[do you need hope?]

I prepared a lesson about hope and used this talk from President Uchtdorf for it:

The Infinite Power of Hope by Dieter F. Uchtdor

Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness.

Hope is a gift of the Spirit.

Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us.

With hope comes joy and happiness. With hope, we can “have patience, and bear … our afflictions.”

No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations.

In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will “work together for our good”

Hope comes of faith, for without faith, there is no hope.

Hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice even when all seems dark around us.

And to all who suffer—to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely—I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in.

Never surrender.

Never allow despair to overcome your spirit.

Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart.

[banner]

A free banner to print out. My gift to you.

How to use my freebies.

You can make the banner as large or small as you wish. I formatted three columns on a Microsoft Word document = 9 flags on a page (margins: 0.3"). You can print these on colorful card stock too.

Just print out the flags, use a paper cutter to cut them out, fold the top edge under, snip away the little triangles that show from behind, tape the flags to some cotton yarn. I like my banners simple but you can embellish the banner as much as you'd like.

I use painter's tape to attach these on the wall so the paint doesn't peel off.

Bonus: President Hinckley's 6 B's + his extra 3 B's. I was trying to find the source for the extra B's but wasn't successful. But here is the talk about the 6 B's:

President Hinckley's 6 B's talk

[hope for a better world]

"Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. Moroni spoke of it in the Book of Mormon as “hope for a better world.” (Ether 12:4) For emotional health and spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or

 still some distance ahead. It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of “good things to come.”

. . . This is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us . . . There is help. There is happiness. There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the “light that is endless, that can never be darkened.” (see John 8:12; Rev 22:16; Mosiah 16:9) It is the very Son of God Himself. . . . To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. Christ comes to you in His “more excellent ministry” with a future of “better promises.”"

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

(1999, October) “An High Priest of Good Things to Come,” General

Conference. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

To read the full talk, click here.

{ultimate hope}

"Just as doubt, despair, and desensitization go together, so do faith, hope, charity, and patience. The latter qualities must be carefully and constantly nurtured, however, whereas doubt and despair, like dandelions, need little encouragement in order to sprout and spread. Alas, despair comes so naturally to the natural man!"

"...viewing life without the prospect of immortality can diminish not only hope but also the sense of personal accountability."

"Nevertheless, because proximate hopes are so vulnerable to irony and the unexpected, there is an increasing and profound sense of existential despair in the world. A grumpy cynicism now pervades politics. Many feel burdened by society's other accumulating anxieties.

Even those who are spiritually secure themselves can sense the chill in the air."

"Much as I lament the gathering storms, there will be some usefulness in them. Events will help to draw fresh attention to God's higher ways..."

"...in this hastened ripening process, let us not be surprised that the tares are looking more like tares all the time."

"Though otherwise a "lively" attribute, hope stands quietly with us at funerals. Our tears are just as wet, but not because of despair. Rather, they are tears of heightened appreciation evoked by poignant separation. Those tears of separation change, ere long, becoming tears of glorious anticipation."

"Real hope inspires quiet Christian service, not flashy public fanaticism."

"...when we are unduly impatient with an omniscient God's timing, we really are suggesting that we know what is best."

"The truly hopeful, for instance, work amid surrounding decay at having strong and happy families."

"We may not be able to fix the whole world, but we can strive to fix what may be amiss in our own families."

"...plow in hope," not looking back..."

"...more loving even while the love of many waxes cold. We are to be more holy, even as the world ripens in iniquity; more courteous and patient in a coarsening and curt world, and to be of strong hearts even when the hearts of others fail them."

"...never mind that the world will become more bipolar as between those who are secular and permissive and those who hold spiritual values."

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Ensign, November 1998

{brightness of hope}

"For some years, brothers and sisters, there has been an increasing and profound sense of existential despair in the world... Holocausts, famine, pestilence, and tides of refugees have taken a terrible toll on human hope, with much of that toll coming from man-made, avoidable disasters... despair comes of iniquity!"

"A coalition of consequences is emerging. As prophesied, the love of many waxes cold (see Matthew 24:12). Even those affectionally secure themselves can sense the chill in the air."

"Shame is often replaced by the arrogance of those morally adrift, including strutting celebrities whose outer boldness camouflages their inner emptiness. ...so much hollow laughter..."

"Just as doubt, despair, and desensitization go together, so do faith, hope, and charity. The latter, however, must be carefully and constantly nurtured, whereas despair, like dandelions, needs so little encouragement to sprout and spread. Despair comes so naturally to the natural man!"

"Significally, those who look forward to a next and better world are usually "anxiously engaged" in improving this one..."

..."brightness of hope" produces illuminated individuals. Their luminosity is seen, and things are also seen by it! Such hope permits us to "press forward" even when dark clouds oppress. Sometimes in the deepest darkness there is no external light - only an inner light to guide and to reassure."

"Hope helps us to walk by faith, not by sight. This can actually be safer."

