Hope

The word hope itself has a lot of different meanings. One use, for example, is I hope I'm going to win the lottery. Hope in this context means that you want it to happen but you're not entirely sure that it will happen. I've used this version of the word hope a lot, especially when talking about sports. One example that comes to mind is the 2009 season opener of BYU football. We were playing the mighty Oklahoma Sooners in the very first game played in the 1.3 billion dollar Dallas Cowboys' stadium. We were not favored in any way, shape, or form. Oklahoma was coming off a season which ended in a loss in the National Championship Game. They had the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford back for his junior year along with many other very talented, future professional players. The year before, Oklahoma had a downright ridiculous offense, averaging 50+ points a game. The game was going to be televised nationally on ESPN so tons of people were going to be watching the game. The days prior to the game, I was just hoping that it would be close. I was excited that football season was here, but I had basically already put us down as 0-1 to begin the season. I was even tempted to not watch the game. It's a good thing I did...

The word hope as used in the scriptures takes on a whole different meaning. In the language of the gospel, the word hope means sure, unwavering, and active. In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Mormon talks about hope this way: "And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And 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. Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope. And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart." (Moroni 7:40-43) http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7?lang=eng

Sometimes, it can be hard to have hope in these troubled times. There are terrible things happening all around us. I take comfort in hoping for the promises written in the scriptures given to those who are doing what's right. Here's Mormon's words again: "Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven...Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart... that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." (Moroni 7:3,48) Whenever it is hard to hope for anything good in this life, I remember the words of the Lord to the prophet Joshua: "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."(Joshua 1:9) http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/josh/1.9?lang=eng#8  My friends, let us take comfort in these trying times and do our best to "hope for a better world" (Ether 12:4) http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng  and let us not be afraid, for "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/8?lang=eng