The Beginning
Hope is the beginning of the gospel. In Alma 32:21 it states, “And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” (2) The first principle of the gospel is faith, and faith begins with a hope. Having hope for things which are not seen isn’t always easy. One must first have hope that the gospel is true, then they can develop that into faith. Alma 32:27 says, “But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” (3) I had an experience exercising hope when I first came to college. When I moved away from my family things weren’t as easy as I had imagined they’d be. I realized that I could no longer depend so heavily on my parents for things—especially things like my testimony. To me, the gospel seemed perfect. Of course I hoped that it was true. I let that hope work within me, and from there it developed into the faith that I have today. Hope is the very beginning of the gospel. Live with hope, live in happiness.
The Middle
Throughout our lives we must continue in hope. Hope is what can keep us going. Often we let ourselves doubt. But living with hope is such an essential part of our lives. The LDS hymn “Be Still My Soul” illustrates this principle perfectly.
“Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
with patience bear they cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, they heav’nly Friend.
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.” (4)
Having hope and faith along the journey will always lead us where we should go. In Moroni chapter 7 verse 42 we read, “Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.” (5) Hope is essential at all points in our lives. In General Conference of October 2008, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught that, “With hope comes joy and happiness. With hope, we can “have patience, and bear…[our] afflictions.” (6) Alma 7:24 states, “And see that ye have faith, hope and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.” (7) Those who live their lives full of hope, will be blessed. Live with hope, live in happiness.
The End
As each of us nears the end of our lives, we all seem to hope for more than we actually deserve. Through the atonement, our Savior has made it possible for us to receive those things. Everyone leads a life full of sin and sorrow, and if, in the last day, we all received what we really deserved, none of us would be happy. But through our brother, Jesus Christ, we will be saved and be given the ultimate gift of happiness. We learn in Ether 12:9, “Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, it ye will but have faith.” (8) We hope to be able to return to our Heavenly Father and to live happily with our families once more. Live with hope, live in happiness.
Works Cited
(1) Alma 32:21
(2) Alma 32:27
(3) LDS Hymn #124
(4) Moroni 7:42
(5) The Infinite Power of Hope. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. November 2008.
(6) Alma 7:24
(7) Ether 12:9
(8) dictionary.com
10 comments:
Rebekah, thanks for your blog! I liked your use of headings and the simple topic sentences you have as hope for the beginning, middle, and end.
I liked reading your blog. I think that the headings of the different sections made it easy to read and better understand what you were trying to say. Thank you for your testimony.
Rebekah, I really enjoyed your blog, especially the layout of it. Be Still My Soul is my favorite hymn, I'm so glad that you put it into your blog. Wonderful job:)
I loved how you use questions at the beginning to lure the reader in. After pondering those questions I couldn't wait to read more. Thanks not only for your blog but for your testimony too.
Nice job! The photo really helped make the point that hope guides us throughout our whole lives. Also, I LOVE the song, "Be Still My Soul" and so I could better relate to what you were saying. =]
My favorite blog so far! good job and I loved how you mentioned the beginning middle and end.
Really nice and easy to read! I loved how right from the beginning you connected with the reader asking us to ponder. That was a great way to begin!
You are right when you said that at the near the end of our road we hope for more. An enjoyable blog. Thank you.
I liked the questions at the beginning. It really involves the readers and is a good hook. I also liked the picture of the sign. Good job :-)
one of the most important principles of the gospel to me is hope. I couldn't live without it; it keeps me going when things aren't going well, and I hope helps me to live all of the other gospel principles better.
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