Hope

Hope
A few months ago I wrote a couple of posts on the topic of faith. If you haven’t read them, please go back and do so. The reason I make that request is that my experience is teaching me that much of becoming like the Savior is learning three important principles: Faith, Hope and Charity.

As I reflect on my own life I believe that I have a fair amount of faith. Now perhaps I need to remember Peter and the other apostles being chastised a little after they couldn’t cast out an evil spirit and Jesus responded “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” I realize that my faith may be weak in comparison to what is required but I feel I understand faith a little.

As I begin to ponder hope however, I feel a little less confident. I recently read a terrific little book called “Obtaining Your Calling and Election” by Kevan Kingsley Clawson. I stumbled onto this book while reading a book review of “Following the Light of Christ into His Presence”; a highly recommended book. While reading the review I noticed a “if you liked this book you may also be interested in” section. In it I found Obtaining your Calling and Election. This book was difficult to find. I ordered it from Benchmark Books but it even took them a couple of months to get it. It was worth the wait and is quite a little gem.

Obtaining Your Calling and Election is very different from other books I have read on the topic. It is much more about what I would describe as the temporal side of the topic rather than the spiritual side: Perhaps more nuts and bolts. None the less I found it very informative. I was most impressed by the chapter he wrote in Hope.
The author quotes Webster’d Dictionary. HOPE: desire accompanied by expectation of fulfillment.

He then quotes Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine (page 365) “As used in the revelations, hope is the desire of faithful people to gain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God hereafter. It is not a flimsy, ethereal desire, one without assurance that the desired consummation will be received, but a desire coupled with expectation of receiving the coveted reward.”

I particularly liked this example that Clawson gave. “If your new car suddenly stopped working and you knew absolutely nothing about engines, you would have little or no hope of fixing the car. You would be found standing on the side of the road, with the hood up, wishing there was something you could do. In reality, you would probably be forced to wait for the tow truck. On the other hand, if the same car broke down and the driver was an experienced mechanic, he would have real hope that he could fix the car with full expectation of actually doing it. The mechanics knowledge provided him with a different level of trust in his ability to understand and correct the problem. He would not have to stand idly by wishing for some miracle to occur; he would actively ensure the desired result came to pass. He could not guarantee the result (hope is not a guarantee), but, because of his knowledge, he could hope for and expect a positive result.

The same holds true for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the desire Christians have of obtaining the Kingdom of God. A person who has never read the scriptures, who only goes to church on Christmas and Easter, and whoe does not pray except, perhaps, during tome of extreme hardship, cannot develop or obtain any real hope of obtaining the Kingdom of God because he has done little or nothing to prepare himself for the goal. He would be wishing upon a star.

On the other hand, consider the example of a righteous man who has not only read all of the scriptures, but has made a lifelong study of these “textbooks;” who not only attends church every Sunday but has faithfully fulfilled a myriad of callings and responsibilities; and who not only has developed faith but has gradually increased his knowledge of God by participating in and witnessing many miracles, gifts of the Spirit, and answers to prayer. Unlike the previous example, this man has true hope of obtaining the Kingdom of God. This man can expect to receive a fulfillment of his desires. His knowledge and works have made it possible for him to enter the Kingdom.”

I will close with a scripture from the book of Ether. “And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.”
Ether 12:32 May we all develop the hope required to achieve that which we desire most, Eternal Life in the presence of our Heavenly Father.