Forgive me for waxing philosophical/religical, but I'd like to share these thoughts. And it's my blog, so there.
In RS this month we had a lesson on hope. It was taught as being an attribute of Christ that we all need to attain. The lesson was very good, I'd like to impart some of it with my own thoughts.
It was based off of the attributes of Christ section in Preach My Gospel-so go there if you want it better than I can say, and the pertaining scripture references.
First, what is hope?-Well there are a lot of ways to define it. A short way is to give synonyms: trust, desire, expectation, faith, assurance. I also liked these quotes-
"Hope is trust in God's promises, faith that if we act now, the desired blessings will be fulfilled in the future."-James E. Faust, "Hope, an Anchor of the Soul,"
Ensign, Nov. 1999, 59
"The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty...In the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active...When we have hope, we trust in God's promises. We have a quiet assurance that if we do the 'works of righteousness,' we shall receive [our] reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come. (D&C 59:23). Mormon taught that such hope comes only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. (Moroni 7:41)"-The First Presidency,
True to the Faith, 85. Intellectual Reserve, Inc., SLC. 2004
I really liked the explanation of how usually when we use the word 'hope' there is some doubt or uncertainty implied. But in reality, in the gospel, there is no doubt when it comes to things we can have hope in. I also like how hope can be the expectation of something, not merely wishing, or being naieve, but that we can expect something and it will happen. This fulfillment of expectations doesn't happen too much in life. In another quote I didn't include, it talks about how hope is "realistic anticipation taking the form of determination-a determination not merely to survive but to 'endure well' to the end." This means that when we have hope, we trust/expect/are assured that we will endure well; not only survive, but flourish and prosper...and we can expect it.
Why and How can we hope?-Basically it is because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This makes everything possible.
What can we hope for?-Eternal life, a place in heaven, resurrection, rest from afflictions, desire to be better, a better world.
How do we attain hope?-short answer: through revelations, reading words of the prophets (scriptures), prayer, repentance, through tribulation which brings patience, righteousness.
"There is only one true hope, 'that blessed hope,' and the saints are commanded to acquire it...Hope is born of righteousness...Hope is found through the gospel; the scriptures themselves have been recorded that men 'might have hope;' and angels minister unto man to confirm that hope. And those who gain the full hope of eternal life purify themselves even as Christ is pure."-Bruce R. McConkie,
Mormon Doctrine, 335. Book Craft, Inc., SLC. 1958.
In my opinion hope is very similar to faith. We go about obtaining hope just like we do faith, or maybe it is through faith that we obtain hope. We have faith that if we read our scriptures or follow the prophets that we will get hope. Or maybe through those things we get both faith and hope. It's all interconnected. The quote above says men are commanded to
acquire hope. Which implies action. So it's up to us to work to gain that hope, to find it, acquire it, and let it into our hearts. Faith is also an action. I think my favorite thing about all of this is that it is a definite thing that
is going to happen. We can expect blessings. We can trust that they will happen. We can have the assurance that what we do is in accordance with what we should be doing.
(Sorry if this is scattered, I forgot a lot of my thoughts).
So this is where my brain went after thinking about these things and life and such happenings....
I (and I assume a lot of people) want to have a plan in life. I want to progress and be able to be successful and learn things and be the person I need to be. I've been taught to serve others, use my talents to bless lives, to work, and to live righteously. The rest is pretty much up to me. I choose where to live, what to do each day, what job to take, who to associate with, who to marry, and how to spend my time and money. The problem comes when life happens and things are thrown in the path that I've sort of imagined for myself. Obstacles are part of life, but they are so frustrating when you see where you want to go, but can't get there.
For example, I have not had huge success in my life post college graduation. I haven't found a really great job. I went through periods of unemployment, part-time jobs, and even moved home. Let me tell you-I did not imagine myself moving home after college. I found a full time job, it wasn't what I expected, but I rolled with it, thinking I was at least getting somewhere. Then I got laid off. It was a huge blow, because I thought I was finally settled. I thought I was putting in my time, gaining that experience, getting a paycheck, and hopefully getting somwhere. I was frustrated. I figured I had gotten to a point where I could just do that routine for awhile, be settled. I told this to my friend, Andy, and he pretty much told me that I will never be settled in life. He said he didn't think he'd be settled until he was a grandpa. Ha ha!
I also used to (wrongly) think that at certain times/stages in life or after certain events, that I would be settled or finally ready to go ahead with the rest of my life. At one point I used to envy married people a little bit because they had that part of their life figured out, and that everything else would be easier to figure out from there. Oh, how I was wrong. Or that once I was graduated, that I would suddenly gain all this knowledge and know how to govern my life and where to take myself. I would know what I was doing. More and more I come to the realization that no one really knows what they are doing. Even adults, or people who have kids. They are pretending just as much as the rest of us, trying to do the best they can and hoping they don't screw their kids up too much. We all are faced with choices every day. We make those decisions to the best of our ability and knowledge, but we don't know everything, so sometimes we chose wrongly, or just have to make a stab in the dark. Sometimes it's not even a decision we have to make. Sometimes it's just something that happens like a car accident or a disease. Some old people though, they have things figured out. They are wise because they've lived their lives and have a ton of knowledge and experience.
Life isn't about being comfortable or settled, that's not the point. It made me think and I came to the realization that I really will never be settled. If that were the case, how would I learn/grow/progress/become the person I need to be, especially if there were no obstacles or trials in life? And, crazily, that made me happy. I felt better knowing that I never will be all settled/good in all aspects of my life. That is a crazy unrealistic expectation. There will always be something going on. I guess it made me happy because I know I don't have to worry about not getting to that point I thought I could reach. I can try, but I'll always get thrown some type of curve ball to deal with. And it also made me less scared for the things that are going to come. I know things are going to happen and there is nothing I can do to stop them. But I have hope. I have trust that I will be able to get through the rough times and I have the expectation that things will get better and that it is ok for me to expect it. Job or no job, I have hope that I will be blessed to be where I need to be and to be able to do what I need to do.
Back to having a plan, I think we all need to have plans/goals, otherwise we wouldn't do anything in life. But we have to realize that nothing goes according to our plan. One of my friends quoted me somoneone else, so this is really like 6th hand, "Heavenly Father's plan for you is so much better than anything you could create for yourself." I really like that. He is in charge. The only thing we can do is make our plans, move forward with them and know that things will most likely not turn out how we imagine for ourselves. But if we have hope in Jesus Christ, they will turn out better than we could ever dream of. And that is awesome.
So this is me, the unsettled hopeful Meagan, doing my best to figure things out in life, and trying to enjoy it the best I can. And like my stake Patriarch Bro. Volmer says, "Everything works out ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end."
