Faith, Hope, Love
These times can be troubling, but we, as women of faith can have hope in our hearts! Elder Steven E. Snow gave a wonderful talk in April conference priesthood session that I would like to pull some thoughts from. He spoke about the principle of Hope.
“Sometimes we hope for things over which we have little or no control. We hope for good weather. We hope for an early spring. “
“Such hopes make our lives interesting and can often lead to unusual, even superstitious behavior. …Other times our hopes can lead to dreams which can inspire us and lead us to action. If we have the hope to do better in school, that hope can be realized by dedicated study and sacrifice. Hope alone, however, does not cause us to succeed. Many honorable hopes have gone unfulfilled, shipwrecked on the reefs of good intentions and laziness.”
“As parents, we find our fondest hopes center around our children. We hope they will grow up to lead responsible and righteous lives. Such hopes can be easily dashed if we do not act as good examples. Hope alone does not mean our children will grow in righteousness. We must spend time with them in family home evening and worthwhile family activities. We must teach them to pray. We must read with them in the scriptures and teach them important gospel principles. Only then is it possible our fondest hopes will be realized.”
We should never let hope be displaced by despair. The Apostle Paul wrote that we “should plow in hope” (1 Corinthians 9:10). The exercise of hope enriches our lives and helps us look forward to the future. Whether we are plowing fields to plant or plowing through life, it is imperative we, as Latter-day Saints, have hope.
