to love as He invites each day;
to bear, believe, and hope anew,
and let His charity shape all we do.
Charity suffereth long
We learn to stay present with one another through difficulty.
We do not abandon each other when things take time.
We let patience become the way we carry one another’s burdens.
Charity is kind
We choose gentleness over sharpness.
We let our words, our tone, and our presence become a refuge.
We treat each soul as precious, because God does.
Charity envieth not
We rejoice in each other’s blessings instead of competing for them.
We let go of comparison so we can celebrate the good that comes to others.
We trust that God’s abundance is enough for all of us.
Charity is not puffed up
We refuse to build ourselves higher by pushing others lower.
We walk humbly, remembering that every gift we have is from God.
We choose connection over self‑importance.
Charity seeketh not her own
We stop asking,
“What do I get out of this?”
We begin asking,
“How can we lift each other?”
Our hearts turn outward instead of inward.
Charity is not easily provoked
We slow down our reactions.
We give each other room to be imperfect.
We let the Spirit soften our impulses so peace can stay with us.
Charity thinketh no evil
We assume good intentions.
We refuse to rehearse grievances or assign dark motives.
We let our minds become places where mercy lives.
Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth
We do not delight in others’ failures or weaknesses.
We rejoice when truth, goodness, and healing rise in someone’s life.
We celebrate every step toward light.
Charity beareth all things
We carry one another’s burdens with courage and tenderness.
We stay when the load is heavy.
We let love make us strong.
Charity believeth all things
We believe in God’s power to change hearts—including our own.
We believe in each other’s potential and divine worth.
We trust that the Lord is working in every soul.
Charity hopeth all things
We hold hope for the future even when the present is unclear.
We hope for reconciliation, healing, and growth.
We let hope anchor our relationships.
Charity endureth all things
We remain faithful through storms.
We stay committed to love even when it costs us something.
We let endurance become our covenant offering to God and to one another.
"And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
A devotional dissection of Moroni 7:45–46
Moroni gives us one of the clearest portraits of what Christlike love looks like when it is alive in us. Each phrase is a window into how we can walk with God and with one another.
Below is a gentle, section‑by‑section unfolding of the qualities he names—spoken in our shared voice, as disciples learning together. Shaped by supporting scriptures.
1. “Charity suffereth long”
When we ask what this means, the cross‑reference word is charity itself.
The scriptures that teach us the nature of charity are:
Paul discusses the high status of charity—Charity, a pure love, excels and exceeds almost all else.
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
🗝 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
"Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
"Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
"Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
"Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
"But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
These verses show us that charity is patient, enduring, steady, and rooted in God’s love. They teach us that without charity, all our gifts, knowledge, and sacrifices lose their eternal meaning. They anchor us in the truth that charity is the way we walk with Christ.
2. “... and is kind”
The cross‑reference word is kind.
From the Topical Guide list Kindness, these are the essential scriptures that help us understand what kindness looks like in covenant life:
"slow to anger, and of great kindness..."
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness..."
"desire of a man is his kindness..."
"with everlasting kindness will I have mercy..."
"whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye..."
"a certain Samaritan … had compassion on him..."
"be ye kind one to another..."
"Put on … bowels of mercies, kindness..."
"having compassion one of another, love as brethren..."
"to godliness brotherly kindness..."
"he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness..."
"my bowels are filled with compassion towards you..."
"Remember faith, virtue … brotherly kindness..."
These passages teach us that kindness is mercy, tenderness, compassion, and the willingness to lift another’s burden. They show us that kindness is not passive — it is the active, gentle work of love.
3. “... and envieth not”
The cross‑reference word is envieth.
From the Topical Guide list Envy, Envious, these essential scriptures reveal what charity refuses to do:
"his brethren envied him..."
"I was envious at the foolish..."
"envy the rottenness of the bones..."
"Be not thou envious against evil men..."
"Ephraim shall not envy Judah..."
"for envy they had delivered him..."
"patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph..."
"walk honestly … not in strife and envying..."
"there is among you envying..."
"Envyings … they which do such things. shall not inherit..."
"proud … whereof cometh envy..."
"living in malice and envy..."
"where envying and strife is, there is confusion..."
"Lord God hath commanded … should not envy..."
"one among you who is not stripped of envy..."
"there were no envyings..."
These verses show us that envy corrodes the soul, divides communities, and blinds us to God’s gifts. Charity frees us from comparison, rivalry, and resentment. It lets us rejoice in one another’s blessings.
