Charity

 Here's one of the best descriptions of charity that I've come across:

When asked to define charity, many people say something like "service" or "loving others." Although such acts may be a result of charity, they are not what true charity means.

Charity is a small English word that encompasses a large heavenly concept.

Originally the word was agape, which is Greek for "the fatherly love of God for humans and their reciprocal love for God." Nearly all places in the English New Testament where the charity occurs, it is translated from agape --God's love for us, and our love for Him in return.

The Book of Mormon uses it the same way: "And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou [Jesus] hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world. . . . And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity" (Ether 12:33-34, emphasis added).

If you read carefully, you will find that these two definitions of charity -- God/Christ loving us and us loving God/Christ -- fit how charity is used in the scriptures. You could say the requirements are, "faith, hope, and love of God" instead of "faith, hope, and charity." Alma used it this way when he said, "Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts" (Alma 13:29).

Charity is a heavenly relationship between us and God the Father, made possibly by applying the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. Anything -- whether is be taking the sacrament, studying scriptures, going to the temple, reading a patriarchal blessing, praying, and so forth -- that helps us feel the love of God has for us as His children, and that causes us to love Him in return, helps us earn the all-important credential of charity. . . .

[A]cting in faith produces personal hope, which leads us to taste of charity, which causes us to love others with an eye single to the glory of God. These qualities each build upon one another and are centered on the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Anthony Sweat, Suit Up, "The Essential Credientials")