Faith, Hope, Love

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.

 

“In the gospel of Jesus Christ, hope is the desire of His followers to gain eternal salvation through the Atonement of the Savior. This is truly the hope we must all have… Our hope in the Atonement empowers us with eternal perspective. Such perspective allows us to look beyond the here and now on into the promise of the eternities. We don’t have to be trapped in the narrow confines of society’s fickle expectations. We are free to look forward to celestial glory, sealed to our family and loved ones.”

 

“… hope is almost always related to faith and charity. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught: “Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time” (“The Infinite Power of Hope,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 21). He also stated that “Each time a hope is fulfilled, it creates confidence and leads to greater hope.”

 

Moroni wrote: “Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.

“And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope” (Moroni 10:20–21).”

 

Nephi wrote, “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men” (2 Nephi 31:20).

 

As it said in our Visiting teaching message in August “Relief Society helps us increase our faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and seek out and help those in need.” These are the actions that bring about faith, hope and charity!

 

Let us press forward as Sisters in The Centralia Stake with steadfastness and Faith, Hope and Charity that never faileth!

 

Sister Christine Jackson

1st Counselor 

Centralia Stake Relief  Society