HOPE
Provo Peak 6th Ward 2017
90 Days of Hope
Day 1 The concept of hope plays a vital role in Latter-day Saint thought. Firmly centered in Christ and his resurrection, it is the "hope of eternal life" (Titus 1:2) repeatedly alluded to by Paul. It is the opposite of the despair found among those who are "without Christ, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12). As the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni writes, "If ye have no hope, ye must needs be in despair" (Moro. 10:22). For those, however, who accept Christ's Atonement and resurrection, there comes a "brightness of hope" (2 Ne. 31:20) through which all who believe in God "might with surety hope for a better world" (Ether 12:4).
The scriptures employ the term "hope" in a variety of ways. Some usages suggest desire, such as the statement in Article of Faith 13 that "we believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things." Others denote firm expectation, such as Paul's description of Abraham "who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations" (Rom. 4:18). Still others make it an integral part of faith, such as the scriptural observations that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1).
Regardless of their form, the individual variations of meaning all center on the confidence or trust in God that springs from knowledge that mankind is saved through the Atonement ("for we are saved by hope," Rom. 8:15). Hence, hope is inseparably connected with faith. Book of Mormon passages add insight to New Testament teachings by expanding on this interactive relationship: "How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?" (Moro. 7:40); "hope cometh of faith" (Ether 12:4); "without faith there cannot be any hope" (Moro. 7:42).
In combination with faith, hope leads to knowledge of the truth about Jesus Christ ("if ye have faith, ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true" [Alma 32:21]). It is also an essential attitude for individual salvation ("man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared" [Ether 12:32]).
Paul's praise of "faith, hope, and charity" (1 Cor. 13:13) as basic Christian virtues expands understanding of these concepts with its intimation that faith and hope are prerequisites to developing charity-a Christlike love of others. This type of love cannot grow out of despair or disbelief. Using the same triadic concept, the Book of Mormon describes their relationship to repentance, baptism, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost, all required for salvation in the kingdom of God (2 Ne. 31:16-21). Hope is integral to the gospel formula: through steadfastness in Christ (faith), a perfect brightness of hope, and love of God (charity), the baptized can endure to the end and be saved. Having these attributes is also necessary for service in the Lord's kingdom: "If you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing" (D&C 18:19; cf. D&C 4:5).
Paul observed that the writings of ancient prophets were given "that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope" (Rom. 15:4; cf. Ps. 16:9; Prov. 10:28;14:32; Jer. 17:7; Joel 3:16). The Prophet Joseph Smith claimed that Latter-day Saints "have the greatest hope…for our dead of any people on the earth" if they have died in the faith (TPJS, p. 359). He was referring to their possession of another testament of Christ (the Book of Mormon) and to additional latter-day scriptures that contain newly revealed truth about the purpose of mortal existence, the state of life after death, the eternity of the marriage covenant, and the Plan of Salvation generally. This additional knowledge gives Latter-day Saints special reason for hope in this life and for life in the worlds to come. JAMES K. LYON Encyclopedia of Mormonism Day 2 Read: Lamentations 3:22-26 Hope in Him and salvation
>>Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier. - Thomas S. Monson
Day 3 The Healing Balm of Hope By Vaughn E. Worthen Associate Director, Counseling and Career Center, Brigham Young University
We all have a need for life-affirming hope. Here are some strategies for developing this attribute.
Jewish psychiatrist Viktor Frankl and his father, mother, brother, and wife were all imprisoned in concentration camps during World War II. He and a sister, who had emigrated before the war, were the only survivors in his family. During three years as a prisoner of war (prisoner number 119,104), Frankl witnessed and endured great suffering and cruelty. He noted, “It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future.” He warned that “the sudden loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect” and that “the prisoner who had lost faith in the future—his future—was doomed.”1
The importance of hope has long been heralded. The writer of Proverbs states, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12), and Moroni warned that “if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair” (Moroni 10:22). An Irish proverb states, “Hope is the physician of each misery.”
We are commonly exposed to negative news, economic worries, reports of natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars, personal and family adversity, health concerns, dire future forecasts, and the drip of daily worries. There is a great need for life-affirming hope.
Hope Defined
At a time when his family, religion, and civilization were being destroyed, Mormon declared, “I would speak unto you concerning hope” (Moroni 7:40). To what source did Mormon look for unfailing hope? He instructs, “Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal” (Moroni 7:41). This is the ultimate of all we might hope for. To possess this hope is to believe that today’s pain is only a way station on the road to deliverance. It requires patience with current circumstances. It is the belief that there will be a coming day when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4). Hope’s lifeblood is faith, and like faith, hope is required to lay hold on eternal life (see Ether 12:32). Through “meekness and lowliness of heart,” we can receive “the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope” (Moroni 8:26).
Divine hope is sustained not because things always turn out as we wish but because we know that “all things wherewith [we] have been afflicted shall work together for [our] good” and to the glory of the Lord’s name (D&C 98:3).
President Thomas S. Monson has taught: “At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel’s end—no dawn to break the night’s darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. … If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face.”2 Hope inspires confidence that when life’s storms “beat upon [us],” there is no storm that can “drag [us] down to the gulf of misery and endless wo” when we are built on the sure foundation, the “rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God” (Helaman 5:12). Hope is the portal to peace.
Hope develops in the crucible of experience if the right ingredients are present. Those ingredients include the following: faith in God; righteous living; positive expectations; living with purpose; setting and working toward goals; initiating and sustaining personal effort; bridling thoughts, emotions, and behaviors; a willingness to tackle challenges; and competence in creating healthy relationships.
Benefits of Hope
Research demonstrates that hopeful individuals make healthier lifestyle choices, recover from illness and injury more effectively, and experience increased life expectancies. They manifest less depression and anxiety, find greater purpose in life, and experience improved mental health and increased life satisfaction. They persevere when barriers arise, are more effective problem solvers, and adapt when circumstances warrant it. They are successful in finding benefits from adversity. They enjoy more positive relationships and seek and receive social support. Hopeful students experience enhanced academic success.3
As a psychologist at Brigham Young University working with students in distress, and as a former bishop having worked with discouraged and troubled ward members, I have observed the power of hope and its ability to sustain and strengthen. I have also witnessed the destructive and demoralizing effects that arise from hopelessness. In my experience, profound and sustaining hope is more than an attitude; it is an orientation of the spirit toward God. Those who lack this orientation are at a significant disadvantage. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has implored us to remember that “regardless of how desperate things may seem or how desperate they may yet become, … you can always have hope. Always.”4
Strategies for Cultivating Hope
While hope is surely a gift from God, it is also an attribute that can be cultivated. The following strategies may be helpful in strengthening the capacity for hope.
Trust in God. We can’t always see the shore that marks the end of our present difficulties, but we can receive assurance that God’s “furious wind” always blows us “towards the promised land” (Ether 6:5). Remember that “man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend” (Mosiah 4:9). We need to have faith that “he doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world” (2 Nephi 26:24) and that “all these things shall give [us] experience, and shall be for [our] good” (D&C 122:7). Rather than ask why we are faced with trials, we generally experience better outcomes when we concentrate on efforts to study God’s plan for our happiness, align our lives with His will, repent as necessary, and follow in His footsteps.
Focus on the positive. Although challenges arise and need to be dealt with, it is counterproductive to dwell too much on pain and difficulty. The scriptures counsel us to “let virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly” (D&C 121:45). Such elevating and sanctifying garnishing comes from recognizing and accentuating the positive; taking time to count our blessings; evaluating what we view, listen to, and read as well as the way we spend our time; and filling our lives with things that are uplifting and strengthening. As a result, our “confidence [will] wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45), who is the source of all abiding hope.
Identify and challenge negative beliefs. Negative thoughts are the termites of the soul. If we find ourselves frequently thinking or saying, “I can’t,” “It’s too hard,” or “It’s unfair,” then we might ask ourselves if such thoughts are accurate and if they are helping us build the lives we want. It may help to replace these inaccurate assumptions with more constructive thoughts, such as, “I will try,” “I will give it my best,” and “Life is what I make of it.” If unproductive, negative thinking remains persistent and significantly impairs our growth, we should consider seeking help, including the aid of a professional counselor.
Associate with hopeful people and environments. The faith and courage of others inspire and help us believe in the power of possibility. We can think of positive people we know and seek opportunities to associate with them and learn from them by observing how they approach life. We can then experiment with something we have discovered through these observations by trying it out in our own lives.
Develop confidence. Confidence is the breeding ground for hope. Confidence is generated by confronting challenges and striving for and achieving meaningful goals. We can gain confidence by tackling a task we have been putting off, engaging in a difficult conversation we might have been avoiding, or working on developing a talent. We should focus on effort and progress rather than complete success. Confidence is not the certainty of success but rather the conclusion that failure does not determine our worth—we lose nothing by trying.
Improve self-control. Hope is created when we possess meaningful goals, believe in our ability to achieve them, and create workable plans to reach them. Efforts to harness thinking, emotions, and behaviors improve self-control. We can choose a goal and then create a plan to make it happen. This might involve learning a language; memorizing quotations or scriptures; establishing a desired habit; or controlling time, eating, exercise, or finances. We can augment these efforts by reviewing successes we have enjoyed in the past and reminding ourselves that effort pays dividends. We should be both patient and persistent in working toward our goals.
Discover unexpected benefits. Life’s menu serves each of us our portion of spinach—we may not like such fare, but it can strengthen us. The trials we face can provide unexpected benefits. We can identify something we have struggled with or considered a failure and then ask ourselves questions such as the following:
Is there anything I have learned or can learn from this experience? Are there others who have experienced something like this whom I could emulate? Can I develop increased compassion for others and their difficulties because of this experience? Can this bring me closer to God? Many of life’s most important lessons are learned from the trials and challenges we experience.
Rejoice in life’s small victories. Hope emerges and is sustained when we regularly discover reasons for it. Capitalize on the small victories that unfold daily, such as completing assignments, submitting job applications, reading your scriptures, or exercising for a few minutes each day. These accomplishments provide proof that effort is rewarded, lead to enhanced self-confidence, contribute to effective goal- setting, and instill belief that success can be achieved. Try to notice and celebrate at least two of these victories each day.
Take care of yourself. Hope is easier to develop and maintain when we are physically healthy, emotionally resilient, mentally alert, involved in supportive relationships, engaged in interesting work and hobbies, and spiritually nourishing and developing ourselves. Evaluate these dimensions of life. Choose one aspect to work on and establish goals and plans to improve. Just working to improve that aspect can produce hope, even if success is incomplete. Living a balanced and healthy life provides a shield against the pounding surf of the storms of mortality.
Seek spiritual or professional help. When our best efforts are insufficient, we may need spiritual guidance or professional help. Talking with religious leaders may lead to spiritual healing. Medical conditions that interfere with hope attainment may require treatment. Mental health concerns may need professional attention. In every effort, continue to lean on God. Do not suffer alone.
Heavenly hope is predicated on acceptance of divine will. It is enabled through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is received as a gift and confirmed by feeling God’s love for us. Hope is fed by faith and provides a foundation for charity. The doctrine of hope is based on faith and trust in a benevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent God. The principle of hope can be applied both spiritually and psychologically. We can do much to establish habits of hope and an optimistic orientation. Hope is the anchor for the soul, the sail for our dreams, and the balm for our pains. It is the one-size solution that fits all.
Day 4 Read: 1 John 3:1-3 Become like Christ
Day 5 Read: Psalm 146:5 Happy is he where hope is in the Lord
Day 6 Read: Jacob 4: 1-6 The prophets knew and we keep commandments
>>Do not fear the future; go forward with hope and faith. -Boyd K. Packer
Day 7 The Infinite Power of Hope Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf Toward the end of World War II, my father was drafted into the German army and sent to the western front, leaving my mother alone to care for our family. Though I was only three years old, I can still remember this time of fear and hunger. We lived in Czechoslovakia, and with every passing day, the war came nearer and the danger grew greater.
Finally, during the cold winter of 1944, my mother decided to flee to Germany, where her parents were living. She bundled us up and somehow managed to get us on one of the last refugee trains heading west. Traveling during that time was dangerous. Everywhere we went, the sound of explosions, the stressed faces, and ever-present hunger reminded us that we were in a war zone.
Along the way the train stopped occasionally to get supplies. One night during one of these stops, my mother hurried out of the train to search for some food for her four children. When she returned, to her great horror, the train and her children were gone! She was weighed down with worry; desperate prayers filled her heart. She frantically searched the large and dark train station, urgently crisscrossing the numerous tracks while hoping against hope that the train had not already departed.
Perhaps I will never know all that went through my mother’s heart and mind on that black night as she searched through a grim railroad station for her lost children. That she was terrified, I have no doubt. I am certain it crossed her mind that if she did not find this train, she might never see her children again. I know with certainty: her faith overcame her fear, and her hope overcame her despair. She was not a woman who would sit and bemoan tragedy. She moved. She put her faith and hope into action.
And so she ran from track to track and from train to train until she finally found our train. It had been moved to a remote area of the station. There, at last, she found her children again.
I have often thought about that night and what my mother must have endured. If I could go back in time and sit by her side, I would ask her how she managed to go on in the face of her fears. I would ask about faith and hope and how she overcame despair.
While that is impossible, perhaps today I could sit by your side and by the side of any who might feel discouraged, worried, or lonely. Today I would like to speak with you about the infinite power of hope.
The Importance of Hope
Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time. The scriptures are clear and certain about the importance of hope. The Apostle Paul taught that the scriptures were written to the end that we “might have hope.”
Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. Its absence—when this desire of our heart is delayed—can make “the heart sick.”
Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior. This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope. Hope in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness. The hope of salvation is like a protective helmet; it is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls.
Moroni in his solitude—even after having witnessed the complete destruction of his people—believed in hope. In the twilight of the Nephite nation, Moroni wrote that without hope we cannot receive an inheritance in the kingdom of God.
But Why Then Is There Despair?
