We know that life is not easy, but we have a hope of what is to come. We have the plan of happiness! We know of our Savior and his atoning sacrifice. That knowledge gives us HOPE and that is what I would like to talk to you about today.
Hope is easily misunderstood. It is defined by the world as: “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” To the world, hope is uncertain, but within the gospel hope is “sure, unwavering, and active.” Hope, though, is not knowledge, but trust, trust that the Lord will keep His promises to us.
In the October 2008 session of General Conference, President Uchtdorf gave a beautiful talk about hope and most of what I would like to share with you comes from his words.
He opens with a story of his mother and her hope. He tells of how he, his siblings, and his mother were fleeing to Germany as World War II came closer and closer to their home in Czechoslovakia. They got on a train and at one stop, his mother quickly got off to find food. When she came back, the train was gone. What I love most is how he says that her “faith overcame her fear, and her hope overcame her despair...She put her faith and hope into action,” and after much searching, she found her children.
Once again, he said "Faith overcame her fear, and her hope overcame her despair. She put her faith and hope into action." I want to dive into these concepts a bit.
Hope overcomes despair. Over the last few weeks, Trials and afflictions have been discussed often in our meetings and conferences. We all have them. They are a huge, unavoidable, and very real part of life and, unlike what I thought as a young girl, growing up doesn’t make them go away. Not even marriage to the most perfect man can take away trials - although, you get to go through the trials with someone by your side, which does bring comfort! When we come upon a trial, we can either allow it to swallow us up in despair or turn to our Heavenly Father, rely on the testimonies we have, and proceed with hope. President Uchtdorf says that “hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness.” Unlike the seemingly endless downward spiral of despair, “hope is like a beam of sunlight” that pierces the darkness. Hope inspires us to put our faith in “the loving care of our eternal Heavenly Father.”
Alma 34:41 reads: “But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.” - with hope, we know that we will not always be in despair, one day we will rise from it! Hope is the light.
We must put hope into action! Hope is a gift of the spirit. Like any gift of the spirit, we must use it to make it stronger. President Uchtdorf said, “ we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope.” How can we grow our hope? One step at a time. We must study our scriptures, pray and talk with our Heavenly Father, and commit to keep the commandments. We increase in hope as we pray and seek God's forgiveness. We increase in hope as we apply the Savior’s atonement to our lives. As we strive to live the gospel, we grow in our ability to “abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost”
When we talk of hope, we also think of two other attributes. Moroni 10:20-21 reads:
20 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.
21 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.
Hope is part of a three-legged stool, along with faith and charity. Those three legs support us on whatever rough ground we are walking, but we need all three of them to be stable. As we strengthen one of those legs, the others grow as well. Hope comes of faith. Without faith, there is no hope, just the same as without hope, there is no faith.
President Uchtdorf described how necessary it is to have hope. He said, “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.”
We can hope for thing and hope in things. When we hope for things, it is often for things in the future. We are blessed for we know what lies in our future. We have a knowledge of our Savior and His atonement. That gives us hope as the mistakes that we all have and will make here in this mortal life, do not have to keep us from the future our Heavenly Father has prepared for each of us - as long as we use the atonement. We hope for eternal salvation surrounded by those we love. The things we hope for lead us to faith.
The principle of hope extends into the eternities, but it also can sustain us through the everyday challenges of life - those things that sustain us are the things we hope in.We hope in the principles of the gospel to carry us when despair seems to overwhelm. We hope in our daily prayers - that they are heard and will be answered. We hope in the scriptures - that through them we will come to know our Savior and develop our testimonies in the doctrine of the gospel. We hope in Jesus Christ, in the love of our Heavenly Father, and in the Holy Ghost. The things we hope in, lead us to charity.
Each time hope is fulfilled, our confidence grows and that, in turn, leads to greater hope.
Hope became very real for me in 2012. You all know Porter. He is the man. And to find out my only brother (admittedly, the most loved of the Thorkelson kids) had cancer - there really are no words, but the little blessings began almost instantly. We were able to turn to hope as we knew that no matter the outcome, the Lord knew what He was doing. My whole being filled with hope as I knew so many were praying for my brother, including the prophet! I was able to think of my Savior - I knew that He was able to comfort me and my family, but more importantly, I knew that He knew the pain, fear, and worry that Porter was experiencing. I love hope! And we all know the outcome of Porter’s cancer battle - he went rock climbing just yesterday. He is a wonderful example of hope.
Hope has been a big part of our marriage. A week after we got married, we moved to Minnesota. All I knew about Minnesota then was that it was cold. It required hope (and faith), that we were making the right decision. After Ashton had put so much time into air traffic control, the FAA changed everything about the hiring process. We had to rely on hope that the decision to finish school was the right decision and we had then and continue now to have hope that future career decisions will lead our family to the places we need to be. Hope sustained us as we struggled to grow our family and felt real heartbreak and deep sorrow.
Our hope is also strengthened by those around us. As a special education teacher, I get to work with wonderful, amazing examples regularly. My very first year teaching, I had a student that I instantly bonded with. It was like we already knew each other. One day he showed me one primary books. He pointed to a picture of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and said, “Miss Thorkelson, that is my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Someday I will live with them again. Will you be there too?” At 2nd grade, Alex had already perfected the principle of hope and soon after was baptized.
I am so grateful for hope. The idea of hope itself is beautiful. Throughout his talk, President Uchtdorf used words like happiness, peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness to describe hope. Hope manifests itself through confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance. Hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice even when all seems dark around us. Do we not want more of all of this? Hope brings so much of the best into our lives.
Alma 7:11 to 13 is the foundation of my testimony. It reads:
11. 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.
12. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
These words fill my heart with hope. I love how much our savior loves us. I can feel his love as I am overcome with the fullness of what he has done for us. Hope is a sure part of our gospel and I pray that each of us will continue to grow in our hope.
I will close with 2 Nephi 31:20 - 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. 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.