4. “... is not easily provoked”
The cross‑reference word is provoked.
From the Topical Guide list Provoking, Provoke, these essential scriptures teach us what charity refuses to become:
"obey his voice, provoke him not"
"How long will this people provoke me..."
"provoked me to anger with their vanities..."
"oft did they provoke him in the wilderness..."
"A people that provoketh me to anger continually..."
"provoke him to speak of many things..."
"Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy..."
"desirous of vain glory, provoking one another..."
"fathers, provoke not your children to wrath..."
"consider one another to provoke unto love..."
"men not to rebel against God, to provoke him to anger..."
"have provoked him to anger against you..."
These passages show us that provocation leads to anger, rebellion, and spiritual blindness. Charity steadies us. It helps us respond rather than react. It teaches us to meet tension with patience, not retaliation.
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—"
A Covenant Promise in Moroni 7:46
What it means for us as disciples of Jesus Christ the Nazarene
Moroni’s words are not merely poetic—they are covenantal. They describe the kind of people we must become if we are to walk in the name of Christ. And they reveal a promise: if we cleave to charity, we will not fail, because charity never fails. But if we refuse this path, we cannot fulfill the covenant we have made.
Let’s unfold this with reverence.
“If ye have not charity, ye are nothing”
This is not condemnation—it is covenant clarity.
As disciples, we have promised to take upon us the name of Christ. That means we have promised to take upon us His way of loving. Without that love, everything else we do—our service, our knowledge, our gifts, our sacrifices—loses its eternal weight.
We are “nothing” not because God withdraws His love, but because we step outside the very power that makes discipleship real.
Without charity:
▪︎ our covenants become hollow,
▪︎ our hearts remain unchanged,
▪︎ our discipleship becomes performative, it is
clear when we look at Matt. 6:1-4.
• “Take heed that ye do not your alms
before men, to be seen of them.”
• “Do not sound a trumpet before thee… that
they may have glory of men.”
• “They have their reward.”
• “Let not thy left hand know what thy right
hand doeth.”
• “Thy Father which seeth in secret… shall
reward thee openly.”
Charity is not an accessory to the covenant.
It is the covenant.
“For charity never faileth”
Here is the promise.
Everything else in life will eventually fail—strength, talent, certainty, plans, institutions, even spiritual gifts. Moroni says plainly: “all things must fail.”
But charity does not.
Why?
Because charity is not a human virtue—it is the pure love of Christ, the love that flows from Him, through Him, and back to Him. When we cleave to charity, we cleave to something eternal, indestructible, and divine.
To say “charity never faileth” is to say:
▪︎ Christ never fails.
▪︎ His love never fails.
▪︎ Those who abide in His love will not fail.
This is covenant assurance.
“Wherefore, cleave unto charity”
The command is urgent and tender.
To cleave is to hold fast with both hands, to refuse to let go, to bind ourselves to something stronger than we are. It is covenant language—like cleaving to God, cleaving to truth, cleaving to our covenants.
We cleave to charity when:
▪︎ we let Christ reshape our instincts,
▪︎ we choose mercy over judgment,
▪︎ we rejoice in others’ blessings,
▪︎ we endure with one another,
▪︎ we let love govern our discipleship.
Covenants are not fulfilled by willpower alone.
They are fulfilled by cleaving to the love that never fails.
The Covenant Warning
Moroni’s words carry a sober truth:
If we do not have charity, we cannot fulfill the covenant we have made.
Not because God rejects us,
but because discipleship without charity is not discipleship.
We cannot follow Christ while refusing to love as He loves.
We cannot claim His name while rejecting His nature.
We cannot walk His path while withholding His mercy.
Without charity, we break the very pattern of the covenant.
The Covenant Promise
But the verse is not primarily a warning—it is a promise.
If we cleave to charity:
▪︎ we will not fail,
▪︎ our discipleship will hold,
▪︎ our hearts will change,
▪︎ our covenants will deepen,
▪︎ and Christ’s love will carry us where our
strength cannot.
Charity is the guarantee that the covenant will succeed—not because we are flawless, but because His love is.
In the end
Moroni is teaching us that charity is not optional, not decorative, not secondary.
It is the very substance of discipleship.
If we have charity, we have Christ.
If we cleave to charity, we cleave to Him.
And if we cleave to Him, we will not fail—because He never fails.
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