Last year while Elder David S. Baxter and I were driving to a state conference, we stopped at a restaurant. Later when returning to our car, we were approached by a woman who called out to us. We were startled by her appearance. Her grooming (or lack of it) was what I might politely call "extreme." She asked if we were elders in the Church. We said yes. Almost unrestrained, she told the story of her tragic life, swamped in sin. Now, only 28 years old, she was miserable. She felt worthless, with nothing to live for. As she spoke, the sweetness of her soul began to emerge. Pleading tearfully, she asked if there was any hope for her, any way up and out of her hopelessness.

"Yes," we responded. "There is hope. Hope is linked to repentance. You can change. You can 'come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him.'" We urged her not to procrastinate. She sobbed humbly and thanked us sincerely.

As Elder Baxter and I continued our journey, we pondered that experience. We recalled the counsel given to a hopeless soul by Aaron, who said, "If thou will repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest."