Hope

H O P E – Those are the letters that were spelled out today on a beach in Southern California by the bodies of hundreds of youth ages 7-18. I was impressed as I stood and watched their testimonies of Jesus Christ spelled out in that single word. They were filming a music video for a song of the same name as part of Millennial Choirs and Orchestra. One of the thoughts that struck me as I watched them make this formation was that from my vantage point I could not tell the letters that their collective bodies spelled. Only if I could look down from above like the drone that flew overhead would I have been able to make out the distinct letters. So too we may often miss the fact that hope is nearer than we know, but Heavenly Father looking down from above sees hope in us and our future because of the great power of His Son. No matter the mistakes we have made or the struggles we have yet to work through, They see our infinite potential to be made perfect in Christ and overcome all our mortal challenges.

The scripture that came to mind as I stood on the beach considering this powerful scene was a passage from Mormon. He who perhaps had more reason to lose hope than anyone questioned: “And what is it that ye shall hope for?” He then answered: “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). No matter what our situation is we can feel hope because Christ has suffered for our sins. We can continue to hope because He defeated death. We can trust in hope because He triumphed over all trials. In all of our setbacks and struggles we should turn first to Him who is the ”Hope of Israel” (Jeremiah 14:8).

But how do we actually obtain this hope when life seems to encompass us about with fears and frustrations, discouragement and disappointment? I think one answer at least is found in the words of Aaron to the Lamanite King: “But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, 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). We can claim the divine hope that we seek as we repent and in faith pray to the Father in the name of the Son. As we believe and pray with all our heart, I know that He who is the “hope of the world” lifts the fog in our life and fills our souls sustaining hope for the future. We will indeed be able to “hope for a better world” through faith which “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).