Hope: A Lecture

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all.

-Emily Dickinson

I hope I can makes sense of this topic today.

Hope is another one of those axioms of existence. Whatever we ascribe it to, the fact is it exists. Even in the philosophical sciences and psychology we try to explain where it comes from, and not what it is.

I’m going to be using that phrase quite a bit, so I’ll explain an axiom quickly so we’re all on the same page. It simply means “a self-evident truth,” or I like to think of it in this case as an essential characteristic of existence that just is. An example of an axiom in mathematics is if A=B, then B=A. This may seem really simple, but it is self-evidently true. We depend on this principle to do nearly everything from simple arithmetic to advanced calculus. Imagine the state of our sciences if this were not the case, and that 2=7, and that infrequently!

Hope is to humanity as A or B is to maths. It is an essential part of our being.

Hope exists, again, outside of a theological framework just as does faith. It is an interesting word, as it can be read as both a noun and a verb, both referring to something good to happen in the future. An interesting degradation in English has taken this word from implying a certainty to exactly the opposite. When we say "I hope so," we are now expressing how we wish something would take place, but that our expectation is it probably won't. For example, someone may ask my wife if I did the laundry, to which she will reply, "I hope so!" and you and I both know I probably didn't do it... (sorry sweetie, I'm definitely a work in progress!)

Hope differs from Faith fundamentally in this regard. Whereas Faith is a mental exercise that impels us to action, hope is a mental exercise that impels us to be still. These two axioms, however, frequently dovetail. We can have hope in a future rainstorm to break the heat, and in faith we can bring our umbrella and galoshes. Faith is indeed the principle of power, while Hope is the principle of patience.

Before proceeding with Hope in a Gospel sense, I want to point out that Faith, Hope, and Charity are frequently mentioned together, and the image of a "three-legged stool" is often paired with them. Elder M. Russell Ballard taught:

"The Apostle Paul taught that three divine principles form a foundation upon which we can build the structure of our lives. They are faith, hope, and charity. (See 1 Cor. 13:13.) Together they give us a base of support like the legs of a three-legged stool. Each principle is significant within itself, but each also plays an important supporting role. Each is incomplete without the others. Hope helps faith develop. Likewise true faith gives birth to hope. When we begin to lose hope, we are faltering also in our measure of faith. The principles of faith and hope working together must be accompanied by charity, which is the greatest of all." (The Joy of Hope Fulfilled, October Conference 1992)

I would like to take this a step further and present Hope and Charity in like manner as found for Faith in the Lectures on Faith, and give a three-step process for each. I'll also return to Faith, Hope, and Charity frequently in my posts, so this particular blurb is not to be an exhaustive thesis on Hope, but an introduction to the idea itself. As such, there are a few caveats to which I will strive to adhere. They are:

1. For any one of these attributes to work for our salvation, it must be centered in Christ Jesus.

2. These attributes and codependent and eternal, one may not exist without the other, and the development of all is affected by the one.

3.  These three attributes are only made possible by and only manifested here on earth and in eternity in their fullness through the life and Atonement of our Lord and Savior.

4.  The acquisition of these three attributes in their truest sense is only possible by living in accordance to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

With that, we'll proceed with Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hope in a Gospel sense never entails uncertainty. Hope is principally a gift of God, just as are Faith and Charity. Peter in his first epistle to the Early Saints had this to say on the subject:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5, emphasis added)

Here we see that Hope springs from the Father through Christ and His resurrection specifically. It is lively, incorruptible, undefiled, and "fadeth not away." It is a living sentiment that is made sure through Christ and the promised "inheritance" that shares the same aforementioned attributes. Hope is a fixed determination in the supreme goodness of God.

Hope is closely tied with patience, as Paul admonished the Roman Saints of his day:

"By [Christ]... we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Romans 5:2-5, emphasis added)

Here we see that hope is slightly different from Faith and Endurance. Hope is strengthened through experience and patience acquired from tribulation itself, while Faith and Endurance tend to grow as we respond to those same troubles and see the effects of the Hope we clung to in those times.

