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Today I want to talk about hope. I recently was reading
parts of Elder Holland’s talk: “A Perfect Brightness of Hope”. As I began
reading it I was reminded of the questions that President Nelson shared during
his October 2019 conference: “How would my life be different if my knowledge gained
from the Book of Mormon were suddenly taken away” and “ How have the events
that followed the First Vision made a difference for me and my loved ones?”
Those are powerful questions and I believe they are reasons
to have hope. The Book of Mormon is on the earth. It is the word of God and
that provides me hope. The First Vision really happened. This provides hope as
I can have the assurance that God does hear my prayers. He lives and so does
His son!
Elder Holland goes on to outline and highlight other truths
that have been restored since the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. I particularly love his hope in
the temple and the work that is done in the temple.
“In 1820, we would have hoped to
see fulfilled the eloquent promises of Isaiah, Micah, and other ancient
prophets regarding the return of the majestic house of the Lord. We would
have thrilled to see the glory of holy temples established again, with the
Spirit, the ordinances, the power, and the authority to teach eternal truths,
heal personal wounds, and bind families together forever. I would have looked
anywhere and everywhere to find someone authorized to say to me and my beloved
Patricia that our marriage in such a setting was sealed for time and all
eternity, never to hear or have imposed on us the haunting curse “until death
do you part.” I know that “in [our] Father’s house are many mansions,” but, speaking
personally, if I were to be so fortunate as to inherit one of them, it could be
no more to me than a decaying shack if Pat and our children were not with me to
share that inheritance. And for our ancestors, some of whom lived and died
anciently without even hearing the name of Jesus Christ, we would have hoped
for that most just and merciful of biblical concepts to be restored—the
practice of the living offering up saving ordinances on behalf of their kindred
dead. No
practice I can imagine would demonstrate with more splendor a loving God’s
concern for every one of His earthly children no matter when they lived nor
where they died.”
Isn’t that such a hopeful doctrine?!? Priesthood power has
been restored to the earth and because of that, there are saving ordinances
available to us!
I still remember the first time going to do baptisms for the
dead. It was in the Portland Oregon temple and I was with my Mom, Dad, Grandma
and Grandpa Michael and I sure other aunts and uncles were also present. It was
a lovely opportunity to be there with my family members. In addition to being
there with family, I was able to be baptized and confirmed on behalf of my
Great Grandpa Amos Russell Michael. He is the man for whom I have been named.
What a blessing to be able to open the door to salvation for my grandpa.
As a result of that experience in the Portland Temple, my
wife and I decided to be sealed for all eternity in the Portland Oregon Temple
in 2013. What hope can come because of the temple!!
In August of 2019, my sister Ellen was sealed to her husband
Vino in the Los Angeles Temple. As this beautiful ordinance was being
celebrated, my wife was in the throws of a miscarriage. We had been married for
going on 6 years and had yet to have the blessing of children. In spite of the
difficulties of going through the pain and suffering of losing an unborn child,
I feel hope knowing that the Savior died and is now resurrected.
Elder Holland shared the following quote in his talk titled
“An High Priest of Good things to Come”: “Some blessings come soon. Some
blessings come late. And some blessings don’t come until Heaven, but for those
who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, those blessings come.”
Moroni shared in Ether 12:4, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in
God might with surety hope for a better world…”. I recall a roommate of mine
talking with me and a class about this verse. He posed the question and I pose
it now to you, what does your better world look like? I think we all have hopes
or things we want to have in our better world. Indeed, Elder Holland shares
some of those hopes when he says:
“When we have conquered this—and
we will—may we be equally committed to freeing the world from the virus of
hunger, freeing neighborhoods and nations from the virus of poverty. May we
hope for schools where students are taught—not terrified they will be
shot—and for the gift of personal dignity for every child of God, unmarred by any form of racial, ethnic, or
religious prejudice. Undergirding all of this is our relentless hope for
greater devotion to the two greatest of all commandments: to love God by
keeping His counsel and to love our neighbors by showing kindness and
compassion, patience and forgiveness. These two
divine directives are still—and forever will be—the only real hope we have
for giving our children a better world than the one they now know. “
Fortunately for us all, the Lord is aware of our hopes and
desires. He knows each of us better than we can know. He wants what is best for
us. His timeframe may be different than ours, but as Elder Holland further
shared, “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.”
Heavenly Father loves me and He loves you. His love is a
great source of love. I rest assured (some of the time) knowing this truth and
that He loves me. That love can be anchor for my hope. And with that hope, I
can and you can look forward to the future with faith and a positive outlook as
opposed to despair.
Surely it was hope that carried our Savior through
Gethsemane and Calvary. I know He loves us and died and rose again from the
grave for me and you personally and for the whole world more generally. I have
a testimony that He lives and is watching over us. He cares for us and it
really is through Him that all our hopes can and will be fulfilled.
