As I have pondered the topic "Hope Through Christ and His Atonement",
The first word stands out to me. I think to understand this statement,
we must understand what the word Hope means in this context. Elder Neal A. Maxwell
pointed out that our common usage of the word hope implies an outcome that is uncertain.
In the Nov 1998 Ensign, he states, "Our everyday usage of the word hope includes how we “hope” to arrive at a certain destination by a certain time. We “hope” the world economy will improve. We “hope” for the visit of a loved one...Life’s disappointments often represent the debris of our failed, proximate hopes."
I'm sure at some point we've all said something similar. Some statement of, as Elder Maxwell puts it, a proximate hope. This common usage is in line with the definition found in Webster's as an intransitive verb: to cherish a desire with anticipation. Kind of like I cherish the desire for my AMD stock to go through the roof so I can retire early. Probably not going to happen. As a transitive verb however, hope as a very different meaning. Again in Webster's: to desire with expectation of obtainment, or to expect with confidence. I like that, to expect with confidence.
It is this usage that we find the hope as quoted by Apostles and Prophets.
Elder Maxwell goes on to say that hope "is tied to Jesus and the blessings of the great Atonement, blessings resulting in the universal Resurrection and the precious opportunity provided thereby for us to practice emancipating repentance, making possible what the scriptures call 'a perfect brightness of hope'"
Peter calls it a lively hope. In 1 Peter 1:3 we read, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant amercy hath bbegotten us again unto a clively dhope by the resurrection of eJesus Christ from the dead. To quote Amulek, in Alma 34:41 he states, "But that ye have apatience, and bear with those bafflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions. Or as Elder Maxwell quoted,
Nephi says, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of bhope, and a clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eeternal life. (2 Nephi 31:20)
A quick search in the scriptures resulted in more than 350 instances of the word hope, as we begin to read, a commonality quickly surfaces. Some action associated with hope. Nephi again, “ye must press forward”; Amulek, “that ye have patience and bear with those afflictions”, and Elder Maxwell. “the precious opportunity provided thereby for us to practice emancipating repentance. What this implies to me is that in order to have hope, that “expectation of obtainment” to quote Webster again, some action is required on my part.
President Uchtdorf, recounts a story from his youth in the Nov 2008 Liahona. He tells of a time when his mother left her children on a train to get some food while the train was stopped to resupply. To her horror, when she returned, the train was gone. She had hope she would find her children again, and she did after searching frantically, going from one track to the next. The hope she possessed involved her actively searching, as opposed to just sitting around ‘wishing’ the train would find her.
To quote Elder Maxwell again, “Real hope keeps us “anxiously engaged” in good causes even when these appear to be losing causes on the mortal scoreboard (see D&C 58:27). Likewise, real hope is much more than wishful musing. It stiffens, not slackens, the spiritual spine. Hope is serene, not giddy, eager without being naive, and pleasantly steady without being smug. Hope is realistic anticipation which takes the form of a determination—not only to survive adversity but, moreover, to “endure … well” to the end (D&C 121:8).”
So when we hope, we are doing something we are anxiously engaged. So what are we engaged in? Moroni adds yet another facet. “And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning ahope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall ahope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have bhope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life ceternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. Wherefore, if a man have afaith he bmust needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.” (Moroni 7:40-42)
This outlines then the importance of hope. For without hope we cannot have faith, and it is our faith that drives towards our actions, living in accordance to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I said earlier that as we read many of the scriptural quotes regarding hope, they tend to imply some activity on our part. Additionally, they tend to specify hope in Jesus Christ, in his Atonement and Resurrection. Going to my physical fitness test example, to hope for a good score I must prepare accordingly. And to prepare accordingly I must have an understanding of the physical fitness test it, what it entails. The same is true when we speak of hope in Jesus Christ, in his Atonement and Resurrection. We must have an understanding of who he is. Of the sacrifice he made as he atoned for us, and of his resurrection. For it because of him that have the opportunity to be raised unto eternal life. It is in this that we hope and that we have faith. And as we increase our understanding, then we increase our hope and faith. Through prayerful study of the scriptures and the words of our modern day prophets, we can increase our understanding.
And it is because of out hope that we keep anxiously engaged in good causes as Elder Maxwell said. It is this hope and faith that carries us from day to day, regardless of our individual situations. When I think of hope in Christ, it reminds me of a hymn:
How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
In every condition in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea
As thy days may demand so thy succor shall be.
Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall no thee o'erflow,
For I will be with thee, they troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee they deepest distress.
When through fiery trials they pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, through all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!
