gentile, rich or poor, male or female.
Jesus Christ also had all weaknesses. He suffered pain, temptations of every kind, loneliness, despair, hatred, rejection, and so forth. These taught Him. The Apostle Paul explained this concept to the Hebrews, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;" (Hebrews 5:8)
However, in all of this, there is one gift that is superlative, charity. Charity is the gift of Christ. It is the essence of Christ, and is all that the Word, the office, and the mission of Christ entails. It is all strength and weakness. It is all gain and loss. Charity is the spectrum of life, the gift of Eternal Life. This is the one gift that is required by all who would take upon themselves the name of Christ, to become Christ.
The term "Christ" is the center and circumference of all things. It is pure love. It defines creation and all that exists, because without Christ there is nothing. Growth, happiness, and all that defines life is found in this one word because without love there is no good, only evil, darkness, loneliness, and loss. Pure love gives meaning to all things. There is a general term, and a specific person called Christ. Generally, it is a name given to all those who receive the gift of charity, the pure love of Christ. Specifically, there is One who is the Christ because He encompasses all that is Christ. He is our example to follow.
The prophets assure us that there is one gift that we must seek if we are to become one with God. This gift is not given lightly or easily. It is the gift of Christ, called charity. It is given to those who take upon themselves the name of Christ and suffer the will of the Father in all things. They give their heart and will to God, letting go of all things of the world. These are they to whom the following scriptures apply:
"...believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world;" (Jacob 1:8)
"...come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end;" (Omni 1:26)
"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" (Matthew 5:44)
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." (Matthew 16:24-25)
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37-38)
"And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." (Matthew 19:29)
The gift of charity comes with a price -- to follow Jesus Christ into death and hell, rejection and hatred, loss and mourning. The heights can only be reached by those who are willing to go into the depths. This brings balance to life. We cannot have compassion on what we don't experience. Only those who are true followers, who do as He did, who become as He is, can take His name and receive His gift of love. While all are loved equally, no matter what we do, charity is reserved for those who are true followers of Jesus Christ.
Receiving the gift of charity makes us one with Him. We possess His name, the name of Christ, being born of Him, or born into His family. We are Christ.
Of necessity, all prophets are a type of Christ. They are HOLY prophets because they are, in at least one way, like Him. In order to be with Him, we must be like Him, as they are. We are holy as He is holy. We are set apart from the world. We take upon ourselves the sins of the world. We take up our cross and bear the shame of the world. We do not complain, we do not even flinch. We have been called to weakness, to humility, to meekness, to loneliness, to loss, to mourning, to suffering, and to pain. We allow it all. We take it all in as He did. We remember Him in all things, taking upon ourselves His name, following Him into whatever we are given by the Father. Our path is set. We accept our calling. We focus only on our mission that must be performed by us. By so doing, we suffer (allow) the will of the Father in all things. We love the Father more than the world. We love the Lord whom we follow into the depths of death and hell. We saw Him do it, and we follow Him -- willingly, lovingly, hopefully, and happily suffering the will of the Father as He did. We take Him into ourselves. We eat His flesh, and drink His blood.
The flesh is the pain and suffering all manner of deprivation, loneliness, and a broken heart. All that we hold dear in this world is given up, sacrificed on the altar. The flesh is burned, and discarded. The flesh is lost. All of the desires of the flesh are given away, sacrificed, lost, and wasted. Opportunities to satisfy the flesh are ignored. The focus is entirely on the mission, and nothing can deter or distract from that. He was offered food for His hunger, satisfaction for His soul, and glory for His ambition, but paid no heed. He was focused on His mission, and nothing could tempt Him to turn from it.
The blood is death. We must die, as He did. We must be willing to die the death, both spiritual and physical. If we are to follow Him, we must be willing to allow our blood to be shed a martyr for Him. We must also be willing to face spiritual death and hell in order to bring out those who have strayed, wandered off into forbidden paths, and are lost. Some are lost to all that is righteousness, and have no light. These must also be gathered with the elect. They must be given the option, and we are willing to face their death with them in order to bring them to life. We have compassion, to suffer with them, as He did for us and all others.
Those who are willing to follow Him are given weaknesses to bring them into the depths of humility. They willingly take their cross and follow Him. After they are proven through patience and long suffering, they are given the gift of charity -- and the name of Christ. It is a possession worth more than all the riches, honor, glory, and love of the world. It is necessary, and sufficient. It is eternal. It fills, and fulfills all needs. It is our purpose, our all. It is life Eternal. It is connection with God and all people. It is compassion. It is true love. It is light. It is clarity. It is peace. It is joy and happiness. By following Him we become like Him and receive all that He has. It is a gift, the gift of Charity, the gift of pure love, or the gift of Christ.
Mormon implores the faithful: "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 7:48)
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