altersteve Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I realized something today. In the Church, we talk so often about the plan of happiness. And what I realized is that there are three ingredients to that plan, which are discussed throughout the scriptures: faith, hope, and charity. I imagine it as three sticks leaning together -- take away one of the sticks, and the others fall too. One thing that bothers me, though, is how little the concept of "hope" is discussed in the Church. And that's a little upsetting, because I think I've come to an understanding of what hope is. We talk so much about progress. And we all know that it's not the power of your faults that keep you from becoming a better human being, it's the power you give them. And that ability, the ability to take away the power your weaknesses have over you, that's one of the greatest qualities we have. We're far stronger than any of our weaknesses or insecurities. None of those things have any power over us except the power we give them -- and that's a wonderful, wonderful thing. Deep down, that's what drives each and every one of us. That's what pushes us upward and forward. That's where hope comes from. So I guess to me, hope comes from the realization that the reason we're given weaknesses is to show us how strong we are. That's why God gives us struggles. Not to give us something to overcome necessarily, but to show us that we can overcome them. We're told throughout the scriptures that we will never be given a struggle that we can't handle, and that's what gives me hope. No matter what we go through, no matter what we're dealing with, no matter what happens to us or those we love, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that we can't power through. And that's tremendously encouraging. There's a passage in the D&C that says that no matter what happens to us, it's for our own good, and I think that's simply because it's necessary for us to know the power inside each of us. That's where the phrase "believing in yourself" comes from. So I guess what I'm saying is that to have hope means to believe in yourself. So I think of that pyramid of sticks, faith, hope, and love, as simply belief -- being hopeful is to believe in yourself, having faith is to believe in God, and loving is to believe in others. And you ultimately can't be happy without all three of those. Maybe I'm just stating the obvious here. But the realization that hope is believing in yourself, that was an interesting conclusion to come to.
The Nehor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I disagree. I think Hope is in Christ's power to redeem. You start with faith that He can redeem and then develop hope at He can redeem you.
thatjimguy Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Can you please descibe your thoguhts on how Christ's power to redeem works so I am compare the ideas?
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