Your Lively, Good, and More Excellent Hope
Jesus Christ is now and forever your source of the spiritual gift of hope.
Jesus of Nazareth, by Jay Bryant Ward
The Apostle Peter and the Book of Mormon prophets Jacob and Moroni emphasize the spiritual gift of hope in Christ in similar ways.
Peter declared that we have “a lively hope” in Christ.
Jacob proclaimed that having faith in Christ brings us “a good hope.”
And Moroni stated that we have “a more excellent hope” because of Christ.
What Is Hope in Christ?
The spiritual gift of hope in Christ is the joyful anticipation of eternal life through the “merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” and a strong desire for the promised blessings of righteousness. The words “lively,” “good,” and “more excellent” describe our hope in Jesus Christ. It is an ever-expanding and vibrant assurance of the Resurrection and of eternal life through faith in Him.
The prophet Mormon explained, “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. …
“Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.”
The Father’s Plan of Happiness
Your lively, good, and more excellent hope in Christ begins with the knowledge that God the Eternal Father lives. He is your Father. You are literally His spirit son or daughter, and you have inherited divine qualities from Him.
The Father is the author of the plan of happiness. As His spirit son or daughter, you “accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”
You are a dual being. Your spirit, the eternal part of you, is clothed in a physical body that is subject to the desires and appetites of mortality. The Father’s plan of happiness is designed to provide direction for you, to help you return safely home to Him with a resurrected, exalted body, and to receive the blessings of eternal joy and happiness.
The Redemptive Role of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of the Eternal Father. He came into the world to do the will of His Father. He is our Savior and Redeemer because He overcame both death and sin.
Alma prophesied: “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; …
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, … that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
“… The Son of God [also] suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance.”
The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. True faith focuses in and on the Savior and enables us to trust in Him and have complete confidence in His power to save us from death, cleanse us from sin, and bless us with strength beyond our own.
I testify that the Savior broke the bands of death. He was resurrected and “bringeth to pass [our] resurrection [and] redemption.” He lives. He is the only source of lively, good, and more excellent hope.
An Anchor to the Soul
The prophet Ether testified, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”
In this special season of celebrating the birth of the babe in Bethlehem, may you always remember that Jesus Christ came into the world to be our Savior and Redeemer. He offers to you the priceless spiritual gifts of life, light, renewal, love, peace, perspective, joy, and hope.
The Days Were Accomplished, by Justin Kunz
I invite you to seek appropriately for the spiritual gift of hope in the Savior by studying the teachings and testimonies of ancient and modern prophets concerning His atoning sacrifice and literal resurrection. As you do so, I promise that your testimony of the Redeemer’s divinity will be strengthened. Your conversion to Him will deepen. Your desire and determination to stand as His valiant witness will increase. And you will be blessed with an anchor to your soul—even lively, good, and more excellent hope.
With the Apostles who have borne testimony of Him throughout the ages, I joyfully declare my witness that Jesus Christ is the living Son of the living God. He is our resurrected Redeemer. Because of the redemption and reconciliation with God that He makes possible for all humankind, you can receive the spiritual assurance and a lively, good, and more excellent hope that “in Christ shall all be made alive.”