The Triumph of Hope
Hope is a living gift, a gift that grows as we increase our faith in Jesus Christ.
My dear brothers and sisters across the world, as we begin this very special time of general conference, the eyes of heaven will certainly be focused upon us. We will hear the voice of the Lord through His servants; we will feel the “guiding, directing, [and] comforting” influence of the Holy Ghost, and our faith will be strengthened.
Three years ago, President Russell M. Nelson began general conference with these words: “Pure revelation for the questions in your heart will make this conference rewarding and unforgettable. If you have not yet sought for the ministering of the Holy Ghost to help you hear what the Lord would have you hear during these two days, I invite you to do so now. Please make this conference a time of feasting on messages from the Lord through His servants.”
The scriptures link three words powerfully together: faith, hope, charity. The gift of hope is a priceless endowment from God.
The word hope is used for many things we want to happen. For example, “I hope it won’t rain,” or “I hope our team wins.” My intent is to speak of our sacred and eternal hopes centered in Jesus Christ and the restored gospel and our “confident expectation[s] of … the promised blessings of righteousness.”
Our Hope for Eternal Life
Our hope of eternal life is assured through the grace of Christ and our own choices, allowing us the remarkable blessing of returning to our heavenly home and living forever in peace and happiness with our Heavenly Father, His Beloved Son, our faithful family and precious friends, and the righteous men and women from every continent and every century.
On earth we experience joy and sorrow as we are tested and proven. Our victory comes through faith in Jesus Christ as we triumph over our sins, difficulties, temptations, unfairness, and the challenges of this mortal life.
As we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, we see beyond our struggles to the blessings and promises of eternity. Like a light whose brilliance grows, hope brightens the darkened world, and we see our glorious future.
Hope Comes from God
Since the beginning, our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son have eagerly blessed the righteous with the precious gift of hope.
After leaving the garden, Adam and Eve were taught by an angel of the promise of Jesus Christ. The gift of hope enlightened their lives. Adam declared, “My eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy.” Eve spoke of “the joy of [their] redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”
Just as the Holy Ghost brought hope to Adam, the power of the Lord’s Spirit enlightens the faithful today, illuminating the reality of eternal life.
The Savior sends us a Comforter, the Holy Ghost, a companion bringing faith, hope, and peace “not as the world giveth.”
“In the world,” the Savior said, “ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer [keep a brightness of hope]; I have overcome the world.”
In times of difficulty, we choose to trust the Lord in faith. We quietly pray, “Not my will but thine be done.” We feel the Lord’s approval for our meek willingness, and we await the promised peace the Lord will send in His chosen timing.
The Apostle Paul taught, “The God of hope [will] fill you with … joy and peace … , that ye may abound in hope,” “rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;” “through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
A Lesson of Hope
The prophet Moroni knew firsthand about having hope in Christ during tribulation. He explained his harrowing situation:
“I am alone. … I have not … whither to go.”
“I make not myself known … lest they should destroy me.”
Remarkably, in this dark and lonely hour, Moroni records his father’s words of hope:
“If a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.”
“What is it that ye shall hope for? … Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal.”
My brothers and sisters, hope is a living gift, a gift that grows as we increase our faith in Jesus Christ. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” We build this substance—the evidence blocks of our faith—through prayer, temple covenants, keeping the commandments, continually feasting on the scriptures and the words of modern-day prophets, taking the sacrament, serving others, and worshipping weekly with our fellow Saints.
A House of Hope
To fortify our hope in a time of increasing wickedness, the Lord has directed His prophet to dot the earth with His temples.
As we enter the Lord’s house, we feel the Spirit of God, verifying our hope.
The temple testifies of the empty tomb and that life beyond the veil continues for all.
For those who do not have an eternal companion, the ordinances powerfully confirm that every righteous person will receive every promised blessing.
There is sublime hope as a young couple kneels across the altar to be sealed, not just for time but for eternity.
There is an immensity of hope for us in the promises made to our posterity, whatever their current circumstances.
There is no pain, no sickness, no injustice, no suffering, nothing that can darken our hope as we believe and hold tightly to our covenants with God in the house of the Lord. It is a house of light, a house of hope.
When Hope Is Discarded
We shed tears of sorrow as we see the sadness and despair in those who have no hope in Christ.
I recently observed from a distance a couple who at one time had faith in Christ but then decided to discard their belief. They were successful in the world, and they found pleasure in their intellect and the rejection of their faith.
All seemed well until the husband, still young and energetic, suddenly fell ill and died. Like an eclipse of the sun, they had blocked the light of the Son, and the result was an eclipse of hope. The wife, in her disbelief, now felt disoriented, painfully unprepared, unable to comfort her children. Her intellect had told her that her life was in perfect order until suddenly she could see no tomorrow. Her despair brought darkness and confusion.
Hope in Heartbreaking Tragedy
Let me contrast her painful despair with another family’s hope in Christ during a heartbreaking time.
Twenty-one years ago the newborn son of my nephew Ben Andersen and his wife, Robbie, was life-flighted from their Idaho farming community to Salt Lake City. I arrived at the hospital, and Ben explained the severe, life-threatening complications with their baby’s heart. We placed our hands on Trey’s tiny head. The Lord blessed him with continued life.
Trey had heart surgery the first week of his life, and more surgeries followed. As the years passed, it became apparent that Trey would need a heart transplant. Although his physical activities were limited, his faith expanded. He wrote, “I have never felt sorry for myself because I have always known the importance of having faith in Jesus Christ and a testimony of the plan of salvation.”
Trey kept on his phone this well-known quote from President Nelson: “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”
Trey wrote: “I have always looked forward to serving a full-time mission, but … my doctors won’t let me serve a mission until at least a year after my transplant. … I’ve put my faith in Jesus Christ.”
Trey was excited at being accepted into the accounting major at BYU beginning this semester, but even more excited in late July when he received the very anticipated telephone call to come to the hospital for his heart transplant.
“One year,” Trey said, “and I will be on my mission.”
There were great expectations as he entered the operating room. However, during the surgery there were devastating complications, and Trey never regained consciousness.
His mother, Robbie, said: “Friday had been the most heartbreaking day … just trying to wrap our minds around it. … I had stayed up late just trying to process everything. … But Saturday, I woke up with a feeling of absolute joy. It wasn’t just peace; it wasn’t denial. I felt joy for my son, and I felt joy as his mother. … Ben had gotten up a lot earlier than me, and when we finally got a chance to talk, Ben had awakened with the exact same feeling.”
Ben explained: “Clarity came to my soul as God taught me through His Holy Spirit. I awoke at 4:00 a.m. and was filled with indescribable peace and joy. How is this possible? … The passing of Trey is so very painful, and I miss him so much. But the Lord does not leave us comfortless. … I look forward to a joyful reunion.”
The Promise of Hope
Trey had noted in his journal these words from President Nelson’s general conference talk: “It doesn’t seem possible to feel joy when your child suffers with an incurable illness or when you lose your job or when your spouse betrays you. Yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. His joy is constant, assuring us that our ‘afflictions shall be but a small moment’ [Doctrine and Covenants 121:7] and be consecrated to our gain.”
Brothers and sisters, the peace you seek may not come as quickly as you desire, but I promise you that as you trust in the Lord, His peace will come.
May we nurture our precious faith, pressing forward with a perfect brightness of hope. I testify that our hope is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Through Him, all our righteous dreams will be realized. He is the God of hope—the triumph of hope. He lives and He loves you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.