"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life"
At General Conference this past weekend, President Monson said, "Fear not, the future is as bright as your faith." If you have a perfect brightness of hope, then you will be blessed.
But how do you get faith? How do you nurture hope? This is a mystery to me.
I want to have faith that I can get better. I want to have hope in Christ. But sometimes I just don't manage to make it happen.
Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talked at Saturday's session of Conference about addiction to food. He gave suggestions on how one can overcome the temptations of life. Elder Pearson also talked about the 6 Destructive D's that put us in Satan's power and ruin our lives. I related to both of these talks--I'll watch for them in the upcoming Ensign so I read and ponder them more.
In the meantime, I intend to read my scriptures more in an effort to feast upon His words. I want to let Him help me. I know He can. I know He would want to--the thing that keeps Him from me is not Him at all, but only myself.
The other night as I was saying my prayers, I felt like I couldn't make my prayer heard, like I was only talking to myself. And I didn't know what to say anyway. It's the same old thing all the time--just more of me saying I can't do this alone, but almost while asking for help thinking to myself that He won't help me because I'm not worthy.
When I lay down in my bed after saying my prayer, the hymn "How Firm a Foundation" came flowing into my mind. And not just any part . . .
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
This was the answer to my prayer that I had asked for. I believe Heavenly Father answered me through this hymn. This is what He would tell me, if He were here face to face. He would tell me I can do this--I can do anything that is good and right. Because He will ever stand with me, He will strengthen and help me.
He will hold me up with His righteous, omnipotent hand.
So, there is hope, after all.
