Hope

Hope. A word used too much with too little meaning. We all hope for A’s on our tests, hope to be good friends, hope to accomplish our goals. But do we hope in Christ? Are we actively exercising our hope? And by exercising, I mean truly living in hope. Hope is, after all, both a verb and a noun. It is not only something we act on but also something we must be. The definition of the verb hope is “to look forward to with confidence or expectation, to expect and desire, to have confidence; trust.” The noun definition of hope is “a thing, situation, or event that is desired; a person or thing that gives cause for hope.”

What gives us cause for hope? How do we hope actively? Elder Uchtdorf, second councilor in the first presidency in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints once said,

“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 the 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.”

When we truly hope, it moves us to change; it affects our very being. With hope, we are sustained during our daily walk in life, we are led to good works, we strengthen our faith, and we keep moving forward even when we feel like taking that next step is impossible. The prophet Nephi said, “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.” Elder Uchtdorf spoke of this proclamation, “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.”

If you want to be happy, have hope. As your ability to hope increases, so will your happiness until you are abounding in joy. Speaking from experience, I know that the increase in hope brings joy in the little things in life, joy in the element of surprise in life, joy in determination and persistence, and joy in Christ.

This past week for me was a challenge. I had much to ponder and felt that I had much reason to be depressed. On top of that, I had become ill and still had a lot of homework that had to be done and classes that could not be missed. I wanted to give up. It wasn’t even as hard for me this past week as it has been in other times, not even close, but I still despaired and felt that my heart was too heavy to look up and forward. But even in the darkest hour, there is still cause for hope. I was reminded by a friend to press forward in hope and once I made that decision, it changed my whole perspective and allowed me to end my week on a happy note. Suddenly, my feet were no longer cement blocks, my mind became unclouded, and my purpose clear.

The Article of Faith number thirteen, one of thirteen explanations of believes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, states, “…We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

If you feel low, or just feel that something is missing, try hope. If you truly try it, you will be amazed at your gladness of heart. :)

For the full of President Uchtdorf’s address on hope, which I HIGHLY recommend, see: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/the-infinite-power-of-hope?lang=eng&query=hope#22-PD00009501_000_009

CHOOSE not to SNOOZE!

Spiritual “Alarm Clock”

You know those mornings where that blasted alarm goes off and you fumble for the ‘snooze’ button, not just once, but over and over? Or maybe you sleep through the alarm, too tired to hear the shrieking pitch that should sound similar to the scratching of nails across a chalkboard. You just cringed, didn’t you? You should! Alarms are there for awakening, warning, and protection. Their purpose is not to be ignored.

Today in one of my Sunday school classes we talked about being “awakened” by our spiritual alarm clocks and how important it is to never hit the “snooze” button.The following are some of my extended thoughts on the subject.

As stated in my last post, one of Satan’s best tools for winning includes ‘silencing’ the armies of God. There are so many ways he can do this; I won’t attempt to list them. You know what they are, or at least you have an idea. If you take each and every one of those things that just popped into your head, consider each one as a chain that will tether you to Satan. But this isn’t a heavy chain I’m talking about. No, these chains are so light in weight you don’t even realize just how tethered you are until you try to move/change. It is only heavy in the spiritual sense, and even then, it’s a while before you realize what is happening. Our family once had a lesson on this. My dad wrapped one thread of string around our wrists and then told use to break it. It was easy. Then he walked around and wrapped around our wrists the same string over and over and over again. Then, when we tried to break it, even the best effort of strength was not enough; the bands were too strong. It didn’t make sense that such a breakable strand of thread could become so strong. So it is with those seemingly harmless little things Satan wraps around our souls, one link at a time, until we are bound.

In The Book of Mormon, in 2 Nephi, the Prophet Lehi is giving his last words to his children. He admonishes them to awaken and change. In chapter 1 verse 13 it reads, “O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.”

In Charles Dickens’ story, The Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s old partner’s ghost, Jacob Marley, visits him in the night. During the visit Scrooge observes the chains Marley wears and says, “You are fettered, tell me why?” Marley replies, “I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”

One of the greatest of God’s gifts is our free will, or free agency. God will never force us to do or believe anything. This is a beautiful gift, one that shows a glimpse of the wondrous mercy of our God, but it goes two ways. How you use your agency will affect your soul eternally. God’s hope is for us to use our agency to choose the path back to His presence, so that we can live with Him again. However, the choices we make may lead us down another path, down the path to eternal misery and endless suffering. Jacob Marley said that the chains he wore were put there of his own free will, and they stayed there of the same effect. Marley’s acknowledgment of wearing the chains of his own free will shows how he had the option of discarding them, and he knew it, but he CHOSE not to. Because He loves us so, God gives us the warnings, the “spiritual alarms” to help guide us back to him, but if you aren’t willing to listen and follow Him, those alarms will ring fainter and fainter until your heart can no longer recognize their sound.

But there is hope! Because of our loving Heavenly Father, we have the opportunity to change. He gave His son to us to help remove those stumbling blocks in our way. Jesus Christ’s atonement for us pays our debt and makes up the difference in what we cannot give. This doesn’t mean we can lay back and let it all happen for us, we have to do our part. We have to have a broken heart and contrite spirit, and go to the Lord in repentance. Only through the atonement can those heavy chains be broken and we can become weightless again. How beautiful that promise!

Returning to Lehi’s words unto his children, he gives counsel on how to “shake off the awful chains.” He says, “…arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity (2 Nephi 1:21). . . Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust (2 Nephi 1:23).”

*For the list of the armor of righteousness, see Ephesians 6:1-18.

There is never a time too late to change. God will never abandon us. If we feel far from our maker, it is because we have strayed, no Him. Christ is our constant Sheppard, and if we allow Him to be, our constant friend in whom we can confide in on the good days and the bad and on whom we can lean when we are weak.

President Gordon B. Hinckley once stated, “…We are engaged in a great eternal struggle that concerns the very souls of the sons and daughters of God. We are not losing. We are winning. We will continue to win if we will be faithful and true. We can do it. We must do it. We will do it.”

It is a long road, but it can be a happy one if we make it so. President Hinckley’s wife, Marjorie Hinckley said, “You do not find the happy life, you make it.”

If you become discouraged, there is always help along the way. In closing I will share my current favourite quote by Elder Jeffery R. Holland:

“Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come ‘til heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."

If you hear your spiritual alarm clock sounding, listen to it. It will change your life.