In his epistle to the Colossians, the apostle Paul explains how we ought to live if we “be risen with Christ” (Colossians 3:1). We need to set aside things like “anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy,” and “filthy communication.” In their place, we need to acquire “bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,” and “longsuffering.” After listing these positive attributes, he adds:
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Colossians 3:8, 12, 14
What does it mean for charity to be the “bond of perfectness?”
A bond is something that holds things together. It can refer to a substance which connects physical objects, a legal agreement, or a close relationship between people. The Greek word translated “bond” in this passage, sundesmos (σύνδεσμος), can refer to a rope or chain, a ligament, or even a conjunction (which holds the parts of a sentence together.
The word translated “perfectness,” teleiotés (τελειότης), is a form of the word Jesus used when He admonished us to be perfect. (See Matthew 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48.) It could also be translated “wholeness” or “completeness.”
So the “bond of perfectness” is the attribute that holds everything together. As we become more perfect or complete, charity is the attribute that helps all of the other attributes work together in harmony and unity.
Charity also enables us to achieve unity with other people. In his epistle to the Ephesians, Paul urges them “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). And in a revelation given through Joseph Smith, the Lord combines these two types of bond:
And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.
D&C 88:125
I like the idea that charity functions as a bond of both perfectness and peace. It helps me become more complete, integrating the other positive attributes that God is helping me develop. It also helps me become more united with other people. It holds me together, and it holds us together.
No wonder Nephi said that unless we have charity, we are nothing. (See 2 Nephi 26:30.) No wonder Moroni testified that without charity, we cannot inherit the place Jesus has prepared for us in the mansions of His Father. (See Ether 12:34.) No wonder Mormon taught that faith, hope, and meekness must be combined with charity. “All things must fail,” he warned, “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 [or her]” (Moroni 7:47; see also 1 Corinthians 13:8). Charity is the glue that holds it all together. Without that glue, the rest of the package will splinter and crumble.
Elder Ulisses Soares pointed out that the final events of the Savior’s life illustrate the centrality of charity in His character:
Jesus perfectly exemplified what it means to own this bond of perfection and peace, especially when facing the agonizing events that preceded His martyrdom. Think for a moment about what Jesus must have felt as He humbly washed His disciples’ feet, knowing that one of them would betray Him that very night. Or when Jesus, hours later, mercifully healed the ear of one of the men who had accompanied Judas, His betrayer, to arrest Him. Or even when the Savior, standing in front of Pilate, was unfairly accused by the chief priests and elders, and not a word He uttered against the false charges against Him, and He left the Roman governor marveling.
Through these three tragic incidents, the Savior, despite being burdened with excessive sadness and stress, taught us by His example that “charity suffereth long, and is kind; … envieth not; … vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, [and] thinketh no evil.”
“Followers of the Prince of Peace,” General Conference, April 2023
Today, in my efforts to emulate the Savior, I will remember the significance of charity, not only as His most important attribute, but as the attribute which unifies and fortifies all of the others.
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