I leave you with my testimony that Jesus is the Christ.
The first word stands out to me. I think to understand this statement,
we must understand what the word Hope means in this context. Elder Neal A. Maxwell
pointed out that our common usage of the word hope implies an outcome that is uncertain.
In the Nov 1998 Ensign, he states, "Our everyday usage of the word hope includes how we “hope” to arrive at a certain destination by a certain time. We “hope” the world economy will improve. We “hope” for the visit of a loved one...Life’s disappointments often represent the debris of our failed, proximate hopes."
I'm sure at some point we've all said something similar. Some statement of, as Elder Maxwell puts it, a proximate hope. This common usage is in line with the definition found in Webster's as an intransitive verb: to cherish a desire with anticipation. Kind of like I cherish the desire for my AMD stock to go through the roof so I can retire early. Probably not going to happen. As a transitive verb however, hope as a very different meaning. Again in Webster's: to desire with expectation of obtainment, or to expect with confidence. I like that, to expect with confidence.
It is this usage that we find the hope as quoted by Apostles and Prophets.
Elder Maxwell goes on to say that hope "is tied to Jesus and the blessings of the great Atonement, blessings resulting in the universal Resurrection and the precious opportunity provided thereby for us to practice emancipating repentance, making possible what the scriptures call 'a perfect brightness of hope'"
Peter calls it a lively hope. In 1 Peter 1:3 we read, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant amercy hath bbegotten us again unto a clively dhope by the resurrection of eJesus Christ from the dead. To quote Amulek, in Alma 34:41 he states, "But that ye have apatience, and bear with those bafflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions. Or as Elder Maxwell quoted,
Nephi says, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of bhope, and a clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eeternal life. (2 Nephi 31:20)
A quick search in the scriptures resulted in more than 350 instances of the word hope, as we begin to read, a commonality quickly surfaces. Some action associated with hope. Nephi again, “ye must press forward”; Amulek, “that ye have patience and bear with those afflictions”, and Elder Maxwell. “the precious opportunity provided thereby for us to practice emancipating repentance. What this implies to me is that in order to have hope, that “expectation of obtainment” to quote Webster again, some action is required on my part.
President Uchtdorf, recounts a story from his youth in the Nov 2008 Liahona. He tells of a time when his mother left her children on a train to get some food while the train was stopped to resupply. To her horror, when she returned, the train was gone. She had hope she would find her children again, and she did after searching frantically, going from one track to the next. The hope she possessed involved her actively searching, as opposed to just sitting around ‘wishing’ the train would find her.
To quote Elder Maxwell again, “Real hope keeps us “anxiously engaged” in good causes even when these appear to be losing causes on the mortal scoreboard (see D&C 58:27). Likewise, real hope is much more than wishful musing. It stiffens, not slackens, the spiritual spine. Hope is serene, not giddy, eager without being naive, and pleasantly steady without being smug. Hope is realistic anticipation which takes the form of a determination—not only to survive adversity but, moreover, to “endure … well” to the end (D&C 121:8).”
So when we hope, we are doing something we are anxiously engaged. So what are we engaged in? Moroni adds yet another facet. “And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning ahope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall ahope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have bhope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life ceternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. Wherefore, if a man have afaith he bmust needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.” (Moroni 7:40-42)
This outlines then the importance of hope. For without hope we cannot have faith, and it is our faith that drives towards our actions, living in accordance to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I said earlier that as we read many of the scriptural quotes regarding hope, they tend to imply some activity on our part. Additionally, they tend to specify hope in Jesus Christ, in his Atonement and Resurrection. Going to my physical fitness test example, to hope for a good score I must prepare accordingly. And to prepare accordingly I must have an understanding of the physical fitness test it, what it entails. The same is true when we speak of hope in Jesus Christ, in his Atonement and Resurrection. We must have an understanding of who he is. Of the sacrifice he made as he atoned for us, and of his resurrection. For it because of him that have the opportunity to be raised unto eternal life. It is in this that we hope and that we have faith. And as we increase our understanding, then we increase our hope and faith. Through prayerful study of the scriptures and the words of our modern day prophets, we can increase our understanding.
And it is because of out hope that we keep anxiously engaged in good causes as Elder Maxwell said. It is this hope and faith that carries us from day to day, regardless of our individual situations. When I think of hope in Christ, it reminds me of a hymn:
How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
In every condition in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea
As thy days may demand so thy succor shall be.
Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall no thee o'erflow,
For I will be with thee, they troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee they deepest distress.
When through fiery trials they pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, through all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!
I leave you with my testimony that Jesus is the Christ.
