Hope

I want to start this post by quoting Elder Steven E Snow's talk in April General Conference.  He said,

"We should never let hope be displaced by despair. The Apostle Paul wrote that we “should plow in hope” (1 Corinthians 9:10). The exercise of hope enriches our lives and helps us look forward to the future. Whether we are plowing fields to plant or plowing through life, it is imperative we, as Latter-day Saints, have hope.

In the gospel of Jesus Christ, hope is the desire of His followers to gain eternal salvation through the Atonement of the Savior.

This is truly the hope we must all have. It is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. Peter admonished the early followers of Christ to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

Our hope in the Atonement empowers us with eternal perspective. Such perspective allows us to look beyond the here and now on into the promise of the eternities. We don’t have to be trapped in the narrow confines of society’s fickle expectations. We are free to look forward to celestial glory, sealed to our family and loved ones."

 

 

     I am so grateful for hope in my life.  I am grateful for my pioneer ancestors that relied on hope to guide them here and establish a new life for themselves.  They followed the prophet, they gave up what comforts they had for a long trek west in a covered wagon.  I am grateful for my wife and I have the hope that I can be as good as she is.  You have to know that I definitely married up.  As in the quote above, she was ready as Peter admonished to give that answer and in so doing has helped to turn a life around and to show a daughter of our Heavenly Father that He is there and that He does watch over us and is concerned about us.  She told this person about prayer and talking to our Heavenly Father since He truly does want to know how we are doing.

     In this picture I took recently, I think of the raging storm that rolled through downtown Salt Lake City like a freight train.  The House of the Lord stands as a beacon of hope to us all of being reunited with loved one's who have passed on and most importantly of being reunited with our Heavenly Father.  The storms of life will continue to rage around us but as we look to the temple, we see a rock that is unwavering, unchanging and it gives us a hope to be a better person.