The scriptures say that there must be “an opposition in all things.” So it is with faith, hope, and charity. Doubt, despair, and failure to care for our fellowmen lead us into temptation, which can cause us to forfeit choice and precious blessings.
The adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds in suffocating darkness. Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be. Despair kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul, and deadens the heart. Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward.
Hope, on the other hand, is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism, confusion, and of fear.
What, Then, Is Hope?
The complexities of language offer several variations and intensities of the word hope. For example, a toddler may hope for a toy phone; an adolescent may hope for a phone call from a special friend; and an adult may simply hope that the phone will stop ringing altogether.
I wish to speak today of the hope that transcends the trivial and centers on the Hope of Israel, the great hope of mankind, even our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance.
In the language of the gospel, this hope is sure, unwavering, and active. The prophets of old speak of a “firm hope” and a “lively hope.” It is a hope glorifying God through good works. With hope comes joy and happiness. With hope, we can “have patience, and bear … [our] afflictions.”
Things We Hope For, Things We Hope In
The things we hope for are often future events. If only we could look beyond the horizon of mortality into what awaits us beyond this life. Is it possible to imagine a more glorious future than the one prepared for us by our Heavenly Father? Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we need not fear, for we will live forever, never to taste of death again. Because of His infinite Atonement, we can be cleansed of sin and stand pure and holy before the judgment bar. The Savior is the Author of our Salvation.
And what kind of existence can we hope for? Those who come unto Christ, repent of their sins, and live in faith will reside forever in peace. Think of the worth of this eternal gift. Surrounded by those we love, we will know the meaning of ultimate joy as we progress in knowledge and in happiness. No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
The things we hope in sustain us during our daily walk. They uphold us through trials, temptations, and sorrow. Everyone has experienced discouragement and difficulty. Indeed, there are times when the darkness may seem unbearable. It is in these times that the divine principles of the restored gospel we hope in can uphold us and carry us until, once again, we walk in the light. We hope in Jesus the Christ, in the goodness of God, in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in the knowledge that prayers are heard and answered. Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future. In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will “work together for [our] good” as we follow the counsel of God’s prophets. This type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair.
Hope Leads to Good Works
We learn to cultivate hope the same way we learn to walk, one step at a time. As we study the scriptures, speak with our Heavenly Father daily, commit to keep the commandments of God, like the Word of Wisdom, and to pay a full tithing, we attain hope. We grow in our ability to “abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost,” as we more perfectly live the gospel.
There may be times when we must make a courageous decision to hope even when everything around us contradicts this hope. Like Father Abraham, we will “against hope [believe] in hope.” Or, as one writer expressed, “in the depth of winter, [we find] within [us] an invincible summer.”
Faith, hope, and charity complement each other, and as one increases, the others grow as well. Hope comes of faith, for without faith, there is no hope. In like manner faith comes of hope, for faith is “the substance of things hoped for.”
Hope is critical to both faith and charity. When disobedience, disappointment, and procrastination erode faith, hope is there to uphold our faith. When frustration and impatience challenge charity, hope braces our resolve and urges us to care for our fellowmen even without expectation of reward. The brighter our hope, the greater our faith. The stronger our hope, the purer our charity.
The things we hope for lead us to faith, while the things we hope in lead us to charity. The three qualities—faith, hope, and charity—working together, grounded on the truth and light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, lead us to abound in good works.
Hope from Personal Experience
Each time a hope is fulfilled, it creates confidence and leads to greater hope. I can think of many instances in my life where I learned firsthand the power of hope. I well remember the days in my childhood encompassed by the horrors and despair of a world war, the lack of educational opportunities, life-threatening health issues during youth, and the challenging and discouraging economic experiences as a refugee. The example of our mother, even in the worst of times, to move forward and put faith and hope into action, not just worrying or wishful thinking, sustained our family and me and gave confidence that present circumstances would give way to future blessings.
I know from these experiences that it is the gospel of Jesus Christ and our membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that strengthen faith, offer a bright hope, and lead us to charity.
Hope sustains us through despair. Hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice even when all seems dark around us.
With Jeremiah I proclaim, “Blessed is the man … whose hope the Lord is.” With Joel I testify, “The Lord [is] the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”
With Nephi I declare: “Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”
This is the quality of hope we must cherish and develop. Such a mature hope comes in and through our Savior Jesus Christ, for “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as [the Savior] is pure.”
The Lord has given us a reassuring message of hope: “Fear not, little flock.” God will wait with “open arms to receive” those who give away their sins and continue in faith, hope, and charity.
And to all who suffer—to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely—I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in.
Never surrender.
Never allow despair to overcome your spirit.
Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart.
Of this I testify and leave you my blessing in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Ensign May 2013
Day 8 Read: Alma 13:27-29 Hope of eternal life- don't procrastinate
Day 9 Watch – HOPE WORKS The Perfect Lie Tiffany Webster 16 min.
Day 10 Read: Moroni 8:25-26 Holy Ghost fills us with hope
>>To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. - Jeffrey R. Holland
Day 11 Read/Sing Hymn 124 Be Still, My Soul
Day 12 STAKE CONFERENCE-ADULT SESSION September 15, 2017
I am grateful that you have come tonight. I am excited to have Bishop Waddell from the Presiding Bishopric with us and look forward to being instructed by him. This should be a great Stake Conference. I recently read on a social media sight the following: “I sometimes feel so weighed down by the tragedy in the world and in the lives of others around me that despair starts to set in. I start to doubt and fear.” I want to address those who are here tonight feeling weighed down by doubt and fear for what could be any number of reasons. They might include:
1. The destructive tragedy that we have recently seen as hurricanes Harvey and Irma ripped through Houston and Florida and a 8.2 earthquake hit Mexico. We have watched as homes were flooded and some were destroyed and people’s lives were changed forever. We have worried, “What is happening with our world”? 2. It could be that you are two weeks into school and you already realize that you are in way over your head with homework and other things to do and really don’t know how you will get everything done. You may have contemplated dropping out and starting over next semester because this is just too overwhelming! 3. It could be that you are newly married and “happily ever after” is nowhere in sight. You often find yourself thinking, “What in the world have I done”? 4. Maybe you have recently lost someone close to you and its unfair that they were taken so early in life or that they were taken at all. 5. Perhaps you are weighed down by the political environment in our country. 6. Or perhaps you are discouraged because of some lingering illness or disability that you may have. 7. Maybe you are weighed down because you are divorced or have never been married and you feel that the chances of having someone come along and “sweep you off your feet” are looking hopeless. 8. Perhaps you have been struggling with an addiction, such as pornography, for a long time. You have really tried to quit but have been unable to and there seems to be “no light at the end of the tunnel”. 9. Maybe you are just worried about the strength of your own testimony. You have seen some of your close friends leave the Church and as they ask you questions about the Church, those questions just don’t seem to have any good answers. And you are beginning to wonder just how long you can hang on to the gospel light that you have grown up with and have loved. 10.Or, perhaps what I have mentioned does not hit upon “any of the things” in your life that are causing you to live in fear and discouragement, but for you “those things”, “your things”, are very real and very discouraging.
I want you to know that there are answers to all of our doubts and fears and feelings of being oppressively “weighed down”. Those answers can be found in a quote by President Uchtdorf as he spoke recently in Houston. I want you to listen carefully for those answers.
“I want to speak directly to my friends in Houston, but I also hope this message can be helpful to you, wherever you are, if your own spiritual floodwaters are rising and you don’t know where to turn. The Lord has given us a reassuring message of hope: “Fear not, little flock . . . Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (D&C 6:34, 36). Hope sustains us through despair. Hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice even when all seems dark around us. And to all who suffer—to all who feel discouraged and worried—I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. When we have hope, we acknowledge the difficult path ahead of us, but we move forward in faith, knowing that God will see us through these times of trial. My friends, embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart. I love you and I pray that you may find hope during these difficult times”. (www.facebook.com/lds.dieter.f.uchtdorf/posts/586907494813265) So, did you find the answers to overcoming doubt and fear in your life? Let me help. The first answer for overcoming fear and doubts is illustrated in a story told by President Uchtdorf several years ago. He states:
“Toward the end of World War II, my father was drafted into the German army and sent to the western front, leaving my mother alone to care for our family. Though I was only three years old, I can still remember this time of fear and hunger. We lived in Czechoslovakia, and with every passing day, the war came nearer and the danger grew greater. Finally, during the cold winter of 1944, my mother decided to flee to Germany, where her parents were living. She bundled us up and somehow managed to get us on one of the last refugee trains heading west. Traveling during that time was dangerous. Everywhere we went, the sound of explosions, the stressed faces, and ever-present hunger reminded us that we were in a war zone. Along the way the train stopped occasionally to get supplies. One night during one of these stops, my mother hurried out of the train to search for some food for her four children. When she returned, to her great horror, the train and her children were gone! She was weighed down with worry; desperate prayers filled her heart. She frantically searched the large and dark train station, urgently crisscrossing the numerous tracks while hoping against hope that the train had not already departed. Perhaps I will never know all that went through my mother’s heart and mind on that black night as she searched through a grim railroad station for her lost children. That she was terrified, I have no doubt. I am certain it crossed her mind that if she did not find this train, she might never see her children again. (This)I know with certainty: her faith overcame her fear, and her hope overcame her despair. She was not a woman who would sit and bemoan tragedy. She moved. She put her faith and hope into action. And so she ran from track to track and from train to train until she finally found our train. It had been moved to a remote area of the station. There, at last, she found her children again. I have often thought about that night and what my mother must have endured”. (General Conference, October 2008, “The Infinity Power of Hope”)
The first answer to overcoming grief and fear and doubts is to let your faith overcome your fear and let your hope overcome your despair. Don’t sit around and bemoan tragedy but get up and do everything you can to make your lot in life better. Sitting around, or worse yet, laying around and hoping that life will get better is a sure-fire way to create failure. Pray, listen to what the Spirit tells you and then get up and act upon those promptings just as President Uchtdorf’s mother did. If she had just sat around and cried about her children being lost, she may never have found them. Only by “moving forward with hope and faith” was the Lord able to lead her to them. The second answer found in President Uchtdor’s message to the people of Houston for overcoming fear and doubts in our lives is illustrated in a story told by Elder Holland. He said:
“Katie Lewis is my neighbor. Her father, Randy, is my bishop; her mother, Melanie, is a saint. And her older brother, Jimmie, is battling leukemia. Sister Lewis recently recounted for me the unspeakable fear and grief that came to their family when Jimmie’s illness was diagnosed. She spoke of the tears and the waves of sorrow that any mother would experience with a prognosis as grim as Jimmie’s was. But like the faithful Latter-day Saints they are, the Lewises turned to God with urgency and with faith and with hope. They fasted and prayed, prayed and fasted. And they went again and again (and again) to the temple. One day Sister Lewis came home from a temple session weary and worried, feeling the impact of so many days —and nights—of fear being held at bay only by monumental faith. As she entered her home, four-year old Katie ran up to her with love in her eyes and a crumpled sheaf of papers in her hand. Holding the papers out to her mother, she said enthusiastically, “Mommy, do you know what these are?” Sister Lewis said frankly her first impulse was to deflect Katie’szeal and say she didn’t feel like playing just then. (She was exhausted). But she thought of her children—all her children—and the possible regret of missed opportunities and little lives that pass too swiftly. So she smiled through her sorrow and said, “No, Katie. I don’t know what they are. Please tell me.” “They are the scriptures,” Katie beamed back, “and do you know what they say?” Sister Lewis stopped smiling, gazed deeply at this little child, knelt down to her level, and said, “Tell me, Katie. What do the scriptures say?” “They say, ‘Trust Jesus.’” And then she was gone. Sister Lewis said that as she stood back up, holding a fistful of her four-year-old’s scribbling, she felt near- tangible arms of peace encircle her weary soul and a divine stillness calm her troubled heart”. Elder Holland continues. “In a world of some discouragement, sorrow, and overmuch sin, in times when fear and despair seem to prevail, when humanity is feverish with no worldly physicians in sight, I too say, “Trust Jesus.” Let him still the tempest and ride upon the storm. Believe that he can lift (you and all) mankind from (their) bed of affliction, in time and in eternity”. (General Conference, October 1993, “Look to God and Live”)
The second answer to overcoming our fear and our own personal tragedy is to “Trust Jesus”. “The Lord has given us a reassuring message of hope when He said: “Fear not, little flock . . . Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (D&C 6:34, 36). We must not just have hope, but we must have hope in Christ. We must really trust Him and we must turn our wills over to Him. He will ALWAYS bless us with what is best for us. He is our advocate. He is our friend. He will help us to become like him, IF (and only if) we trust Him! I want to end the way that I began by re-quoting from President Uchtdorf. Listen for the two answers for overcoming the doubts and fears in our lives.
“And to all who suffer—to all who feel discouraged and worried—I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. When we have hope, we acknowledge the difficult path ahead of us, but we move forward in faith, knowing that God will see us through these times of trial. My friends, embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart. I love you and I pray that you may find hope during these difficult times”. (www.facebook.com/lds.dieter.f.uchtdorf/posts/586907494813265) So, in these times of uncertainty and tragedy in the world around us, when doubt and fear sometimes overcome us, may we always remember the two steps that will help to conquer all our fears, doubts and discouragement and allow sunshine back into our lives. 1. Get up and move forward with hope and faith; and 2. Trust Jesus, really, really trust Him because He is our advocate and our friend. Let Him “pierce the darkness, soften your sorrow and gladden your heart”. This is my prayer for each of us, in the name…. Pres. Ed Rasmussen Day 13 Read: Acts 24:15 Hope toward God for resurrection
Read: Jeremiah 17:7 Man is blessed when he hopes in Jesus Christ
Day 14 Read: Joel 3:16 The Lord is the hope of the people >>Hold on. Hope on. Fan the flame of your faith for all theings are possible to them that believe. Hope on. Journey on. -Jeffrey R. Holland
Day 15 Pres. James E. Faust Hope, An Anchor of the Soul This morning “I would speak unto you,” as Moroni said, “concerning hope.” There are tremendous sources of hope beyond our own ability, learning, strength, and capacity. Among them is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Through the marvelous blessing of this member of the Godhead, we can come to “know the truth of all things.”
