This is pretty much the talk I gave in the White Mountain ward on the 3rd of January, 2021.
You'll see in the talk, parts of it weren't written out but are more like [bear testimony about ______].
I didn't read it verbetim (except quotes, of course). I added many things here and there and took out a few things along the way. I don't like to just read straight from the page when I give talks. I reviewed my talk several times beforehand (both outloud and just reading the text) allowing me to just need reminders of what to talk about, rather than reading specific words off from a page.
But the basis of the talk, at least, is here for you to read :)
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-I'm the youngest of 5; they’re the best.
Diary Farm; Parent teach (Dad retired as a Theater/World History teacher, mom subs); I want to teach math
I pray that my words today alongside the words of many great prophets from our day and from the times of the scriptures will uplift you and bring you strength at the beginning of this new year.
I think, quite often, when people are posed with the question to say, in one word, what the Gospel of Jesus Christ means to them, or what the Atonement of Jesus Christ means to them, or what having the Restored Church of Christ means to them. I feel the most common word chosen is 'hope'.
There are a lot of things we hope for. I searched up the word "hope" in my emails the other day trying to look for a specific email my friend sent me that I wanted to quote here. And I didn't realize just how frequently I use the word hope and how frequently I hope for things.
I hope you're doing well.
I hope your birthday was fantastic.
I hope this voice recording works.
I hope this helps.
I hope you're having a blast.
One in particular I found that I think is quite comical. Elder Townsend one day saying, "I hope this doesn't shatter everywhere" as he proceeds to throw a burnt-out lightbuld, which misses the trashcan and then shatters everywhere.
There are a lot of things that we can hope for, but more often it feels like a wish rather than "believing and expecting that something will occur," and having "an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you." which is what Preach My Gospel defines ‘hope’ as.
Gospel topics says,
“The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty. For example, we may say that we hope for a change in the weather or a visit from a friend. In the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active.”
Finding things to hope for never seems to be the problem. There are many things each one of us long for. There are many things each one of us yearn for.
And, I think, especially as we all head into this new year, there’s a lot of things we want to hope for.
Exactly as Elder Holland said back in April 2020 General Conference in his talk "A Perfect Brightness of Hope, which I will quote a couple times today,
“Many in this audience today have deeply personal hopes: hope for a marriage to improve, or sometimes just hope for a marriage; hope for an addiction to be conquered; hope for a wayward child to come back; hope for physical and emotional pain of a hundred kinds to cease.”
But how can we make sure our hope is a “firm hope” and a “lively hope” as talked about in the scriptures? (Alma and in 1 Peter)
And where can we find this hope?
Elder Uchtdorf said back in October 2018 that, “This hope is found in the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the Savior’s redemptive power to heal us of our soul-sickness.”
[Bear testimony about how important the Atonement of Jesus Christ is and how it makes sense that it's the source of our hope]
It was cool for me to come across 1 Timothy 1:1 which, when talking about Christ, says "Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;"
[Jesus Christ really is our hope]
So, I think, one of the best ways we can increase in our hope is by increasing our faith that Jesus Christ really is our Savior and Redeemer
And as gospel topics says, “We increase in hope as we pray and seek God’s forgiveness. In the Book of Mormon, a missionary named Aaron assured a Lamanite king, ‘If thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest’ (Alma 22:16). We also gain hope as we study the scriptures and follow their teachings.”
I know this principle to be true. And I wanted to highlight that last line. “We also gain hope as we study the scriptures and follow their teachings.”
As missionaries we have an hour to ourselves each morning where we have the chance to study. And I find myself very frequently getting ‘distracted’ per se by various other things. There are so many things to study and read that I frequently fail to turn to the simple wonderful teachings in the Book of Mormon and other scriptures.
Simply reading a chapter, or just a few verses, from the Book of Mormon can, perhaps, be the most important part of your daily studies.
Your hope and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will increase as you do so, I can promise that.
I wanted to share a scripture that highlights both having hope and also reading from the word of God.
2 Nephi 31:20 states, “Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”
I wanted to highlight more blessings of having and developing hope. This is one of my favorite things to do because it gets me excited to continue 'trying to be like Jesus'.
1 John 3:3 states,
"And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as [Jesus Christ] is pure."
And in Proverbs it reads,
"The hope of the righteous shall be gladness." Proverbs 10:28
Preach My Gospel shares a lot of them with us.
It says,
"It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance. When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good. Hope helps you conquer discouragement.
Life is not easy. It is not meant to be. I believe my companion is also planning on using this scripture, but it’s so good I thought it might as well be used twice. Although life is not easy, “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”
That scripture can be found in Ether 12:4.
[I didn't end up using the scripture because I was running out of time. I just referenced it]
I know that as we increase our belief and faith in God, our hope for a better world will increase.
And as we put our trust in our Savior, the power and strength we receive through Christ's Atonement will increase; we will feel a difference.
I remember back in the MTC and in my first transfer; those were the hardest times on my mission. I felt inadequate; I felt lots and lots of fear, which is the opposer to faith and hope; I would frequently have mental breakdowns. Almost every time I would knock a door, I would secretly wish no one would answer so I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone.
And moments like those certainly still take place. But I have grown so much since then. And I believe that is because we, as missionaries, are constantly surrounded and nourished by ‘the good word of God’ and the strengthening power of the Spirit through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
But a mission is not the only place we can receive that power through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
There’s a reason we as a church do our best to partake of the sacrament every week. There’s a reason we are encouraged to hold daily scripture study and prayer.
And, with the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we can constantly receive guidance and comfort and hope through the Spirit.
Romans 15:13 testifies of this saying, "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."
I would like to close with the testimony of Elder Holland alongside mine.
Elder Holland said, Because the Restoration reaffirmed the foundational truth that God does work in this world, we can hope, we should hope, even when facing the most insurmountable odds.
That is what the scripture meant when Abraham was able to hope against hope—that is, he was able to believe in spite of every reason not to believe—that he and Sarah could conceive a child when that seemed utterly impossible.
He continues by saying,
I testify that the future is going to be as miracle-filled and bountifully blessed as the past has been. We have every reason to hope for blessings even greater than those we have already received because this is the work of Almighty God, this is the Church of continuing revelation, this is the gospel of Christ’s unlimited grace and benevolence.
There is reason to hope. I know more deeply now than I ever have in my life that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that our Father in Heaven loves us with a love we cannot yet comprehend.
[Bear testimony of how I've seen how Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of us individually]
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior. Amen.