Dearest Reader,
Every one of us has had a day where things just seem to go wrong. For example, on my seventh birthday I had an accident in front of my whole first grade. AND I was wearing a skirt with tights. Hmmm....definitely the worst birthday ever.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that everyone experiences very difficult, embarrassing, discouraging, lonely, or just plain miserable moments.
During those times it is common that our family members, or well-meaning friends will say to us, "I hope that you get well soon", or "I hope that things turn out better". That kind of loving encouragement can lend us strength. But I want to focus on the word "hope".
How, exactly, is hope supposed to get us through hard times? What are we supposed to "hope" for? On my seventh birthday I guess I could have hoped that everyone in my class would forget that I had wet my pants. Or that perhaps it was only a nightmare, and I would wake up completely dry! We can hope that our problems will go away or that they won't bother us anymore. And it is completely OK to hope that everything will turn out all right... but in the end, that kind of hope isn't the most sustaining or the most powerful.
There is a more meaningful, lasting and eternal hope that is available to us even and especially in the most distressing of times.
This is the hope that we can have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Why should we have hope in Him? Because He will ALWAYS fulfill his promises to us. And HIS promises are the only ones that are eternally important.
According to the LDS missionary manual "Preach My Gospel",
The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death”, and, "Hope is the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you."
Christ has guaranteed us that if we our faithful to our promises that we made at baptism, and in the temple, we shall have eternal life.
"For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost...
"And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
"Wherefore, ye must 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 31:17, 19-20
The hope that we can have in Christ's promises will sustain us through any difficulty we may face. Nevertheless, even though we have already been promised eternity if we are faithful, our Savior has also promised to help us with our mortal struggles.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
-Matthew 11:28-30
I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that He performed the Atonement so that I may have the opportunity to live with Him and my family again. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is true. And I know that hope in our Savior and in His Atonement is the only true and sustaining hope in this life.
And I hope you can come to know this too! : )
Love,
Samantha
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