Hope is the anchor of our souls. I know of no one who is not in need of hope—young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor. As the prophet Ether exhorted, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.” Nephi admonished those of his day, “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men … , feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”
Everybody in this life has their challenges and difficulties. That is part of our mortal test. The reason for some of these trials cannot be readily understood except on the basis of faith and hope because there is often a larger purpose which we do not always understand. Peace comes through hope.
Few activities are safer than serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Missionaries are literally in the hands of the Lord. We wish that all of them could be kept totally out of harm’s way all of the time, but that is not realistic. Missionaries, their families, and leaders trust fully in the Lord’s watch care, and when a rare tragedy strikes, they are sustained by the Spirit of Him whom they serve.
Last summer I visited Elder Orin Voorheis at his parents’ home in Pleasant Grove, Utah. He is a big, handsome, splendid young man who served in the Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission. One night, about 11 months into his mission, some armed robbers accosted Elder Voorheis and his companion. In a senseless act of violence, one of them shot Elder Voorheis in the head. For days he hovered between life and death, unable to speak, hear, move, or even breathe on his own. Through the faith and prayers of a host of people over a long period of time, he eventually was taken off life support and brought back to the United States.
After months of extensive hospitalization and therapy, Elder Voorheis became stronger, but he was still paralyzed and unable to speak. Progress was slow. His parents decided that they should bring their son home and care for him in the loving atmosphere of their own family. However, their modest home lacked the space or equipment to give the needed therapy. Many kind neighbors, friends, and benefactors pitched in to build an addition to the home and provide physical therapy equipment.
Elder Voorheis is still almost completely paralyzed and unable to speak, but he has a wonderful spirit and can respond to questions with hand movements. He still wears his missionary badge. His parents do not ask, “Why did this happen to our noble son, who was serving at the call of the Master?” No one has a certain answer except perhaps in circumstances where higher purposes are served. We must walk in faith. We recall the Savior’s reply to the question, “Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” The Savior answered that no one was at fault but that the works of God might be manifest in him. Rather than harbor bitterness, the members of the Voorheis family bow their heads and say to the Lord: “Thy will be done. We have been grateful for him every day of his life, and with the help of others we will willingly bear the burden of caring for him.”
My purpose in visiting Elder Voorheis was to join his father, his bishop, his home teacher, and others in giving him a blessing of hope. Some may ask, “Is there hope for Elder Voorheis in this life?” I believe there is great hope for everyone! Sometimes we ask God for miracles, and they often happen but not always in the manner we expect. The quality of Elder Voorheis’s life is less than desirable, but the influence of his life on others is incalculable and everlasting both here and in Argentina. Indeed, after his accident the Kilómetro 26 Branch, where he served in Argentina, grew rapidly and quickly qualified for the construction of a chapel.
Hope is trust in God’s promises, faith that if we act now, the desired blessings will be fulfilled in the future. Abraham “against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations.” Contrary to human reason, he trusted God, “fully persuaded” that God would fulfill His promises of giving Abraham and Sarah a child in their old ages.
A few years ago, Sister Joyce Audrey Evans, a young mother in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was having trouble with a pregnancy. She went to the hospital, where one of the nurses told her she would probably lose the baby. Sister Evans replied: “But I can’t give up. … You have to give me hope.” Sister Evans later recalled: “I couldn’t give up hope until all reason for hope was gone. It was something I owed to my unborn child.”
Three days later she had a miscarriage. She wrote: “For one long moment, I felt nothing. Then a profound feeling of peace flowed through me. With the peace came understanding. I knew now why I couldn’t give up hope in spite of all the circumstances: you either live in hope or you live in despair. Without hope, you cannot endure to the end. I had looked for an answer to prayers and was not disappointed; I was healed in body and rewarded with a spirit of peace. Never before had I felt so close to my Heavenly Father; never before had I felt such peace. …
“The miracle of peace was not the only blessing to come from this experience. Some weeks later, I fell to thinking about the child I had lost. The Spirit brought to my mind the words from Genesis 4:25 [Gen. 4:25]: ‘And she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed. …’
“A few months later, I became pregnant again. When my son was born, he was declared to be ‘perfect.’” He was named Evan Seth.
Peace in this life is based upon faith and testimony. We can all find hope from our personal prayers and gain comfort from the scriptures. Priesthood blessings lift us and sustain us. Hope also comes from direct personal revelation, to which we are entitled if we are worthy. We also have the security of living in a time when a prophet who holds and exercises all of the keys of God’s kingdom is on the earth.
Samuel Smiles wrote: “‘Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey towards it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.’ … Hope sweetens the memory of experiences well loved. It tempers our troubles to our growth and our strength. It befriends us in dark hours, excites us in bright ones. It lends promise to the future and purpose to the past. It turns discouragement to determination.” The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death. How can we know that Jesus truly is our Savior and Redeemer? In human terms His reality is almost undefinable, but His presence can be known unequivocally by the Spirit if we continually seek to live under the shadow of His influence. In the Book of Mormon we read the account of Aaron expounding the gospel to Lamoni’s father. He told him, “If thou wilt bow down before God … and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.” The old king followed this to the letter and received a witness of the truth that Aaron had imparted. As a result, he and all his household were converted and came to know the Lord.
Our greatest hope comes from the knowledge that the Savior broke the bands of death. His victory came through His excruciating pain, suffering, and agony. He atoned for our sins if we repent. In the Garden of Gethsemane came the anguished cry, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Luke described the intensity of the agony: “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.” All of us can find hope in Peter’s experience during the events leading to the Crucifixion. Perhaps the Lord was speaking to all of us when He said to Peter:
“Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
“But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Peter responded, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.”
Then the Savior told him, “Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before … thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.”
As Peter watched the events unfold, he was identified as a disciple of Christ. A maid said, “This man was also with him,” and Peter answered that he knew Him not. Two others identified Peter as His disciple. Peter again denied knowing the Savior. And while he was speaking a cock crowed.
“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
“And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”
This experience strengthened Peter to the point that he would never fail again and was known as the rock. His hope became firmly anchored to an eternal Rock, even our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. As the chief Apostle he carried the work forward faithfully and valiantly.
As Peter gained hope after a moment of weakness, you, I, and everyone can enjoy the hope that comes from the knowledge that God truly lives. Such hope springs from the belief that if we have faith, somehow He will help us through our challenges—if not in this life, then surely in the life to come. As Paul said to the Corinthians, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” In the eternal scheme of things, wrongs will be righted. In the perfect justice of the Lord, all who live worthily will be compensated for blessings not enjoyed here. In my opinion, there has never been in the history of this Church a reason for so much hope for the future of the Church and its members worldwide. I believe and testify that we are moving to a higher level of faith and activity than there ever has been. I pray that each of us will be found holding up our end of the line in this great army of righteousness. Each of us will come before the Holy One of Israel and account for our personal righteousness. We are told that “he employeth no servant there.”
There has come with my apostolic calling a sure witness of the life and ministry of the Savior. I declare with Job, “I know that my redeemer liveth.” My witness of this “is in heaven.” Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of all mankind. Joseph Smith was the inspired Prophet who restored the saving keys, authority, and organization delegated to him under the direction of God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of this I testify in the holy name of Jesus Christ, amen. Liahona January 2000
Day 16 Read: Romans 15:4 We have hope through patience, scripture Day 17 Read/ Sing Hymn 135 My Redeemer Lives
Day 18 Read: 1 Peter 1:3 Hope in resurrection of Jesus Christ
>>LDS.org Blog The atonement of Jesus Christ gives us hope. It gives us power to know we can overcome Satan, fight past the darkness of mortality, burst the bands of death, and ultimately become like our Heavenly Father. Fear says, “I can't.” Faith says, ”I can with God's help.” Fear says, ”all hope is lost.” Faith says, “Hope never dies.”
Day 19 Watch HOPE WORKS Spiritual Beings and the Human Experience Matt Townsend 22 min.
Day 20 Read: 2 Nephi 31:20 Press forward having brightness of hope
Day 21 Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:8 Helmet is hope of salvation
>>Believe in miracles. I have seen so many of them come when every other indication would say that hope was lost. Hope is never lost. - Jeffrey R. Holland
Day 22 Read: Alma 7:23, 24 Humility, faith, hope, and charity are all required
Day 23 Read/Sing Hymn 113 Our Savior's Love
Day 24 Read: Moroni 10:20-22 Must be hope
>>He will ever be at our side. He will fight our battles. He is our hope. He is our salvation. He is the way. - Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Day 25 Read/Sing Hymn 305 The Light Divine
Day 26 Read: Alma 32:21, Hebrews 11:1 Hope for things not seen, true Evidence of things not seen = hope
Day 27 Brightness of Hope Neal A. Maxwell For some years, brothers and sisters, there has been an increasing and profound sense of existential despair in the world. This mortal hopelessness both reflects and affects much of mankind. Whether tribal or national, wars constitute “the continued experience of twentieth-century man” (Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory, London: Oxford University Press, 1975, p. 74). A grumpy cynicism pervades politics in so many places on this planet. Holocausts, famine, pestilence, and tides of refugees have taken a terrible toll on human hope, with much of that toll coming from man-made, avoidable disasters. Causality can be assigned to one or another form of iniquity. No wonder, as the scriptures say, despair comes of iniquity! (See Moro. 10:22.)
Of course, many disagree over what constitutes sin, but surely they do not welcome the deepening of human despair! Some moderns do not lament the loss of traditional faith either, but surely they lament the further loss of hope and charity, ever in such short supply anyway.
Does hope really matter, or is it merely an antique virtue?
Without hope, what is the future of lubricating forgiveness among the human family? Without hope, why forgo now in order to preserve precious resources for future generations? Without hope, what will keep the remaining idealism from also souring into cynicism and thereby laying waste to governments and families—institutions already in such serious jeopardy?
A coalition of consequences is emerging. As prophesied, the love of many waxes cold (see Matt. 24:12). Even those affectionally secure themselves can sense the chill in the air. The loss of hope sends selfishness surging, as many turn, even more intensively, to pleasing themselves. The diminished sense of sin diminishes shame, that hot, sharp spur needed for repentance. Shame is often replaced by the arrogance of those morally adrift, including strutting celebrities whose outer boldness camouflages their inner emptiness. Henry David Thoreau correctly observed that “unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusement of mankind” (Walden, New York: Harper and Row, 1965, p. 7). No wonder so much hollow laughter emanates from the “lonely crowd.”
As societies trivialize traditional values, we witness a flow of immense suffering. We anguish, for instance, over what happens to the unborn, who cannot vote, and to children at risk. We weep over children having children and children shooting children. Often secular remedies to these challenges are not based on spiritual principles. To borrow a metaphor—secular remedies resemble an alarmed passenger traveling on the wrong train who tries to compensate by running up the aisle in the opposite direction!
Only the acceptance of the revelations of God can bring both direction and correction and, in turn, bring a “brightness of hope” (2 Ne. 31:20). Real hope does not automatically “spring eternal” unless it is connected with eternal things! “What is it that ye shall hope for?” Moroni wrote. “Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ” (Moro. 7:41; see also Alma 27:28). From this triumphal act, resulting in the eventual resurrection of all mankind, so many lesser hopes derive their significance!
Prophets have always had and taught ultimate hope in Christ. Jacob wrote, “We knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and … also all the holy prophets which were before us” (Jacob 4:4).
You and I can be repeatedly reassured concerning this grand hope by the Comforter, who teaches us the truth about “things as they really are, and … really will be” (Jacob 4:13; see also Moro. 8:26). Such hope constitutes the “anchor of the soul” (Heb. 6:19). Such hope is retained through faith in Christ (see Alma 25:16; Ether 12:9). In contrast, a resurrection-less view of life produces only proximate hope (see 1 Cor. 15:19).
Having ultimate hope does not mean we will always be rescued from proximate problems, but we will be rescued from everlasting death! Meanwhile, ultimate hope makes it possible to say the same three words used centuries ago by three valiant men. They knew God could rescue them from the fiery furnace, if He chose. “But if not,” they said, nevertheless, they would still serve Him! (Dan. 3:18.)
Unsurprisingly the triad of faith, hope, and charity, which brings us to Christ, has strong and converging linkage: faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, hope is in His atonement, and charity is the “pure love of Christ”! (See Ether 12:28; Moro. 7:47.) Each of these attributes qualifies us for the celestial kingdom (see Moro. 10:20–21; Ether 12:34). Each, first of all, requires us to be meek and lowly (see Moro. 7:39, 43).
Faith and hope are constantly interactive, and may not always be precisely distinguished or sequenced. Though not perfect knowledge either, hope’s enlivened expectations are “with surety” true (Ether 12:4; see also Rom. 8:24; Heb. 11:1; Alma 32:21). In the geometry of restored theology, hope has a greater circumference than faith. If faith increases, the perimeter of hope stretches correspondingly.
Just as doubt, despair, and desensitization go together, so do faith, hope, and charity. The latter, however, must be carefully and constantly nurtured, whereas despair, like dandelions, needs so little encouragement to sprout and spread. Despair comes so naturally to the natural man!
Souls can be roused and rallied by hope’s “reveille” as by no other music. Even if comrades slumber or desert, “lively hope” performs like a reconnoitering scout out in advance of God’s columns; “there is hope smiling brightly before us” (see 1 Pet. 1:3; Hymns, 1985, no. 19). Hope caused disciples to go quickly and expectantly to an empty garden tomb (see Mark 16:1–8; Luke 24:8–12). Hope helped a prophet to see rescuing rain in a distant cloud which appeared to be no larger than a man’s hand (see 1 Kgs. 18:41–46).
Significantly, those who look forward to a next and better world are usually “anxiously engaged” in improving this one, for they “always abound in good works” (D&C 58:27; Alma 7:24). Thus, real hope is much more than wishful musing. It stiffens, not slackens, the spiritual spine. It is composed, not giddy, eager without being naive, and pleasantly steady without being smug. Hope is realistic anticipation taking the form of determination—a determination not merely to survive but to “endure … well” to the end (D&C 121:8).
