Hope

The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our

everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty.

For example, we may say that we hope for a change in the

weather or a visit from a friend. In the language of the gospel,

however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active.

Prophets speak of having a “firm hope” (Alma 34:41) and a

“lively hope” (1 Peter 1:3). The prophet Moroni taught,

“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” (Ether 12:4).

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” (D&C 59:23). Mormon

taught that such hope comes only through the Atonement of

Jesus Christ: “What is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say

unto you that 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” (Moroni 7:41).

As you strive to live the gospel, you grow in your ability

to “abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost”

(Romans 15:13). You increase in hope as you pray and seek

God’s forgiveness. In the Book of Mormon, a missionary

named Aaron assured a Lamanite king, “If thou wilt repent

of all thy sins, and will 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” (Alma 22:16). You also

gain hope as you study the scriptures and follow their teachings.

The Apostle Paul taught, “Whatsoever things were

written aforetime were written for our learning, that we

through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have

hope” (Romans 15:4).

The principle of hope extends into the eternities, but it

also can sustain you through the everyday challenges of life.

“Happy is he,” said the Psalmist, “that hath the God of Jacob

for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm

146:5). With hope, you can find joy in life. You can “have

patience, and bear with . . . afflictions, with a firm hope that

ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions” (Alma 34:41).

You can “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” (2 Nephi 31:20).

Additional references: Lamentations 3:25–26; 1 Corinthians 15:19–22;

1 Peter 3:15; 1 John 3:2–3; Jacob 4:4–6; Alma 13:28–29; 27:28; Ether 12:32;

Moroni 8:26; 9:25; 10:22

See also Adversity; Atonement of Jesus Christ; Charity; Faith