Photo supplied, Intellectual Reserve

The word “hope” is defined as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”

Depending on what we have hope in, our hope (the expectation for it) can either be strong or weak. If we see a lot of evidence that something will happen, we have a strong hope for it. In other words, we have a strong expectation it will happen. If we don’t see a lot of evidence that something will happen, we don’t have a strong hope for it. We don’t have a strong expectation it will happen. It’s always nice when something we think is good happens that we didn’t necessarily have a strong hope for. Conversely, it can be devastating when we have a strong hope for something good to happen and then it doesn’t.

Hope was the subject Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chose to speak about at the general conference of the church last month.

“The scriptures link three words powerfully together: faith, hope, charity. The gift of hope is a priceless endowment from God,” Elder Andersen said.

“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.'”

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

In his address, Elder Andersen spoke about our hope for eternal life, where that hope comes from, a scriptural example of hope, how we can increase our hope, what happens when hope is discarded, what facing trials with hope does for us and “the promise of hope.”

The talk was both instructive and inspiring, particularly because of a tragic personal story that Elder Andersen shared toward the end.

Elder Andersen started off by talking about 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,” (Ether 12:4) he said.

“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.”

One thing that Elder Andersen said here that stood out to me is that “eternal life is assured through the grace of Christ and our own choices.” We don’t have to wonder if eternal life is truly possible. We don’t have to worry about our hope being in vain. It will happen, “through the grace of Christ and our own choices.”

This life is filled with things both terrific and tragic, but with an eternal perspective, we know that all of it is part of a great plan to test and prove us, and we see exactly what is possible if we stay faithful.

This type of hope comes from God. It has always come from God.

“Since the beginning, our Heavenly Father and his beloved son have eagerly blessed the righteous with the precious gift of hope,” (Moses 1:39) Elder Andersen said.

“After leaving the garden, Adam and Eve were taught by an angel of the promise of Jesus Christ. (Moses 5) The gift of hope enlightened their lives. Adam declared, ‘My eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy.’ (Moses 5:10) Eve spoke of ‘the joy of [their] redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.’ (Moses 5:11)

“Just as the Holy Ghost brought hope to Adam, (Moses 5:9) the power of the Lord’s spirit enlightens the faithful today, illuminating the reality of eternal life.”

Before I continue, I wanted to highlight that Elder Andersen’s words regarding Adam and Eve were omitted from his talk when he spoke it. They were, however, included in the version of his talk written and posted on the website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is one of the reasons it is important to not just watch the talks but also read them. Additional insight and commentary are sometimes provided, both in the text and in footnotes.

Elder Andersen continued:

“The savior sends us a comforter, the Holy Ghost, a companion bringing faith, hope, and peace ‘not as the world giveth.’ (John 14:27)

“‘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.’ (John 16:33)

“In times of difficulty, we choose to trust the Lord in faith. We quietly pray, ‘Not my will but thine be done.’ (Luke 22:42) 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,’ (Romans 15:13) ‘rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;’ (Romans 12:12) ‘through the power of the Holy Ghost.'” (Romans 15:13)

An example of someone who demonstrated hope in Christ despite tribulation was the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni, who Elder Andersen highlighted.

Said Elder Andersen: “He explained his harrowing situation:

“‘I am alone. … I have not … whither to go.’ (Mormon 8:5)

“‘I make not myself known … lest they should destroy me.’ (Moroni 1:1)

“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.’ (Moroni 7:42)

“‘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.'” (Moroni 7:41)

I know that Heavenly Father wants to bless everyone with hope. It was his plan to send us here, knowing that we would face difficult situations that might result in us losing hope, but he did it because he knew the reward at the end – eternal life – would be worth it. He knew that is what would make us most happy. Given all that, he is not going to abandon us.

“For behold, this is my work and my glory — to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

How do we increase our hope?

Said Elder Andersen:

“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.’ (Hebrews 11:1) 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.

“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.”

There are currently 199 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that have been dedicated. The 200th temple, the Deseret Peak Temple in Tooele, will be dedicated Nov. 10. There are 167 more temples that have been announced. Thanks to all these temples, so many more people are going to have the opportunity to make covenants with Heavenly Father, which will lead to more hope in their lives.

Highlighting the importance of hope in eternal life, Elder Andersen told two stories, one which showed what can happen during a tragedy when such hope is absent and one which showed what can happen during a tragedy when such hope is present.

Said Elder Andersen: “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.”

Next came the second story.

Said Elder Andersen: “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 [Russell M.] 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 [Brigham Young University] 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 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.'”

I know what this type of clarity during heartbreak feels like. I’ve felt it in my life. It’s almost a surreal feeling. You’re aware of what happened, and you definitely would have preferred that it didn’t happen, but you have this knowledge in your soul that everything is alright and you’re at peace. Somehow, you realize that you have even more hope than you did before as you are able to see the situation with an eternal perspective.

Concluding his remarks, Elder Andersen said:

“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. (2 Nephi 21:30) 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.”

Hope is, indeed, a “gift” and “a priceless endowment from God,” as Elder Andersen stated. I can personally testify of the truthfulness of President Nelson’s statement, which Trey kept on his phone, that joy has little to do with our circumstances and everything to do with our focus. My hope is not strong or weak based on my circumstances. Though blessings definitely increase happiness, my hope is strong or weak depending on what I have chosen to focus on in my life. When I am focused on keeping the commandments and staying close to God so that I can have eternal life, I have hope regardless of my life situation. And the more I focus on commandments and staying close to God, the more my hope increases. That hope is available to all.

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rbcomer8388 and on X at @rbcomer8388.