While weak hope leaves us at the mercy of our moods and events, “brightness of hope” produces illuminated individuals. Their luminosity is seen, and things are also seen by it! Such hope permits us to “press forward” even when dark clouds oppress (see 2 Ne. 31:16, 20; Heb. 6:19; Ether 12:4; Col. 1:23). Sometimes in the deepest darkness there is no external light—only an inner light to guide and to reassure.
Though “anchored” in grand and ultimate hope, some of our tactical hopes are another matter. We may hope for a pay raise, a special date, an electoral victory, or for a bigger house—things which may or may not be realized. Faith in Father’s plan gives us endurance even amid the wreckage of such proximate hopes. Hope keeps us “anxiously engaged” in good causes even when these appear to be losing causes (see D&C 58:27).
Hope helps us to walk by faith, not by sight. This can actually be safer. When unaided spiritually, natural sight often shrinks from the odds (see 2 Cor. 5:7). It is immobilized by improbabilities. Mauled by his moods and intimidated by his fears, the natural man overreacts to, while hope overrides, the disappointments of the day. Hope is particularly needed in the hand-to-hand combat required to put off the natural man (see Mosiah 3:19). Giving up on God and on oneself constitutes simultaneous surrender to the natural man.
Daily hope is vital, since the “Winter Quarters” of our lives are not immediately adjacent to our promised land either. An arduous trek still awaits, but hope spurs weary disciples on.
Those with true hope often see their personal circumstances shaken, like kaleidoscopes, again and again. Yet with the “eye of faith,” they still see divine pattern and purpose (Alma 5:15).
By pressing forward, we can stand on what was yesterday’s horizon, thereby drawing hope from our own experiences. Hence Paul described how “tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Rom. 5:3–4). Therefore we sing, “We’ve proved him in days that are past” (Hymns, 1985, no. 19).
Hope feasts on the words of Christ, “written for our learning,” so that “having all these witnesses” through the “comfort of the scriptures [we] might have hope” (Rom. 15:4; Jacob 4:6; see also 2 Ne. 31:20). We sing, too, of how “more holiness” involves having “more hope in his word” (Hymns, 1985, no. 131).
Genuine hope is urgently needed in order to be more loving even as the love of many waxes cold; more merciful, even when misunderstood or misrepresented; more holy, even as the world ripens in iniquity; more courteous and patient in a coarsening and curt world; and more full of heartfelt hope, even when other men’s hearts fail them. Whatever our particular furrow, we are to “plow in hope,” without looking back or letting yesterday hold tomorrow hostage (1 Cor. 9:10).
Hope can be contagious, so we are to be “ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh … a reason of the hope that is in [us]” (1 Pet. 3:15). If, said Brother Brigham, we do not impart knowledge to others and do good, then we “will become … contracted” in our views and feelings (Journal of Discourses, 2:267). Despair is contraction at the end of its journey.
Genuine hope gives spiritual spunk, including to deserving parents drenched in honest sweat from being “anxiously engaged.” Just as the leaning Tower of Pisa is a persistent rebuke to architectural pessimism, so parental hope—by refusing to topple merely because of the gravity of the current family situation—is a repudiation of despair. Giving parents never give up hope!
Though otherwise “lively,” hope stands quietly with us at funerals. Our tears are just as wet, but not because of despair. Rather, they are tears of appreciation evoked by poignant separation. They will change, erelong, to tears of glorious anticipation. Yet the emptiness is so real and so restless it initiates a retroactive inventory of what is now so painfully missing, doing so, however, while forecasting fulness and resplendent reunion!
Humble hope helps us to improve by being sufficiently free of ego to ask, “Lord, is it I?” (Matt. 26:22.) Submissive hope also readies us to “give away all [our] sins” because we have come to know Jesus, who alone can take them! (Alma 22:18.)
Gospel hope keeps us from being muted by being either a naive Pollyanna or a despairing Cassandra. Voices of warning are meant to be heard, not just raised.
Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples, reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have “moved away from the hope of the gospel” (Col. 1:23). Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down.
Hope beckons all of us to come home where a glow reflects the Light of the World, whose “brightness and glory defy all description” (JS—H 1:17). Jesus waits “with open arms to receive” those who finally overcome by faith and hope (Morm. 6:17). His welcome will consist not of a brief, loving pat but, instead, of being “clasped in the arms of Jesus”! (Morm. 5:11).
These Primary children will soon sing about wishing “that [Jesus’] arms had been thrown around [them]” (Children’s Songbook, p. 56). They and we can “hope, and even know” of such sacred things! (Alma 28:12.)
Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Ensign November 1994
Day 28 Read: Ether 12:4-8 Believe in God, hope for a better world
Day 29 Read: Psalm 130:5-7, Psalm 131:3 Hope in the Lord forever
Day 30 Read: 1 Peter 3:15 Give answer to reason of hope
>>Sometimes we can learn and study and know, and sometimes we have to believe, trust, and hope. -M. Russell Ballard
Day 31 Read: Hebrews 6:17-19 Anchor to the soul, God's promise
Day 32 Watch HOPE WORKS Seeing Green Jill Thomas 22 min.
Day 33 Read: Ether 12: 27-32 Weakness strength, mansion – inheritance
>>Remember, repentance is not punishment. It is the hope-filled path to a more glorious future... When you feel that there is only a thin thread of hope, it is really not a thread but a massive connecting link. -Richard G. Scott
Day 34 Read/Sing Hymn 115 Come, Ye Disconsolate
Day 35 Read: Moroni 7:1-3 Faith, hope, charity, followers of Christ enter into rest of Lord
Day 36 Hope and Faith: A Discussion with Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Recently a member of the Church magazines staff met with Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to discuss hope and faith. Following is a portion of their conversation. Because of conditions in the world today, it may seem easy to become discouraged. How can we avoid such feelings and maintain hope and optimism?
Elder Wirthlin: There has always been discouragement, negativism, and temptation in the world because of Lucifer. These times in which we are living are not new times. When the Savior Himself was born, there were troubled times. The Prophet Joseph Smith lived in troubled times. It is interesting that during difficult times, the Lord has often intervened.
If willing to pray, every living person may be sustained by the Lord through whatever tragedy or problem might come upon him or her. This sustaining help results from our dependence upon the Lord —which is really our faith in Him, our knowledge of Him, and our testimony—as was so true with the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was impressed to follow the admonition of James the Apostle: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” (James 1:5). His simple prayer opened up the heavens and ushered in our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son in the most important revelation that has been given to mankind.
As with the Prophet Joseph Smith, we too can pray for answers to our questions and problems. Prayer is so important to maintaining hope. Even the Savior of the world prayed to Heavenly Father. Prayer is the entrance to heaven. And everybody has that privilege. What a great blessing.
What is it that we should hope for?
Elder Wirthlin: The first thing we should hope for is eternal life—to live eternally with our Father and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and to live forever with our family.
One of the best scriptures about hope is Ether 12:4: “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.” That’s the best verse I know of about hope.
What is the relationship between having a strong testimony of the gospel and having hope?
Elder Wirthlin: Well, I think that a strong testimony of the gospel comes after hope. In my opinion we hope that we will one day see God, we hope that we will see our loved ones, we hope for eternal life. With membership in the Church, as we partake of the sacrament, attend the temple regularly, and fulfill all the other requirements of gospel living, we develop strong testimonies.
So hope is a requirement for having a strong testimony?
Elder Wirthlin: Yes, I think that hope comes first. It is also necessary for us to hope before we pray. We hope, we ponder, then we pray. I think that in the heart of Joseph Smith as a young boy, he hoped for an answer to his prayer. His experience in the Sacred Grove laid the very foundation of our church. And the beginning of it all was Joseph’s hope and faith.
Would you be willing to share an experience in which your hope and faith have helped you deal with a discouraging situation?
Elder Wirthlin: When I was a missionary in Austria in 1938, Hitler was ravaging Europe and threatened to take over Austria. Rumors had spread out of Germany about how he had treated the Jews and how he was opposed to religion, and this led people to fear. But with all of the turmoil that was going on, I had an inner faith and hope because of the blessing I had received when I was set apart as a missionary by my father. I was told that I would be protected from whatever danger might come my way, so I had an inner peace and hope that despite the dangers that were very evident, everything would be OK.
Two weeks before what they call the “Anschluss”—Hitler’s annexation of Austria—I was transferred to Switzerland, which was neutral. I’ve always looked back on that as a blessing in times of peril.
Then another time, as I was coming home on the ocean, German submarines had just sunk a British passenger vessel called the SS Athenia off the coast of Ireland. Word was given throughout the ship that we were being followed by two giant submarines and that we could possibly be torpedoed. There again, faith came back to me, a feeling of faith, confidence, and hope that we would arrive in New York safely, which we did.
How can Church members develop that same hope that was such a strength to you?
Elder Wirthlin: Always have faith, first of all, in our Heavenly Father and in His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. And always have a positive attitude about our prophet, seer, and revelator, about the leaders of the Church, and about one another.
Parents can be instrumental in helping their children develop hope and faith. I was taught by my parents from early childhood about Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. My parents tried to live lives that conformed to what the Savior taught.
I get a lot of my thinking from my parents. My mother was a very positive thinker; she was always active, always doing something good. I never heard her say anything negative about another individual. That was a great example to me.
We refer often to the term “faith of our fathers.” I would say “faith of our fathers and mothers,” because I think that we should never forget our mothers, who are so instrumental in helping us develop faith and hope.
The scriptures speak of “a perfect brightness of hope” (2 Ne. 31:20). How do we develop this type of hope?
Elder Wirthlin: What we want is for that perfect brightness of hope to develop into a perfect knowledge, a testimony of the Savior and our Heavenly Father. And to me, that perfect knowledge is that we don’t have a shadow of doubt. You’ve heard testimonies in fast meeting. Some will say, “I believe”; others will say, “I know.” To know is to have an assurance, without a shadow of a doubt, that something is true.
What is it that you hope for?
Elder Wirthlin: My number one hope is that I may live so that I am worthy to someday be in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son with my wife, my children, and my entire posterity, and that we shall not lose one in this respect. That would be my number one hope.
Many young people today are reluctant to start families of their own because of the pressures of the world or because they have seen other marriages fail. What would you say to help them have hope for their future families?
Elder Wirthlin: Just move forward regardless of the world. As they read the scriptures, they will know what they should do. They shouldn’t be dwelling on all of these other things. Keep busy in doing the right things. When I have decisions or advice to give to people, I explain that it is all laid out in the scriptures. As the Savior said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27). Peace and hope come from knowing the Lord and our Heavenly Father and following Their way of living.
Our lives should be filled with hope, positive thinking, and great anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ and our literal resurrection to live with our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son, the Savior of the world, forever. That is what we should hope for. Ensign February 2005
Day 37 Read: Moroni 7:40-45, 48 Hope through atonement to life eternal
Day 38 Read: Job 11:18 Hope is secure, rest, safe
Day 39 Read: D&C 138:11-14 Dead gathered in hope in resurrection
>>I will put my hope in God. I will wait, for He is faithful. -Lauren Caskill
Day 40 Read/Sing Hymn 259 Hope of Israel
Day 41 Read: Moroni 9:25 Christ lift thee up hope in his glory, eternal life
Day 42 Watch HOPE WORKS We Aren't God's Only People Samuel Hislop 15 min.
Day 43 Read: Jacob 2:18-19 After obtained hope in Christ = help others
>>Looking forward with an eternal perspective gives one hope, a reason to look up and feel gratitude for even the smallest bit of light. -Rosemary M. Wixom
Day 44 M. Russell Ballard The Joy of Hope Fulfilled Living in these difficult times, brothers and sisters, requires each one of us to maintain a positive, hopeful perspective about the future. Today, more so than in the past, I am asked about the signs of the times and if I think the end of the world is near. My answer is the same one that Jesus gave some two thousand years ago: “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
“Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” (Mark 13:32–33.) When Jesus was asked about the sign of His coming, he said, “Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
“All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matt. 24:6–8; emphasis added.)
Although the prophecies tell us that these things are to take place, more and more people are expressing great alarm at what appears to be an acceleration of worldwide calamity. As members of the Church, we must not forget the Savior’s admonition, “Be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass.” These are difficult times, when the forces of nature seem to be unleashing a flood of “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”
Recently I read a newspaper article that cited statistics from the U.S. Geological Survey indicating that earthquakes around the world are increasing in frequency and intensity. According to the article, only two major earthquakes (earthquakes measuring at least six on the Richter scale) occurred during the 1920s. In the 1930s the number increased to five, and then it decreased to four during the 1940s. But in the 1950s, nine major earthquakes occurred, followed by fifteen during the 1960s, forty-six during the 1970s, and fifty-two during the 1980s. Already almost as many major earthquakes have occurred during the 1990s as during the entire decade of the 1980s.
The world is experiencing violent disorders, both physical, as well as social. Here in the United States, we are still reeling from two incredibly destructive hurricanes. People in the Philippines see no end to the devastation of the volcanic eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Famine grips portions of Africa, where tragic human suffering is prevalent. To a lesser degree, hunger afflicts millions, even in countries that have a high standard of living.
Political unrest, warfare, and economic chaos prevail in many parts of the world, and the plagues of pornography, drug misuse, immorality, AIDS, and child abuse become more oppressive with each passing day. The media busily satisfies an apparently insatiable appetite of audiences to witness murder, violence, nudity, sex, and profanity. Is not this the day of which Moroni spoke when he recorded: “Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.” (Morm. 8:35.) And then he prophesied of conditions of the world as they are today.
Brothers and sisters, whether or not these are indeed the last days or even “the beginning of sorrows” as the Savior foretold, some of us may find our lives laden with frustration, disappointment, and sorrow. Many feel helpless to deal with the chaos that seems to prevail in the world. Others anguish over family members who are being carried downstream in a swift, raging current of weakening values and declining moral standards. Children particularly are suffering as society drifts further and further away from the commandments of God.
