“The ultimate purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to cause the sons and daughters of God to become as Christ is. Those who see religions purpose only in terms of ethical service in the relationship between man and fellowmen may miss that divinely ordained possibility. It is quite possible to render charitable-even ’Christian’-service without developing deeply ingrained and permanent Christlike character. Paul understood this when he , warned against giving all one’ goods to feed the poor without true charity.... We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. If our vertical relationship with God is complete, then, by the fruit of that relationship, the horizontal relationship with our fellow beings will also be complete. We then act charitably toward others, not merely because we think we should, but because that is the way we are.”
“As He Is”
Here we come to the heart of the matter. Charity is a gift of the Spirit. It is bestowed by God. One does not“ work on” his charity any more than he might work on his prophecy, dreams, visions, or discernment. Charity is that “more excellent way” (see 1 Corinthians 12:31) that comes by and through the Holy Ghost as one of the gifts of God. It is true that we have a responsibility to give of ourselves in service to others as a part of our covenantal obligation as Christians (see Mosiah 18:8-10; James 2:8).
It is true that service is essential to salvation. But service and charity are not necessarily the same. Charity is “the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; the pure love of Christ. It [the term] is never used to denote alms or deeds or benevolence, although it may be a prompting motive.” (LDS Bible Dictionary, p. 632.) That is, charity is that gift of the Spirit which motivates us to greater goodness, specifically greater service and compassion for others.
In a manner of speaking, we can serve people without loving them; we cannot truly love them (as the Lord does) without serving them. Bruce C. Hafen has written:
“Our own internally generated compassion for the needs of others is a crucial indication of our desire to be followers of the Savior… . For that reason, we must be reaching out to others even as we reach out to God, rather than waiting to respond to others’ needs until our charitable instincts are quickened by the Spirit. But even them, charity in its full-blown sense is ’bestowed upon’ Christ’s righteous followers. Its source, like all other blessings of the Atonement, is the grace of God.” (The Broken Heart, pp. 195-96.)