"Genuine hope is urgently needed in order to be more loving even as the love of many waxes cold; more merciful, even when misunderstood or misrepresented; more holy, even as the world ripens in iniquity; more courteous and patient in a coarsening and curt world; and more full of heartfelt hope, even when other men's hearts fail them."

"Tower of Pisa is a persistent rebuke to architectural pessimism, so parental hope - by refusing to topple merely because of the gravity of the current family situation - is a repudiation of despair. Giving parents never give up hope!"

"Though otherwise "lively", hope stands quietly with us at funerals. Our tears are just as wet, but not because of despair. Rather, they are tears of appreciation evoked by poignant separation. They will change, erelong, to tears of glorious anticipation. Yet the emptiness is so real and so restless it initiates a retroactive inventory of what is now so painfully missing, doing so, however, while forecasting fulness and resplendent reunion!"

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

November 1994 Ensign



{be of good cheer (no matter what happens around you)}

Be of good cheer.

Jesus said this to the paralytic man lying helpless on a bed (Matthew 9:2), to the frightened Apostles battling the tempestuous sea (Matthew 14:27) and to the 10 elders about to go on a dangerous and troubled mission (D&C 61:36).

"These people had every reason to be anxious, fearful, and hopeless, yet the Lord directed them toward a reason to rejoice.

How does the Lord's admonition of cheer sound in our world today? When economic uncertainties, terrorist threats, and corruption provide top stories for the evening news, how can the good news of the gospel intervene? When we experience personal loss in so many ways and on so many days, what is left to be cheerful about?"

"We find the key to understanding this seeming contradiction in the context of the Last Supper. Speaking to the Apostles in His final moments before Gethsemane, Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Elder Neal A. Maxwell explained: “The unimaginable agony of Gethsemane was about to descend upon Jesus; Judas’ betrayal was imminent. Then would come Jesus’ arrest and arraignment; the scattering of the Twelve like sheep; the awful scourging of the Savior; the unjust trial; the mob’s shrill cry for Barabbas instead of Jesus; and then the awful crucifixion on Calvary. What was there to be cheerful about? Just what Jesus said: He had overcome the world! The atonement was about to be a reality. The resurrection of all mankind was assured. Death was to be done away with—Satan had failed to stop the atonement.”¹

Christ’s enabling power helps us feel happiness and cheer amid mortal gloom and doom. Misfortune and hardship lose their tragedy when viewed through the lens of the Atonement."

"Obedience to God is not insurance against pain and sadness. Challenges have always been included in God’s great plan to test our faith and to help us grow in humility and compassion."

"Part of Christ’s mission is to heal broken hearts. He came to wipe away our tears, not to ensure that we would never weep (see Revelation 7:17). He clearly promised, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33)."

"We may come to believe that we can and should trust in our own efforts rather than humbly acknowledge God. This is self-righteousness. When we look through the lens of our righteousness and take comfort in our good efforts, the idea of depending wholly on Christ (see 2 Nephi 31:19; Moroni 6:4) seems a bit risky.

Unwittingly, when we reason this way, we sound eerily similar to Korihor, the anti-Christ from the Book of Mormon, who taught that “every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and … conquered according to his strength” (Alma 30:17), thereby arguing that his listeners had no need for Christ and His Atonement."

"Cheerfulness in the scriptural context connotes a divinely assured optimism, “a deep trust in God’s unfolding purposes,” a grounded conviction that God will always keep His promises.² When Christ proclaims, “Be of good cheer,” He is not requesting a naïve, Pollyanna-like response to life’s cruel twists and turns. Nor is He promising a pain-free life of constant bliss. Trial is no respecter of persons. Tragedy and hardship do not discriminate. Our world sees opposition among rich and poor, men and women, the righteous as well as the wicked. The Savior specifically prayed that God would not take us “out of the world” (John 17:15). “In this world your joy is not full,” He taught, “but in me your joy is full” (D&C 101:36). True happiness and satisfaction are found only by turning away from the world and coming to Christ."

"As mentioned before, Jesus Christ has indeed overcome the world. As darkness has no power when light appears, so the world cannot overcome the Light of the World (see John 1:5). He is the Victor, come to earth “with healing in his wings” (3 Nephi 25:2) for all humankind. He will not forsake us.

As a mother hen covers her chicks with her wings, so the Redeemer will surround us with His comprehensive power if we will come to Him (see Matthew 23:37). There is room under those wings for all of us, for He declares:

“Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come” (D&C 68:6).

True, we live in a time of war, a day of conflicts and terrors not only among nations but within our own hearts. But He who is the Balm of Gilead (see Jeremiah 8:22) is the Lord of all creation; only in Him are peace and serenity found. Amid all our mortal gloom and doom, Jesus Christ has overcome the world. Come, let us rejoice."

Camille Fronk Olson, Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU.

Ensign, July 2011, page 57.

= The trick is to look towards the Atonement which will heal and cleanse it ALL.

"The gospel of Jesus Christ has the answers to all of our problems."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Ensign, May 2009, page 75