Many have even resigned themselves to accept the wickedness and cruelty of the world as being irreparable. They have given up hope. They have decided to quit trying to make the world a better place in which they and their families can live. They have surrendered to despair.
Admittedly we have ample reason to be deeply concerned because we see no immediate answers to the seemingly unsolvable problems confronting the human family. But regardless of this dark picture, which will ultimately get worse, we must never allow ourselves to give up hope! Moroni, having seen our day, counseled, “Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope.” (Moro. 10:20.)
To all who have harbored feelings of despair and an absence of hope, I offer the words of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith:
“Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. …
“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (D&C 6:34, 36), “even so am I in the midst of you” (D&C 6:32).
My message to you today, my brothers and sisters, is simply this: the Lord is in control. He knows the end from the beginning. He has given us adequate instruction that, if followed, will see us safely through any crisis. His purposes will be fulfilled, and someday we will understand the eternal reasons for all of these events. Therefore, today we must be careful to not overreact, nor should we be caught up in extreme preparations; but what we must do is keep the commandments of God and never lose hope!
But where do we find hope in the midst of such turmoil and catastrophe? Quite simply, our one hope for spiritual safety during these turbulent times is to turn our minds and our hearts to Jesus Christ. The prophet Mormon taught: “Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
“Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.” (Moro. 7:41–42.)
Faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, is absolutely essential for us to maintain a balanced perspective through times of trial and difficulty. Remember, nothing will occur in our lives that He does not understand. Alma taught, “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.” (Alma 7:11.)
Please turn to Him if you are discouraged and struggling for direction in your life. Armed with the shield of faith, we can overcome many of our daily challenges and overpower our greatest weaknesses and fears, knowing that if we do our best to keep the commandments of God, come what may, we will be all right.
Of course that does not necessarily mean that we will be spared personal suffering and heartache. Righteousness has never precluded adversity. But faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—real faith, whole- souled and unshakable—is a power to be reckoned with in the universe. It can be a causative force through which miracles are wrought. Or it can be a source of inner strength through which we find peace, comfort, and the courage to cope.
As we put our faith and trust to work, hope is born. Hope grows out of faith and gives meaning and purpose to all that we do. It can even give us the peaceful assurance we need to live happily in a world that is ripe with iniquity, calamity, and injustice.
As the end of the Savior’s mortal ministry drew near, He offered this reassuring hope to His beloved disciples: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27.)
Hope is a precious principle by which to live. However, some among us may have lost all hope because of sin and transgression. A person can become so deeply immersed in the ways of the world that he sees no way out and loses all hope. My plea to all who have fallen into this trap of the adversary is to never give up! Regardless of how desperate things may seem or how desperate they may yet become, please believe me, you can always have hope. Always.
Recently I had the privilege of performing the temple sealing ordinances for a wonderful family. It was a beautiful occasion, as such ceremonies almost always are. But if you had known the father of this family several years earlier, you would have understood what a miracle was taking place in the House of the Lord that day. With his permission I quote from a letter he wrote to me:
“I was born into the Church and was taught the gospel at my mother’s knee. Through her diligence and perseverance, she kindled a small ember of testimony that never left me even through some of the roughest times of my life. In my teen years Satan hit me hard. It was during the late 1960s and early 1970s, a time of great turmoil, and Satan was hard at work on me. I was taken with the practice of free drugs, free love, free fun, and the rest of the world be damned. Beginning with my first drink of alcohol, I began to slowly deteriorate. After alcohol, other drugs were that much easier to use. In order to take drugs, you must become a good liar. You learn to do whatever it takes to conceal your behavior from others.
“After many years of living this way, all my moral fiber seemed to be completely eroded away. I had a minimal amount of conscience and had sunk to the depths of despair and depression. I watched friends die from drugs and suicide. As time passed, my friends and I were exposed to the criminal justice system. In fact, many of my former friends are still in prison. Had it not been for the small flicker of testimony instilled in me by my mother when I was a child, to know that Heavenly Father could still love me, I have reservations as to whether I would even be writing this letter today.” Some parents might have given up hope on this prodigal son, but not this man’s mother. She continued to believe that he would find his way back to the teachings of his childhood and once again place his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. With the loving support of his family and friends, that is exactly what he did. Let me read again from his letter:
“If there is one thing I have learned, it is that no matter how lost you feel, no matter how low you may have sunk, there can be forgiveness and peace. I learned that the further one drifts from the Lord, the harder it is to return to Him and His teachings. But once I opened my heart and called out in prayer to Heavenly Father to help me in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, I came to know the power of repentance and the blessings of obedience to God’s commandments.”
Brothers and sisters, I wish all of you could have been with us in the temple that day to feel the joy of hope fulfilled. I am sure you would have sensed, as I did, the rekindled love for God and the sublime happiness that filled the heart of my friend’s mother as her four sons, their companions, and other family members surrounded her in the sealing room.
The Apostle Paul taught that three divine principles form a foundation upon which we can build the structure of our lives. They are faith, hope, and charity. (See 1 Cor. 13:13.) Together they give us a base of support like the legs of a three-legged stool. Each principle is significant within itself, but each also plays an important supporting role. Each is incomplete without the others. Hope helps faith develop. Likewise true faith gives birth to hope. When we begin to lose hope, we are faltering also in our measure of faith. The principles of faith and hope working together must be accompanied by charity, which is the greatest of all. According to Mormon, “charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever.” (Moro. 7:47.) It is the perfect manifestation of our faith and hope.
Working together, these three eternal principles will help give us the broad eternal perspective we need to face life’s toughest challenges, including the prophesied ordeals of the last days. Real faith fosters hope for the future; it allows us to look beyond ourselves and our present cares. Fortified by hope, we are moved to demonstrate the pure love of Christ through daily acts of obedience and Christian service.
I assure you, my brothers and sisters, that our Heavenly Father is aware of us, individually and collectively. He understands the spiritual, physical, and emotional difficulties we face in the world today. In fact, they are all part of His plan for our eternal growth and development. And His promise to us is sure: “He that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the same shall overcome.” (D&C 63:20.)
The Savior promised that “no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. … This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.” (3 Ne. 22:17.)
May we all find the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philip. 4:7), which can be found only through charity, faith, and hope.
May I leave you my testimony that I know that the Lord Jesus Christ lives. He has restored His Church to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Our assurance of eternal life rests in our love of God and the keeping of His commandments. This knowledge gives me hope and faith. May it be so with each of you, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Ensign November 1992
Day 45 Read: 1 Tim. 1:1 Jesus Christ is our hope >>If we trust Him. He will help us to notice the good, bright, hopeful things of life. -Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Day 46 Read/Sing Hymn 246 Onward, Christian Soldiers
Day 47 Read: Titus 1:2 Eternal was promised before the world began
Day 48 Read/Sing Hymn 131 More Holiness Give Me
Day 49 Read: Titus 3:7 We are heirs according to hope of eternal life
>>When we have hope, we trust God's promises. We have a quiet assurance that if we do the works of righteousness, we shall receive our reward, “even peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come.” Day 50 Hope in the Atonement By Bishop Richard C. Edgley First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric I have met people who have lost all hope. Repentance, they feel, is beyond their reach and forgiveness outside their grasp. Such do not understand the cleansing power of the Atonement. Or, if they do understand, they have not internalized the meaning of Jesus Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross. For any of us to give up hope for the purifying of our lives is to disavow the depth, power, and extent of His suffering in our behalf.
A few years ago I had the assignment while at a stake conference to interview a 21-year-old man to determine his worthiness to serve a mission. Now, General Authorities do not usually interview potential missionaries. So this was unusual. As I read some background regarding the reasons for my interview, my heart ached. This boy had committed serious transgressions. I wondered why I would be asked to visit one with such a background, concluding it would be most unusual for me to recommend him for approval as a missionary.
After the Saturday evening session of conference, I retired to the stake president’s office for the interview. As I was waiting, a handsome young man with a wonderful countenance approached. I wondered how I could excuse myself because it was apparent he wanted to talk and I had an appointment with a very troubled young man. Then he introduced himself. He was the young man I was there for.
In the privacy of the office, I asked just one question: “Why am I interviewing you?”
He recounted his past. When he was through, he began to explain the steps and the personal suffering he had gone through. He talked about the Atonement—the infinite power of the Atonement. He bore his testimony and expressed his love for the Savior. And then he said, “I believe the Savior’s personal suffering in Gethsemane and His sacrifice upon the cross were powerful enough to rescue even a man like me.”
Moved by his humility and by the Spirit, I said, “I am going to recommend you to serve as a representative of Jesus Christ.” And then I said, “I am going to ask only one thing of you. I want you to be the best missionary in the entire Church. That is all.” Three or four months later, Sister Edgley and I were speaking at a missionary training center. At the conclusion of the devotional, I was visiting with missionaries when I saw a young man with a familiar face.
He asked, “Do you remember me?”
Somewhat embarrassed, I said, “I’m sorry. I know I should, but I just don’t remember.”
Then he said, “Let me tell you who I am. I am the best missionary in the missionary training center.” And I believed him.
This young man’s hope was based not only upon a knowledge and testimony of the Atonement but also upon a personalization of this gift. He understood that it was for him personally! He knew the power of the Atonement and the hope it gives when all might seem lost or hopeless. Ensign April 2012 Day 51 Read: Hebrews 6:11-19 God promises are sure as we hold onto hope
>>May we recalculate our route if need be and look forward with great hope and faith. -Gary B. Sabin
Day 52 Watch HOPE WORKS One Question That Puts Life In Perspective Stephen Jones 22 min.
Day 53 Read: 1 Peter 1:21 Faith and hope be in God
Day 54 Hope Elder Steven E. Snow Our family grew up in the high desert country of southern Utah. Rain is rare, and hope abounds that there will be sufficient moisture for the coming heat of summer. Then, as now, we hoped for rain, we prayed for rain, and in dire times, we fasted for rain.
The story is told there of the grandfather who took his five-year-old grandson for a walk around town. Ultimately, they found themselves at a small grocery store on Main Street where they stopped for a cold soda pop. A car from out of state pulled up and the driver approached the old-timer. Pointing to a small cloud in the sky, the stranger asked, “Do you think it’s going to rain?”
“I certainly hope so,” replied the old man, “if not for my sake, for the boy’s. I’ve seen it rain.”
Hope is an emotion which brings richness to our everyday lives. It is defined as “the feeling that … events will turn out for the best.” When we exercise hope, we “look forward … with desire and reasonable confidence” (dictionary.reference.com/browse/hope). As such, hope brings a certain calming influence to our lives as we confidently look forward to future events.
Sometimes we hope for things over which we have little or no control. We hope for good weather. We hope for an early spring. We hope our favorite sports team will win the World Cup, the Super Bowl, or the World Series. Such hopes make our lives interesting and can often lead to unusual, even superstitious behavior. For example, my father-in-law is a huge sports fan, but he is convinced if he doesn’t watch his favorite basketball team on television, they are more likely to win. When I was 12 years old, I insisted on wearing the same pair of unwashed socks to every Little League baseball game in the hopes of winning. My mother made me keep them on the back porch.
Other times our hopes can lead to dreams which can inspire us and lead us to action. If we have the hope to do better in school, that hope can be realized by dedicated study and sacrifice. If we have the hope to play on a winning team, that hope can lead to consistent practice, dedication, teamwork, and ultimately success.
Roger Bannister was a medical student in England who had an ambitious hope. He desired to be the first man to run a mile (1.6 km) under four minutes. For much of the first half of the early 20th century, field and track enthusiasts had anxiously awaited the day the four-minute-mile barrier would be broken. Over the years many outstanding runners had come close, but still the four-minute barrier stood. Bannister dedicated himself to an ambitious training schedule with the hope of realizing his goal of setting a new world record. Some in the sporting community had begun to doubt whether the four- minute mile could be broken. Supposed experts had even hypothesized the human body was physiologically unable to run at such speeds over such a long distance. On a cloudy day on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister’s great hope was realized! He crossed the finish line in 3:59.4, setting a new world record. His hope to break the four-minute-mile barrier became a dream which was accomplished through training, hard work, and dedication.
Hope can inspire dreams and spur us to realize those dreams. Hope alone, however, does not cause us to succeed. Many honorable hopes have gone unfulfilled, shipwrecked on the reefs of good intentions and laziness.
As parents, we find our fondest hopes center around our children. We hope they will grow up to lead responsible and righteous lives. Such hopes can be easily dashed if we do not act as good examples. Hope alone does not mean our children will grow in righteousness. We must spend time with them in family home evening and worthwhile family activities. We must teach them to pray. We must read with them in the scriptures and teach them important gospel principles. Only then is it possible our fondest hopes will be realized.
We should never let hope be displaced by despair. The Apostle Paul wrote that we “should plow in hope” (1 Corinthians 9:10). The exercise of hope enriches our lives and helps us look forward to the future. Whether we are plowing fields to plant or plowing through life, it is imperative we, as Latter- day Saints, have hope.
In the gospel of Jesus Christ, hope is the desire of His followers to gain eternal salvation through the Atonement of the Savior.
This is truly the hope we must all have. It is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. Peter admonished the early followers of Christ to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Our hope in the Atonement empowers us with eternal perspective. Such perspective allows us to look beyond the here and now on into the promise of the eternities. We don’t have to be trapped in the narrow confines of society’s fickle expectations. We are free to look forward to celestial glory, sealed to our family and loved ones.
In the gospel, hope is almost always related to faith and charity. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught: “Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time” (“The Infinite Power of Hope,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 21).
In the last chapter of the Book of Mormon, Moroni wrote:
“Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.
“And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope” (Moroni 10:20–21).
Elder Russell M. Nelson has taught that “faith is rooted in Jesus Christ. Hope centers in the Atonement. Charity is manifest in the ‘pure love of Christ.’ These three attributes are intertwined like strands in a cable and may not always be precisely distinguished. Together they become our tether to the celestial kingdom” (“A More Excellent Hope,” Ensign, Feb. 1997, 61).
When Nephi prophesied of Jesus Christ at the closing of his record, he wrote, “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men” (2 Nephi 31:20).