We learn that faith is the substance of things hoped for (see Hebrews 11:1), or as Alma put it to the Zoramites, "...if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true" (Alma 32:21). Hope is the instigator of Faith, and Faith impels a greater Hope. Take the rainstorm analogy I made earlier. If you had hoped for rain on a bright sunny 100-degree day and got all made up in your raincoat, boots, and umbrella, you would most likely end up soaked but not from rain. You would then be less likely to do the same the next day and the next, and here we see that as hope dwindles so does faith. But if you see the evidences of that rainstorm and in faith bring your rain clothes though it is at first uncomfortable, when it breaks you will reap the rewards of your sure hope and act of faith while those who did not see will be wet!

True Hope is evidence-based in the Gospel. Moroni, in the words of his father Mormon, tells us what we look to for Hope:

"And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope." (Moroni 7:40-41, emphasis added)

That Jesus Christ lived is a matter of accepted historical fact. It is not my purpose here to prove whether or not He did (and we don't have time for it) but there is plenty of readily available evidence that one can find to the affirmative. What True Hope springs from, though, is not whether He lived, but whether He lived again.

Here again, there is plenty of evidence to the affirmative, a few of which I will show. There are the appearances to the Apostles (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:36-53; John 20:19-29, 21), the Emmaus Road (Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-31), and Paul references five hundred individuals who saw Him at once (1 Corinthians 15:6). We have the record of His postmortal appearance to the inhabitants of this continent (see 3 Nephi 11:8, 17:24-25). There have also been affirmed individual visitations to Paul, Peter, John the Beloved, Joseph Smith, and others.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence to the reality of a resurrection is the very first recorded appearance of Christ, which was to Mary Magdalene and other women (see Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:9-11; John 20:11-18). It is no secret that women were not held in equal status with men in Ancient Israel, and this is probably why the disciples "believed not" when she told them of her personal visitation (Mark 16:10-11). It is interesting and terribly convincing to me that Christ would choose to make His first witness to the resurrection a woman in a patriarchal society and forthcoming religion.

True hope is anything but blind, and it is vested in Christ and His resurrection, and the acquisition of eternal life as God promised (Titus 1:2; Moroni 7:41). This is the first "step" in obtaining True Hope:

The idea that God has made Promises to His Children.

That promise is that "in Christ shall all be made alive" (see 1 Corinthians 15:22). He Himself promised that He is the resurrection (see John 11:25) and that by His power we will be brought to the presence of the Father (3 Nephi 27:14-15).

It then follows, once we have this idea fixed in our minds, that we must learn of Christ and the conditions of these promises which are made. It is God who establishes these promises, or covenants, and their conditions, and we are beholden to Him. King Benjamin laid out these conditions beautifully:

"My friends and my brethren, my kindred and my people, I would again call your attention, that ye may hear and understand the remainder of my words which I shall speak unto you. For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world. And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you." (Mosiah 4:4-8, emphasis added)

The second step in our "program” is:

A correct idea of the terms and conditions of God's promises.

And lastly the culmination of this Hope which we have in Christ through His Atonement and Resurrection is to obtain the correct idea that one’s life is in accordance with the divine will. In effect, we are to live in this Hope and Faith and finish out as Ether directs:

"Wherefore, 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...remember that [Christ] hast said that [He has] prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of [the] 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 12:4, 32, emphasis added)

Hope in Jesus Christ can be summarized thus:

1. An idea that God has made promises (covenants) with His children (us) through Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

2. A correct idea of the terms and conditions of said promises (covenants).

3. A correct idea that one's life is in accordance with the divine will.

This knowledge and keeping of the covenants of God will enable us to increase in hope no matter what befalls us in mortality. Just as Faith is the Principle of Power, Hope is the Principle of Patience which secures us with sure footings on the rock of Christ (see Helaman 5:12). And in Christ we have "hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2). It is here evident how Faith and Hope are interwoven, as it is a tenet of Faith to gain a correct understanding of God's perfections, character, and attributes. How comforting it is to know that God cannot lie and that He makes good on His promises? (see Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:18; Ether 3:12; D&C 62:6)

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15).