Hope Talk - Part Three

Elder Robert D. Hales suggests that “we cannot expect to learn endurance in our later years if we have developed the habit of quitting when things get difficult now.” Enduring trials take practice, just like running a marathon does. We can build up to being able to endure when a big trial comes into our lives by conquering the small trials we face on a daily basis. This takes work: reading our scriptures, communicating with God through prayer, working now to increase our testimony and faith, and learning how to find hope in our lives. Elder Hales further teaches “It is not a question of if we are ready for the test; it is a matter of when. We must prepare to be ready for tests that will present themselves without warning.” If we do not have a regular practice of reading our scriptures or daily prayer, when trials come we might not be ready to receive the guidance that God is trying to give us. In the Bible Dictionary under the topic of prayer it says “The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” But effective communication with our Heavenly Father takes time, effort, and practice.

There are trials and tragedies in our lives that are so difficult we might not be able to understand why we are asked to go through them. “For some, the true trial of our faith is to remain faithful, without murmuring against the Lord, when we lose earthly position, family members, or even when we are required to give our very lives… The greatest tragedy that can happen to a person is not the loss of his possessions, or his intellect, or his mortal life, but rather to lose eternal life, which is the free gift of God.” (Elder Carlos Amado) When trials occur, we must endure with idealistic optimism. Elder Quentin L Cook said “We know from the scriptures that some trials are for our good and are suited for our own personal development. We also know that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. It is also true that every cloud we see doesn’t result in rain.”

In order to endure well our trials, we must have hope. President Faust states “Hope is the anchor of our souls. I know of no one who is not in need of hope – young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor. As the prophet Ether exhorted ‘Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with a surety of 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.’”