This “perfect brightness of hope” of which Nephi speaks is the hope in the Atonement, eternal salvation made possible by the sacrifice of our Savior. This hope has led men and women through the ages to do remarkable things. Apostles of old roamed the earth and testified of Him and ultimately gave their lives in His service.
In this dispensation many early members of the Church left their homes, their hearts full of hope and faith as they made their way west across the Great Plains to the Salt Lake Valley.
In 1851, Mary Murray Murdoch joined the Church in Scotland as a widow at age 67. A small woman at four feet seven inches (1.2 m) tall and barely 90 pounds (41 kg), she bore eight children, six of whom lived to maturity. Because of her size, her children and grandchildren affectionately called her “Wee Granny.”
Her son John Murdoch and his wife joined the Church and left for Utah in 1852 with their two small children. In spite of his family’s own hardships, four years later John sent his mother the necessary funds so she might join the family in Salt Lake City. With a hope much greater than her small size, Mary began the arduous journey west to Utah at age 73.
After a safe passage across the Atlantic, she ultimately joined the ill-fated Martin handcart company. On July 28 these handcart pioneers began the journey west. The suffering of this company is well known. Of the 576 members of the party, almost one-fourth died before they reached Utah. More would have perished if not for the rescue effort organized by President Brigham Young, who sent wagons and supplies to find the stranded, snowbound Saints.
Mary Murdoch died on October 2, 1856, near Chimney Rock, Nebraska. Here she succumbed to fatigue, exposure, and the hardships of the journey. Her frail body simply gave out under the physical hardships the Saints encountered. As she lay clinging to life, her thoughts were of her family in Utah. The last words of this faithful pioneer woman were “Tell John I died with my face toward Zion.” (See Kenneth W. Merrell, Scottish Shepherd: The Life and Times of John Murray Murdoch, Utah Pioneer [2006], 34, 39, 54, 77, 94–97, 103, 112–13, 115.)
Mary Murray Murdoch exemplifies the hope and faith of so many of the early pioneers who made the courageous journey west. The spiritual journeys of today require no less hope or faith than those of the early pioneers. Our challenges may be different, but the struggles are just as great.
It is my prayer that our hopes will lead to the fulfillment of our righteous dreams. I particularly pray our hope in the Atonement will strengthen our faith and charity and give us an eternal perspective of our future. May we all have this perfect brightness of hope, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 2011 Day 55 Read: Psalm 16:8-11, Acts 2:25-27 My flesh shall rest in hope Pleasures for evermore
Day 56 Read/Sing Hymn 227 There is Sunshine in My Soul Today
Day 57 Read: Psalm 33:21-22 Trust and mercy according as we hope
>>My testimony… is that nothing in this universe is more important to Him than your hopes and dreams. -Jeffrey R. Holland
Day 58 Teachings of the Presidents of the Church Ch. 1 Jesus Christ – Our Only Way To Hope and Joy A prominent theme in President Howard W. Hunter’s teachings is that true peace, healing, and happiness come only as a person strives to know and follow Jesus Christ. President Hunter taught that “Christ’s way is not only the right way, but ultimately the only way to hope and joy.”1
President Hunter was likewise bold in testifying of the Savior’s divine mission. “As an ordained Apostle and special witness of Christ, I give to you my solemn witness that Jesus Christ is in fact the Son of God,” he declared. “He is the Messiah prophetically anticipated by Old Testament prophets. He is the Hope of Israel, for whose coming the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had prayed during the long centuries of prescribed worship. … Jesus is our only true source of hope and lasting joy.
O hope of ev’ry contrite heart, O joy of all the meek, To those who fall, how kind thou art! How good to those who seek! What a lovely verse of music, and what a message of hope anchored in the gospel of Christ! Is there one among us, in any walk of life, who does not need hope and seek for greater joy? These are the universal needs and longings of the human soul, and they are the promises of Christ to his followers.
How are we supposed to act when we are offended, misunderstood, unfairly or unkindly treated, or sinned against? What are we supposed to do if we are hurt by those we love, or passed over for promotion, or are falsely accused, or have our motives unfairly assailed?
Do we fight back? Do we send in an ever-larger battalion? Do we revert to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, or … do we come to the realization that this finally leaves us blind and toothless? …
In the majesty of his life and the example of his teachings, Christ gave us much counsel with secure promises always attached. He taught with a grandeur and authority that filled with hope the educated and the ignorant, the wealthy and the poor, the well and the diseased.8
Strive to build a personal testimony of Jesus Christ and the atonement. A study of the life of Christ and a testimony of his reality is something each of us should seek. As we come to understand his mission, and the atonement which he wrought, we will desire to live more like him.9 Hope is extended to “ev’ry contrite heart” and joy comes to “all the meek.” Sure, there are plenty of things to worry about—some of them very serious things—but that is why we speak in gospel terms of faith, and hope, and charity. As Latter-day Saints, ours is “the abundant life,” and we try to emphasize our blessings and opportunities while we minimize our disappointments and worries. “Search diligently, pray always, and be believing,” the scripture says, “and all things shall work together for your good” (D&C 90:24). I want to remind you of that promise. …
Please remember this one thing. If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right. …
We all struggle with health problems occasionally—others do so constantly. Illness and disease are part of the burden of mortality. Have faith and be positive. The power of the priesthood is real, and there is so much that is good in life, even if we struggle physically. It is a joy to know that there will be no injury or disease in the Resurrection.
Some of our concerns may come in the form of temptations. Others may be difficult decisions pertaining to education or career or money or marriage. Whatever your burden is, you will find the strength you need in Christ. Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, literally the beginning and the end. He is with us from start to finish, and as such is more than a spectator in our lives. …
If the yoke under which we struggle is sin itself, the message is the same. Christ knows the full weight of our sins, for he carried it first. If our burden is not sin nor temptation, but illness or poverty or rejection, it’s the same. He knows. …
He suffered so much more than our sins. He whom Isaiah called the “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3; Mosiah 14:3) knows perfectly every problem through which we pass because he chose to bear the full weight of all our troubles and our pains. … As we center our lives on the Savior, we need not fear, and our worries will be turned to joys.
Day 59 Read: Psalm 38:12-15 I as a deaf man, in Thee I hope, thou wilt hear
Day 60 Read/Sing Childrens Songbook 34 He Sent HIs Son
Day 61 Read: Psalm 42:11 When cast down, hope in God
Day 62 Hope in Christ
A few months ago, I read the words of Moroni in Ether 12:32: “Wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.” Three words, man must hope, stood out from the page. I felt my bosom burn with the influence of the Spirit, and I felt a great yearning for the power of hope in Christ in my life.
As a youth, I had wondered about the word hope as used in the scriptures. It had seemed meaningless, yet I knew it was important because it was often used in association with two important words, faith and charity. It was not until I became a wife and mother that I learned to cling to the word hope. In the gospel, I learned to center my hope in Christ, and this came to play a key role in my efforts to reach my eternal goal. It remains fundamental in my daily efforts to improve. Because of my hope, I try to take the character traits of Christ upon myself.
I see many who seem to have given up hope. Some think that because they have made serious mistakes, heaven’s gate is closed against them and they do not have the power to open it again. Others use their “hopeless state” to justify further sins.
Perhaps that is why Mormon and his son Moroni wrote for our times. Both prophets lived in a hopeless time, a time when the people of their nation were apostatizing and being destroyed. Yet even when destruction was nearly complete, Mormon continued to call his people to repentance. He instructed Moroni, “Notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation.” (Moro. 9:6.) Their society and ours have many similarities, and their counsel to never give up on ourselves or others is applicable for us today.
Moroni stated, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world.” (Ether 12:4.) This indicates to me that anyone who believes there is a God can have hope. Moroni continues talking of hope, “which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men.” An anchor secures one from drifting away from the gospel path.
Satan is the author of hopelessness. The devil “seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” (2 Ne. 2:27.) He takes advantage of our weaknesses and discouragement to whisper that it is no use for us to try because we can’t change. This is a lie. We must start from where we are and repent of our sins and then live so that the Spirit will guide us. Moroni invites all, the wicked and the righteous “to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written.” (Ether 12:41.)
I have a hope in Christ that through his atonement my sins can be forgiven. I am grateful for the scriptures that help me keep that hope alive. I have found that through reading the scriptures, I have the opportunity to be taught by the Holy Ghost, whose influence, if heeded, will lead me back to my home above. Kathryn Wood December 1992 Ensign
Day 63 Read: Proverbs 10:28 Hope of righteous is gladness >>Think the best and hope the best and have faith in the future. -Jeffrey R Holland
Day 64 Listen -Mormon Channel Q & A radio Hope - Episode 15 19 min.
Day 65 Read: Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick
Day 66 Read/Sing Hymn 208 O Little Town of Bethlehem
Day 67 Read: Proverbs 14:31, 32 Righteous have hope in his death
>Christ's way is not only the right way, but ultimately the only way to hope and joy.-Howard W.Hunter Day 68 Read: Acts 26:6-7, Acts 28:20 Hope of the promise God made Because of the hope of Israel, I am bound
Day 69 Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf The Hope of God's Light Entrance to Enlightenment
I have a cherished painting in my office that is titled Entrance to Enlightenment. It was created by a friend of mine, the Danish artist Johan Benthin, who was the first stake president in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The painting shows a dark room with an open door from which light is shining. It is interesting to me that the light coming through the door does not illuminate the entire room—only the space immediately in front of the door.
To me, the darkness and light in this painting are a metaphor for life. It is part of our condition as mortal beings to sometimes feel as though we are surrounded by darkness. We might have lost a loved one; a child might have strayed; we might have received a troubling medical diagnosis; we might have employment challenges and be burdened by doubts or fears; or we might feel alone or unloved.
But even though we may feel lost in the midst of our current circumstances, God promises the hope of His light—He promises to illuminate the way before us and show us the way out of darkness.
A Room Filled with Darkness
I’d like to tell you about a woman who grew up in a room filled with darkness—I’ll call her Jane.
From the time Jane was three years old, she was repeatedly beaten, belittled, and abused. She was threatened and mocked. She awoke each morning not knowing if she would survive until the next day. The people who should have protected her were those who tortured her or allowed the abuse to continue.
In order to protect herself, Jane learned to stop feeling. She had no hope of rescue, so she hardened herself to the horror of her reality. There was no light in her world, so she became resigned to the darkness. With a numbness that can come only from constant and unrelenting contact with evil, she accepted the fact that any moment might be her last.
Then, at age 18, Jane discovered The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The joy and hope of the restored gospel penetrated her heart, and she accepted the invitation to be baptized. For the first time, light entered her life, and she saw a bright path before her. She left the darkness of her world and decided to attend school a great distance away from her abuser. At last she felt liberated from an environment of darkness and evil—free to enjoy the Savior’s sweet peace and miraculous healing.
However, years later, after her abuser had died, Jane was again troubled by the horrible events of her youth. Profound sadness and anger threatened to destroy the wonderful light she had found in the gospel. She realized that if she allowed that darkness to consume her, her tormentor would have a final victory. She sought counseling and medical help and began to realize that, for her, the best path for healing was to understand and accept that darkness exists—but not to dwell there. For, as she now knew, light also exists—and that is where she chose to dwell.
Given her dark past, Jane could easily have become vindictive, venomous, or violent. But she didn’t. She resisted the temptation to spread the darkness, refusing to lash out in anger, hurt, or cynicism. Instead, she held fast to the hope that with God’s help she could be healed. She chose to radiate light and devote her life to helping others. This decision enabled her to leave the past behind and to step into a glorious, bright future.
She became a schoolteacher, and today, decades later, her love has influenced the lives of hundreds of children, helping them to know that they have worth, that they are important. She has become a tireless defender of the weak, the victimized, and the discouraged. She builds, strengthens, and inspires everyone around her.
Jane learned that healing comes when we move away from the darkness and walk toward the hope of a brighter light. It was in the practical application of faith, hope, and charity that she not only transformed her own life but forever blessed the lives of many, many others.
Light Cleaveth unto Light
There may be some among you who feel darkness encroaching upon you. You may feel burdened by worry, fear, or doubt. To you and to all of us, I repeat a wonderful and certain truth: God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things. It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn.
This is “the Spirit of Jesus Christ,” which gives “light to every man that cometh into the world.”
Nevertheless, spiritual light rarely comes to those who merely sit in darkness waiting for someone to flip a switch. It takes an act of faith to open our eyes to the Light of Christ. Spiritual light cannot be discerned by carnal eyes. Jesus Christ Himself taught, “I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.” For “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
So how do we open our eyes to the hope of God’s light?
First, start where you are.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that we don’t have to be perfect to experience the blessings and gifts of our Heavenly Father? We don’t have to wait to cross the finish line to receive God’s blessings. In fact, the heavens begin to part and the blessings of heaven begin to distill upon us with the very first steps we take toward the light.
The perfect place to begin is exactly where you are right now. It doesn’t matter how unqualified you may think you are or how far behind others you may feel. The very moment you begin to seek your Heavenly Father, in that moment, the hope of His light will begin to awaken, enliven, and ennoble your soul. The darkness may not dissipate all at once, but as surely as night always gives way to dawn, the light will come.
Second, turn your heart toward the Lord.
Lift up your soul in prayer and explain to your Heavenly Father what you are feeling. Acknowledge your shortcomings. Pour out your heart and express your gratitude. Let Him know of the trials you are facing. Plead with Him in Christ’s name for strength and support. Ask that your ears may be opened, that you may hear His voice. Ask that your eyes may be opened, that you may see His light.
Third, walk in the light.
Your Heavenly Father knows that you will make mistakes. He knows that you will stumble—perhaps many times. This saddens Him, but He loves you. He does not wish to break your spirit. On the contrary, He desires that you rise up and become the person you were designed to be.
To that end, He sent His Son to this earth to illuminate the way and show us how to safely cross the stumbling blocks placed in our path. He has given us the gospel, which teaches the way of the disciple. It teaches us the things we must know, do, and be to walk in His light, following in the footsteps of His Beloved Son, our Savior.
