My hope

Hope. It's one of those things that is kind of hard to explain. It's really simple, yet there's so much to it. It's almost complex in its simplicity. There have been several times where I've been like "Oh! Ok, I think I've got what hope is," and then someone asks me a question, or we have a lesson, and then I'm like "Just kidding. Now I'm lost." Well, right now, I've sort of got it. I think I've mostly got it, actually. And, really, it all comes down to that Mormonad up top. Christ. Now we have hope.

You see, Christ IS our hope. It's because of Christ that we can have a better future. It's because of Christ we can repent and be resurrected. If there was no Christ or no Atonement, well, we'd be kind of stuck in a sinful state for forever. Sounds fun, no? Well, I prefer the ability to change and progress. And that, my friends, is hope. Sorta one layer of it, at least. See, it's simple. Christ is hope. But then there's so much to it, so much that applies to it because of the simplicity, and that's what makes it complex. Make sense? Maybe? Kay, I'll pretend it does.

Ok, so I'm going to step back a wee bit, and share a scripture with you that I read yesterday. It's one that pretty much all of us know, but it's what kind of made me start thinking about all of this again. It's the scripture mastery, Helaman 5:12.

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that is it upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that 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."

Look at those words I bolded. When we build our foundation on Christ, we conquer Satan. He cannot overpower us. How hopeful is that?! I mean, really. Think about it. I see hope as, like seeing good in the future, seeing good in your life, looking towards something. Not like, "I hope that I marry [insert name here]." That's not real hope. That's more like wishful thinking. Hope is sort of like faith. There needs to be substance to what you're hoping for. Faith is not really faith, unless you have faith in something true. Like, I have faith the sun is going to rise tomorrow. Yeah, it's going to happen. But, there could be some freak chance that it doesn't What if it blew up? We never know, for a fact, that it will. We just have faith in it, because it has for, well, for forever. But you can't have faith in something like, "I have faith that I'm going to ace this chemistry test," when, you, in fact, have not studied, and you're awful in chemistry and can't remember what the heck the elements Au, Ag, or even H are. That's not true faith. Because faith is not passive. You would have had to study and work really hard, in order to call that faith. I think hope is similar. You can't hope you'll ace that test. That's just wishful thinking, my friend.

I've sort of mentioned this before: faith and hope are similar. Well, I guess similar is a poor choice of words. Intertwined, I guess is a better one. They are reliant on each other. In Ether 12:4 is says:

"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."

So, according to this scripture, when you have faith in God, then you gain a sure hope. And then in Ether 12:6, it says:

"I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen..."

So, when you hope in things, then you gain faith. So, you can't have hope without faith, and you can't have faith without hope. Otherwise, the one or the other is weak and hollow. But, when you hope in something - which hope ultimately comes from Christ, because Christ is our center, our rock and foundation - then you develop faith. And then, as that faith grows stronger, your hope with increase. And then it becomes an anchor. It's like super-awesome-firm-strong-cement that keeps you glued to your foundation.

There's one last scripture I'd like to share. And I'm going to share the story behind it. It's a letter - epistle, if you want to be all technical - from Mormon to Moroni. Things are just awful. The Nephites are super wicked. Like, disgustingly wicked. Like I-just-threw-up-in-my-mouth-that-disgusted-me-so-much wicked. Heavy stuff. If I was Moroni, I would have been like "Dad. Seriously, why the heck did you tell me this? I'm already depressed enough knowing that we're all going to die." But then Mormon adds these words to his letter.

"My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory of eternal life, rest in your mind forever" Moroni 9:25.

He told his son to be lifted up in Christ, no matter what. Look at everything He's done for us. We have no reason to be worried, or sad, or upset, or distressed about the future. Because, as long as we have faith - which is NOT passive, and requires action - and hope - which requires faith - then, then, we have nothing to fear. Christ has done it all. Christ has made a way. Be lifted up! See the great light and great goodness of Him. And have hope. Little else will bring you a greater joy.