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Seeking and Obtaining “a More Excellent Hope”
Hope helps us overcome trials, endure to the end, and obtain eternal life.
The Lord Jesus Christ prophesied that in the last days “men’s hearts shall fail them” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:26). We see this in part fulfilled by the discouragement and despair that plague our world, leading to widespread hopelessness.
Nevertheless, our Savior has not left us without a way to face this scourge of despair. In the Book of Mormon, He reveals through his prophets how we can gain “a more excellent hope” (Ether 12:32) that can be like “an anchor to [our] souls” (Ether 12:4) amid the waves of discouragement and hopelessness.
What is hope?
In our everyday language, hope is often used to describe wishful thinking. For example, “I hope it doesn’t rain today.” But in the language of the gospel, hope is not fleeting or uncertain. Instead, it is “sure, unwavering, and active.” Hope is “the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness.” For example, the prophet Moroni taught that we can “with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God” (Ether 12:4).
What should we hope for?
The scriptures often speak of having hope for the greatest of all of God’s promised blessings: eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God (see Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). The prophet Mormon illustrated this when he taught: “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 according to the promise” (Moroni 7:41).
How do we gain and develop hope?
Simply stated, “Hope cometh of faith” (Ether 12:4). Part of believing in Jesus Christ is trusting in the promises He has made to us. Because faith and hope are interrelated, as our faith in the Lord grows, so does our hope in receiving His promised blessings. As a result, that which develops our faith also develops our hope.
For example, as we exercise faith in the Lord by sincere prayer, attending Church, partaking of the sacrament, worshipping in the temple, studying the scriptures, heeding the words of living prophets, keeping God’s commandments, and repenting of our sins, we invite the Holy Spirit to confirm the truth of these things. This increases our hope because the Spirit assures us that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that we are living true to His gospel. In other words, we are keeping our gospel covenants and can therefore be confident in receiving His promised blessings.
How does hope help us?
As we faithfully keep our covenants with the Lord, we can receive a spiritual assurance through the Holy Ghost that Heavenly Father has accepted our efforts and that His promises to us will eventually all be fulfilled. This “perfect brightness of hope” that we will receive eternal life will help us “endure to the end” through trials and challenges as we “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ” (2 Nephi 31:20). This perfect hope of eternal life is “an anchor to the souls of” those who receive it, making them “sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works” (Ether 12:4).
This hope can come to all of us. As we are faithful to our baptismal and temple covenants, we can have the perfect confidence that whatever happens in life, whatever challenges or setbacks we face, the Lord will fulfill his promises to us, including eternal life in His presence. We have sure hope in Christ that “in the Lord’s own way and time, no blessings will be withheld from His faithful Saints.”