Light Overcomes Darkness
Yes, we will make mistakes. Yes, we will falter.
But as we seek to increase our love for God and strive to love our neighbor, the light of the gospel will surround and uplift us. The darkness will surely fade, because it cannot exist in the presence of light. As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. And day by day, the hope of God’s light will grow within us, “brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”
To all who feel they walk in darkness, I invite you to rely on this certain promise spoken by the Savior of mankind: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Come to the Light
Yes, from time to time our lives may seem to be touched by, or even wrapped in, darkness. Sometimes the night that surrounds us will appear oppressive, disheartening, and frightening.
My heart grieves for the many sorrows some of you face, for the painful loneliness and wearisome fears you may be experiencing.
Nevertheless, I bear witness that our living hope is in Christ Jesus! He is the true, pure, and powerful entrance to divine enlightenment.
I testify that with Christ, darkness cannot succeed. Darkness will not gain victory over the light of Christ.
I bear witness that darkness cannot stand before the brilliant light of the Son of the living God!
I invite each of you to open your heart to Him. Seek Him through study and prayer. Come to His Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Learn of Him and of His gospel, participate actively, help each other, and joyfully serve our God.
Brothers and sisters, even after the darkest night, the Savior of the world will lead you to a gradual, sweet, and bright dawn that will assuredly rise within you.
As you walk toward the hope of God’s light, you will discover the compassion, love, and goodness of a loving Heavenly Father, “in [whom there] is no darkness at all.” Of this I testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Day 70 Read/Sing Hymn 275 Men Are That They Might Have Joy
Day 71 Read: Romans 5:1-5 Faith, hope, peace, joy, in hope of God because of His love
Day 72 Finding Hope in the Future Stan Pugsley
On September 12, 2001, my wife and I were pacing the floor of a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, USA, passing anxious hours as we waited for our son to be born. From our television and from every television in the building, we were barraged by footage from the day before in New York City—images of the two towers that had once anchored the skyline of that city, falling into rubble and dust. The images, broadcast for hours, left us with a sense of despair. It seemed the worst possible time to bring a baby into the world—a world that seemed so dark and threatening.
Early the next morning our infant son was born. As I held our tiny child, I considered the devastating events of the last few days, events that made me think back to the fires in Yellowstone National Park in 1988. The flames had consumed nearly 800,000 acres (323,750 ha) of forest. The park’s devastation seemed absolute. News images showed only scorched earth and thick black smoke in the sky. No amount of human effort could quickly bring back what was lost. It seemed as if even the tireless regeneration and vigor of nature was no match for the destructive power of fire.
Yet the next spring a quiet miracle occurred—small plants and flowers began to push through the charred soil. Gradually, more and more flowers and shrubs and trees bloomed from the earth. The rebirth of the park was slow and filled with tiny, glorious details, and over time the results were dramatic.
In moments of fear that seem to consume us like the blazing fires of Yellowstone, when our faith and hope are at their limits, we must remember that there is one quiet, immovable foundation beneath us, much more powerful than any evil force we will encounter. Helaman explains that this foundation is “the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God.” If we anchor ourselves to Him, then “when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).
When faced with the frenzied forces of evil and temptation in the world, we may think that the small and simple influence of the gospel is outmatched and overwhelmed. We may feel doubt and despair as we wait in vain for wrongs to be righted, pain to be relieved, and questions to be resolved. Those very winds that buffet us, however, sow seeds of change and growth, and the immense power of the gospel quietly works under the soil of earthly existence, preparing a thousand small seeds of hope and life. Ensign April 2014
Day 73 Read: Romans 8:24-25 We are saved by hope - patience
Day 74 Watch HOPE WORKS Living Beyond 'What If' Cambry Kaylor 15 min.
Day 75 Read: Romans 12:10, 12 Love, rejoice in hope
>>Live by faith, hold fast to hope and show compassion one to another. -Jeffrey R. Holland
Day 76 Read/Sing Hymn 19 We Thank Thee, O God for a Propher
Day 77 Read: 15:13 Fill you with joy, peace – abound in hope
Day 78 Pres. Henry B. Eyring A Pricless Heritage of Hope
My dear brothers and sisters, some of you were invited to this meeting by missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those missionaries may have already invited you to make the choice of covenanting with God by being baptized.
Others of you are listening because you accepted the invitation of a parent, a wife, or perhaps a child, extended to you in the hopes that you will choose to put the covenants you have already made with God back into the center of your lives. Some of you who are listening have already made the choice to return to follow the Savior and are feeling today the joy of His welcome.
Whoever you are and wherever you may be, you hold in your hands the happiness of more people than you can now imagine. Every day and every hour you can choose to make or keep a covenant with God.
Wherever you are on the path to inherit the gift of eternal life, you have the opportunity to show many people the way to greater happiness. When you choose whether to make or keep a covenant with God, you choose whether you will leave an inheritance of hope to those who might follow your example.
You and I have been blessed with the promise of such an inheritance. I owe much of my happiness in life to a man I never met in mortal life. He was an orphan who became one of my great-grandparents. He left me a priceless heritage of hope. Let me tell you some of the part he played in creating that inheritance for me.
His name was Heinrich Eyring. He was born into great wealth. His father, Edward, had a large estate in Coburg, in what is now Germany. His mother was Viscountess Charlotte Von Blomberg. Her father was the keeper of the lands of the king of Prussia. Heinrich was Charlotte and Edward’s first son. Charlotte died at the age of 31, after the birth of her third child. Edward died soon thereafter, having lost all his property and wealth in a failed investment. He was only 40 years of age. He left three orphaned children.
Heinrich, my great-grandfather, had lost both of his parents and a great worldly inheritance. He was penniless. He recorded in his history that he felt his best hope lay in going to America. Although he had neither family nor friends there, he had a feeling of hope about going to America. He first went to New York City. Later he moved to St. Louis, Missouri.
In St. Louis one of his co-workers was a Latter-day Saint. From him he obtained a copy of a pamphlet written by Elder Parley P. Pratt. He read it and then studied every word he could obtain about the Latter-day Saints. He prayed to know if there really were angels that appeared to men, whether there was a living prophet, and whether he had found a true and revealed religion.
After two months of careful study and prayer, Heinrich had a dream in which he was told he was to be baptized. A man whose name and priesthood I hold in sacred memory, Elder William Brown, was to perform the ordinance. Heinrich was baptized in a pool of rainwater on March 11, 1855, at 7:30 in the morning.
I believe that Heinrich Eyring knew then that what I am teaching you today is true. He knew that the happiness of eternal life comes through family bonds which continue forever. Even when he had so recently found the Lord’s plan of happiness, he knew that his hope for eternal joy depended on the free choices of others to follow his example. His hope of eternal happiness depended on people not yet born.
As a part of our family’s inheritance of hope, he left a history to his descendants.
In that history I can feel his love for those of us who would follow him. In his words I feel his hope that his descendants might choose to follow him on the path back to our heavenly home. He knew it would not be one great choice to make to do so but many small choices. I quote from his history:
“From the time I first heard Elder Andrus speak … I have always attended the meeting of the Latter day Saints and the instances are very rare indeed, when I [have] failed to go to meeting, it being at the same time my duty to do so.
“I name this in my history that my children may imitate my example and never neglect this … important duty [to assemble] with the Saints.”
Heinrich knew that in sacrament meetings we could renew our promise to always remember the Savior and have His Spirit to be with us.
It was that Spirit that sustained him on the mission to which he was called only a few months after accepting the baptismal covenant. He left as his heritage his example of staying faithful to his mission for six years in what was then called the Indian Territories. To receive his release from his mission, he walked and joined a wagon train from Oklahoma to Salt Lake City, a distance of approximately 1,100 miles (1,770 km).
Soon thereafter he was called by the prophet of God to move to southern Utah. From there he answered another call to serve a mission in his native Germany. He then accepted the invitation of an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to help build up the Latter-day Saint colonies in northern Mexico. From there he was called to Mexico City as a full-time missionary again. He honored those calls. He lies buried in a small cemetery in Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.
I recite these facts not to claim greatness for him or for what he did or for his descendants. I recite those facts to honor him for the example of faith and hope that was in his heart.
He accepted those calls because of his faith that the resurrected Christ and our Heavenly Father had appeared to Joseph Smith in a grove of trees in the state of New York. He accepted them because he had faith that the priesthood keys in the Lord’s Church had been restored with the power to seal families forever, if only they had sufficient faith to keep their covenants.
Like Heinrich Eyring, my ancestor, you may be the first in your family to lead the way to eternal life along the path of sacred covenants made and kept with diligence and faith. Each covenant brings with it duties and promises. For all of us, as they were for Heinrich, those duties are sometimes simple but are often difficult. But remember, the duties must sometimes be difficult because their purpose is to move us along the path to live forever with Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in families.
You remember the words from the book of Abraham:
“And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
“And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
“And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.”
Keeping our second estate depends on our making covenants with God and faithfully performing the duties they require of us. It takes faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior to keep sacred covenants for a lifetime.
Because Adam and Eve did fall, we have temptation, trials, and death as our universal inheritance. However, our loving Heavenly Father gave us the gift of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior. That great gift and blessing of the Atonement of Jesus Christ brings a universal inheritance: the promise of the Resurrection and the possibility of eternal life to all who are born.
The greatest of all the blessings of God, eternal life, will come to us only as we make covenants offered in the true Church of Jesus Christ by His authorized servants. Because of the Fall, we all need the cleansing effects of baptism and the laying on of hands to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. These ordinances must be performed by those who possess the proper priesthood authority. Then, with the help of the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost, we can keep all the covenants we make with God, especially those offered in His temples. Only in that way, and with that help, can anyone claim his or her rightful inheritance as a child of God in a family forever. To some listening to me, that may seem a nearly hopeless dream.
You have seen faithful parents sorrow over children who have rejected or who have chosen to break their covenants with God. But those parents can take heart and hope from other parental experiences.
Alma’s son and King Mosiah’s sons returned from fierce rebellion against the covenants and the commandments of God. Alma the Younger saw his son Corianton turn from gross sin to faithful service. The Book of Mormon also records the miracle of the Lamanites putting aside traditions of hating righteousness to covenanting to die to maintain peace.
An angel was sent to the young Alma and the sons of Mosiah. The angel came because of the faith and prayers of their fathers and of God’s people. From those examples of the power of the Atonement working in human hearts, you can receive courage and comfort.
The Lord has given us all the source of hope as we struggle to help those we love accept their eternal inheritance. He has made promises to us as we keep trying to gather people to Him, even when they resist His invitation to do so. Their resistance saddens Him, but He does not quit, nor should we. He sets the perfect example for us with His persistent love: “And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.”
We can depend on that unfailing desire of the Savior to bring all of Heavenly Father’s spirit children back to their home with Him. Every faithful parent, grandparent, and great-grandparent shares in that desire. Heavenly Father and the Savior are our perfect examples of what we can and must do. They never force righteousness because righteousness must be chosen. They make righteousness discernible to us, and They let us see that its fruits are delicious.
Every person born into the world receives the Light of Christ, which helps us see and feel what is right and what is wrong. God has sent mortal servants who can, by the Holy Ghost, help us recognize what He would have us do and what He forbids. God makes it attractive to choose the right by letting us feel the effects of our choices. If we choose the right, we will find happiness—in time. If we choose evil, there comes sorrow and regret—in time. Those effects are sure. Yet they are often delayed for a purpose. If the blessings were immediate, choosing the right would not build faith. And since sorrow is also sometimes greatly delayed, it takes faith to feel the need to seek forgiveness for sin early rather than after we feel its sorrowful and painful effects.
Father Lehi sorrowed over the choices made by some of his sons and their families. He was a great and good man—a prophet of God. He often testified of our Savior, Jesus Christ, to them. He was an example of obedience and service when the Lord called him to leave all his worldly possessions to spare his family from destruction. At the very end of his life, he was still testifying to his children. Like the Savior—and despite his power to discern their hearts and to see the future both sad and wonderful —Lehi kept his arms outstretched to draw his family toward salvation. Today millions of the descendants of Father Lehi are justifying his hope for them.
What can you and I do to draw from Lehi’s example? We can draw from his example by studying scripture prayerfully and by observation.
I suggest that you take both the short and the long view as you try to give the inheritance of hope to your family. In the short run, there will be troubles and Satan will roar. And there are things to wait for patiently, in faith, knowing that the Lord acts in His own time and in His own way.
There are things you can do early, when those you love are young. Remember that daily family prayer, family scripture study, and sharing our testimony in sacrament meeting are easier and more effective when children are young. Young children are often more sensitive to the Spirit than we realize.
When they are older, they will remember the hymns they sang with you. Even more than recalling music, they will remember the words of scripture and testimony. The Holy Ghost can bring all things to their remembrance, but the words of scriptures and hymns will last the longest. Those memories will exert a pull that may bring them back when they wander for a time, possibly for years, from the pathway home to eternal life.
We will need the long view when those we love feel the pull of the world and the cloud of doubt seems to overwhelm their faith. We have faith, hope, and charity to guide us and to strengthen them.
I have seen that as a counselor to two living prophets of God. They are individuals with unique personalities. Yet they seem to share a consistent optimism. When someone raises an alarm about something in the Church, their most frequent response is “Oh, things will work out.” They generally know more about the problem than the people sounding the alarm.
They also know the way of the Lord, and so they are always hopeful about His kingdom. They know He is at its head. He is all-powerful and He cares. If you let Him be the leader of your family, things will work out.
Some of Heinrich Eyring’s descendants have seemed to wander. But many of his great-great- grandchildren go to temples of God at 6:00 in the morning to perform ordinances for ancestors they have never met. They go out of the heritage of hope he left. He left an inheritance that is being claimed by many of his descendants.
After all we can do in faith, the Lord will justify our hopes for greater blessings for our families than we can imagine. He wants the best for them and for us, as His children.
We are all children of a living God. Jesus of Nazareth is His Beloved Son and our resurrected Savior. This is His Church. In it are the keys of the priesthood, and so families can be forever. This is our priceless heritage of hope. I testify that it is true in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. April 2014
Day 79 Read: 1 Cor. 9:10 Work in hope
Day 80 Read/Sing Hymn 81 Press Forward Saints
Day 81 Read: Galatians 5:5 Wait for hope by faith
>>Once you choose hope anything is possible. -Christopher Reeve
Day 82 Read/Sing Hymn 31 O God, Our Help in Ages Past Day 83 Read: Col. 1:22-23, 27 Be not moved away from hope of the gospel
>>Hope will open your eyes to the glories Heavenly Father has in store for you. -Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Day 84 Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president: “Mormon asks, ‘What is it … ye shall hope for?’ His answer tells us of the three great hopes: ‘Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal’ (Moroni 7:41).
“When you were baptized, you became participants in the first great hope, the Atonement of Christ. Every time you worthily partake of the sacrament, you have the opportunity to begin again. … Your hope and faith in the Savior will increase as you repent and make personal changes. …
“The second great hope is the Resurrection. You are all promised that through our Savior Jesus Christ you will be resurrected. …
“With the hope of the Atonement and the Resurrection, you have a third great hope, the hope of eternal life. … Because you have a Savior, you also believe in a happy, eternal life of creating, serving, and learning. You are already in the strait and narrow path, and there is hope smiling brightly before you. … You just need to stay in, pressing forward with a brightness of hope” (“There Is Hope Smiling Brightly before Us,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2003, 103–5).
Day 85 Read: D&C 42:45 Weep for those who have no hope of resurrection
Day 86 Read/Sing Hymn 141 Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
Day 87 Read: D&C 128:21 Confirming our hope – that which is to come
>>Christ replaces fear and despair with hope and joy. - Dale E. Renlund
Day 88 Pres. Russell M Nelson “A More Excellent Hope” “The Power of Hope” We all have hope. Some hopes are more important than others. A few are major enough to have merited New Year’s resolutions. As the title of my message, I have borrowed a phrase from the Book of Mormon, “a more excellent hope.” That expression is attributed to Moroni, who further declared that “man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which [God has] prepared.”
That verse of scripture came to mind the other day as I read a letter from a troubled friend who is wrestling with a profound personal problem. I would like to quote excerpts from that letter:
“The guilt and failure I feel make it almost impossible for me to repent. I am losing my faith. The sins were first; the doubts followed. The order is important because sin needed doubt. When I doubted my faith, sins lost their meaning and guilt its bite. Doubting began, then, as a means of anesthesia. It served to diminish the guilt that was literally tearing me apart. Before long, however, the doubts thrived independent of the needs that conceived them.
“My painful indecisiveness, my tentativeness, my lack of direction, my paralysis of volition, my poverty of confidence have caused suffering and depression. My family, my future, and my faith are at stake. I am losing hope.”
Could the author of that letter, as well as others with such inner turmoil, have forgotten a promise of the Lord? He said, “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.” Unrighteous thoughts are the termites of character—and confidence.
To the author of that letter and to each person reading my words, I bring a message of hope. Regardless of how desperate things may seem, remember—we can always have hope. Always! The Lord’s promise to us is certain: “He that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the same shall overcome.” I repeat—there is always hope!
We came to the earth to receive our bodies and to be tested. Do we remember the scripture that states, “We will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them”? Passing tests of obedience requires faith and hope—constantly.
Hope is part of our religion and is mentioned in one of the Articles of Faith: “We follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things.”
A correlation exists between hope and gratitude. To illustrate, let me share a personal experience. For Thanksgiving a few years ago, Sister Nelson and I hosted a memorable family gathering. All of our locally available daughters, sons, and grandchildren were there, among others. We counted 63 people at the feast. As part of our after-dinner program, Sister Nelson distributed to each individual a sheet of paper headed “This year, I am thankful for _____.” The remainder of the page was blank. She asked each person to complete the thought, either in writing or by drawing a picture. The papers were then collected, redistributed, and read aloud. We were asked to guess who composed each reply, which, incidentally, was not very difficult.
Meanwhile, I observed a pattern. Generally, the children were thankful for food, clothing, shelter, and family. Their pictures were precious, though not likely to be shown in an art gallery. Our youth broadened their expressions to include gratitude for their country, freedom, and church. The adults noted most of those items, but in addition mentioned the temple, their love of the Lord, and appreciation for his Atonement. Their hopes were combined with gratitude. Counting blessings is better than recounting problems.
Hope emanates from the Lord, and it transcends the bounds of this mortal sphere. Paul noted that “if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Only with an eternal perspective of God’s great plan of happiness can we ever find a more excellent hope. “What is it that ye shall hope for?” asked Mormon. He then answered his own question: “Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ.”
Have you heard the old statement that “hope springs eternal”? It can only be true if that hope springs from him who is eternal. Faith, Hope, and Charity
Have you noticed in the scriptures that hope seldom stands alone? Hope is often linked with faith. Hope and faith are commonly connected to charity. Why? Because hope is essential to faith; faith is essential to hope; faith and hope are essential to charity. 1They support one another like legs on a three-legged stool. All three relate to our Redeemer.
Faith is rooted in Jesus Christ. Hope centers in his Atonement. Charity is manifest in the “pure love of Christ.” These three attributes are intertwined like strands in a cable and may not always be precisely distinguished. Together they become our tether to the celestial kingdom. We read in the Book of Mormon: “There must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.
“And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.”
We know that there is an opposition in all things. Not surprisingly, therefore, faith, hope, and charity have their opposing forces. As illustrated in the letter from which I read, the antithesis of faith is doubt; the opposite of hope is despair. And the opposite of charity is disregard or even disdain for the Savior and his commandments.
Therefore, in our quest for faith, hope, and charity, we must beware of the dangers of doubt, despair, or disdain for the divine. Moroni so taught: “If ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.”
Each of us is special, valued, and needed in building the kingdom of God. The adversary is also aware of our worth and will surely taunt us. When Satan’s temptations come our way, we need to remember this counsel from Alma: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, …
“Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts.”
Anchor of Faith and Hope
A more excellent hope is mightier than a wistful wish. Hope, fortified by faith and charity, forges a force as strong as steel. Hope becomes an anchor to the soul. To this anchor, the faithful can cling, securely tethered to the Lord. Satan, on the other hand, would have us cast away that anchor and drift with the ebb tide of despair. If we will cling to the anchor of hope, it will be our safeguard forever. As declared in scripture: “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast.”
The Lord of hope invites all people to come unto him. Steps toward him begin with faith, repentance, and baptism. Mormon explained that “the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and … the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, … until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.” That destiny can only be realized when we “have faith unto repentance.” Insufficient hope often means insufficient repentance. The Apostle John said that “every man that hath this hope in [God] purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
The Fruits of Faith and Hope
The fruits of faith and hope are beautiful to behold. While in Hawaii several years ago, I met with a vice premier of the People’s Republic of China who had requested a visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center. The vice premier was accompanied by his wife and by the Chinese ambassador to the United States. More than 20 other dignitaries were also in their party. Because Elder Loren C. Dunn of the Seventy and I were already in Hawaii for meetings with Church leaders, we were asked to go to the center and extend an official welcome to the Chinese delegation in behalf of the First Presidency and General Authorities. As these influential visitors toured the center and the adjoining BYU—Hawaii Campus, they were impressed. The vice premier noted the sisterly and brotherly blending of some 60 different nationalities and 30 different languages. He even noticed that Samoans sang with Fijians, that Tongans danced with Tahitians, and so on. The spirit of unity among the Latter-day Saint youth was easily evident to all of us.
Finally he asked the question, “How do you promote such unity among your young people?” I answered his question later when I presented a copy of the Book of Mormon to him, describing it as the precious document promoting that unity—and joy.
Regardless of nationality, the Saints have always understood the word of the Lord, who declared, “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.”
When the Church’s 2,000th stake was created in Mexico City in December 1994, President Howard W. Hunter said that the “great purposes of the Lord could not have been achieved with dissension or jealousy or selfishness. … [The Lord] will bless each of us as we cast off pride, pray for strength, and contribute to the good of the whole.” In stark contrast to that divine objective, the real world in which we live is divided by diverse languages, cultures, and politics. Even the privileges of a democracy carry the burden of bickering in election campaigns. Contention is all about us. Ours is a pessimistic and cynical world—one that, to a great extent, has no hope in Jesus Christ nor in God’s plan for human happiness. Why such global contention and gloom? The reason is plain. If there is no hope in Christ, there is no recognition of a divine plan for the redemption of mankind. Without that knowledge, people mistakenly believe that existence today is followed by extinction tomorrow—that happiness and family associations are only ephemeral.
Such fallacies feed contention. The Book of Mormon bears record of these words from the first sermon of the Lord Jesus Christ to the people of ancient America. “I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
“Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”
The Importance of Names
Unfortunately, our modern society is caught up in divisive disputation. Often unkind nicknames are added to—or even substituted for—given names. Labels are invented to foster feelings of segregation and competition. For example, athletic teams acquire names to intimidate others, such as “Giants,” “Tigers,” “Warriors,” and so on. Harmless you say? Well, perhaps not overly important. But that is only the beginning. More serious separation results when offensive labels are utilized with the intent to demean.
Even worse, such terms camouflage our true identity as sons and daughters of God. The desire of my heart is that we might rise above such worldly trends. God wants us to ascend to the highest level of our potential. He employs names that unify and sanctify. He gave a new name to Abraham’s grandson Jacob, saying, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men.” In Hebrew, the term Yisra’el means “God prevails.” Jacob was given a name to match his divine destiny.
When we embrace the gospel and are baptized, we are born again. We take upon ourselves the sacred name of Jesus Christ. We become as his sons and daughters and are known as brothers and sisters. We become members of his family; he is the Father of our new life.
In receiving a patriarchal blessing, we each receive a declaration of lineage—a name that links us to our heritage. We understand how we become joint heirs to promises once given by the Lord directly to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In a prophecy regarding us, the Apostle Peter utilized uplifting terms. He declared that we “are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” We recognize the adjectives chosen, royal, and holy as complimentary. But what about the term peculiar?
I looked it up in a modern dictionary. It is currently defined as “unusual” or “eccentric”; “strange,” “queer,” “odd”; “standing apart from others”; “exclusive” or “unique.” But the term peculiar as used in the scriptures means something quite different. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term from which peculiar was translated is cgullah, which means “valued property,” or “treasure.” In the New Testament, the Greek term from which peculiar was translated is peripoiesis, which means “possession,” or “an obtaining.”
With that understanding, we can see that the scriptural term peculiar does not mean “queer” or “odd” at all. It signifies “valued treasure,” “made” or “selected by God.” Thus, for us to be identified by servants of the Lord as his peculiar people is a compliment of the highest order.
When we know who we are and what God expects of us, we are filled with hope and made aware of our significant role in his great plan of happiness. The day in which we now live was foreseen even before Jesus Christ was born, when a prophet said, “Our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.”
These are those latter days. We are the ones foredetermined and foreordained to fulfill that promise. We are the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are, in fact, the hope of Israel. We are God’s treasure, reserved for our particular place and time.
No wonder China’s vice premier noted what he did. Our faithful Latter-day Saints are filled with hope and motivated by love of the Lord Jesus Christ. With that hope, we assiduously avoid labels that could be interpreted as derogatory. When the Nephites were truly righteous, their previous patterns of polarization vanished. “There was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. …
“There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
“And how blessed were they!”
Unfortunately, the sequel to that story is not a happy one. This pleasant circumstance persisted until “a small part of the people … had revolted … and taken upon them the name of Lamanites,” reviving old prejudices and teaching their children again to hate, “even as the Lamanites were taught to hate the children of Nephi from the beginning.” And so the polarizing process began all over again.
I hope that we may learn this important lesson and delete segregating names from our personal vocabularies. The Apostle Paul taught that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Our Savior invites us “to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God.”
Hope of Eternal Life
Happiness comes when scriptures are used in shaping our lives. They speak of the “brightness of hope” for which we yearn. But if our hopes were narrowly confined only to moments in mortality, we should surely be disappointed. Our ultimate hope must be anchored to the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, “If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”
An understanding of that objective should help us approach the future with faith instead of fear, with a more excellent hope in place of despair. God sent each of us here to be happy and successful. Meanwhile, he also needs us. We are to “seek not the things of this world but seek … first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness.” He decreed that “no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things.”
President Howard W. Hunter was such an individual. On one occasion, he said: “It is incumbent upon us to rejoice a little more and despair a little less, to give thanks for what we have and for the magnitude of God’s blessings to us. …
“For Latter-day Saints this is a time of great hope and excitement—one of the greatest eras … in any dispensation. … We need to have faith and hope, two of the greatest fundamental virtues of any discipleship of Christ. We must continue to exercise confidence in God. … He will bless us as a people. … He will bless us as individuals. …
“I promise you … in the name of the Lord whose servant I am that God will always protect and care for his people. … With the gospel of Jesus Christ you have every hope and promise and reassurance. The Lord has power over his Saints and will always prepare places of peace, defense, and safety for his people. When we have faith in God we can hope for a better world—for us personally and for all mankind. …
“Disciples of Christ in every generation are invited, indeed commanded, to be filled with a perfect brightness of hope.”
President Hunter’s counsel is timeless.
By way of summary and promise, I quote the words of Nephi: “Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”
Our hope is in our “Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel—the God of the whole earth.” His hope is in us. We are literally the “Hope of Israel, Zion’s army, Children of the promised day.”
May the “God of hope,” in the words of the Apostle Paul, “fill [us] with all joy and peace in believing, that [we] may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Day 89 Read: Article of Faith 13 hope all things, to endure
Day 90 The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Living Prophets As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.
He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come. He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.
We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world. He rose from the grave to “become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His “other sheep” (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised “dispensation of the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10). Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: “His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: “I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father” (D&C 110:3–4). Of Him the Prophet also declared: “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! “For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father— “That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:22–24). We declare in words of solemnity that His priesthood and His Church have been restored upon the earth —“built upon the foundation of . . . apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts. We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.