Hope From an Old Newspaper

Do you know that part in movies...

where the character is reading a dictionary or watching TV, and suddenly something is personally directed to him/her? Some guy on TV says, "I like your red shirt, Joe," or "Someone's at your door, Mary," or something creepy like that?

This just happened to me!!

I was reading through old newspapers for work and stopped short at this little paragraph that came out of nowhere:

If you can't read the text very well, this is what it says: 

"The Path of Life. --Don't be discouraged if, in the outset of life, things do not go smoothly. It seldom happens that the hopes we cherish for the future are realized. The path of life, in the prospect, appears smooth and level; but when we come to travel it, we find it all up hill, and generally rough enough. The journey is a laborious one; and whether poor or wealthy, high or low, we shall find it to our disappointment, if we have built on any other calculation. To endure it with as much cheerfulness as possible, and to elbow your way through the great crowd; 'hoping for little, yet striving for much,' is, perhaps, the best plan." 

I looked up. Is this a prank? I thought. God, is that You? I know that it's from the St. Louis Daily Evening Gazette on May 3, 1844.  But it seemed to be addressed directly to me. 

There is only one phrase that I disagree with: "hoping for little, yet striving for much." If you are not hoping for much then you are not believing in much....basically you are leaning towards "hopeless" rather than "hopeful."

Hope is a Christlike Attribute. To quote Preach My Gospel, 

"When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good. Hope helps you conquer discouragement (PMG, p. 117)."

I think the article does not mean to say Be hopeless with low expectations and a glass half-empty. It means that we should not expect life to be perfect, smooth-running, and void of trials; and be put-out when something happens, that your situation is absolutely unfair. Trials are going to come, and if we expect differently, we are disillusioned! What matters is how we choose to act when these situations come. 

Especially when they come often. 

Or all at once.

And since my blog seems to be a confession fiesta, I'll admit that Hope is one of my weakest Christlike Attributes. So maybe you can help me out....what do you do to increase your hope? What do you Hope for?

I cannot end without asserting that our true source of Hope is our Lord, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement. I may struggle with Hope from time to time, but I do have a firm hope that I will one day live with my Heavenly Father again, and my Savior and Redeemer made it possible. 

Some testimonies I love about trials and hope (Click ONE to read/listen to right now!)

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - "Lord, I Believe"

President Thomas S. Monson - "Be of Good Cheer"

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - "The Hope of God's Light"

Elder Neil L. Andersen - "Trial of Your Faith"

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland again - "Like a Broken Vessel"

Finding "Joy" in The JOurneY

Do you want to be happy?

Then read the Book of Mormon.

My mission president's wife, Ranae McKee, once counseled the people in Tennessee that The Book of Mormon is the "how-to be happy."

In June when I was still a missionary, I put her statement to the test by beginning a topic study of the Book of Mormon. I decorated my copy in happy yellow scrapbook paper and titled it, "Peace and Joy: How to Be Happy." I have learned so much already, and I am only halfway through!

Being back from my mission for 2 months, I realize that we tend to forget a simple truth that LDS missionaries teach every day:

This hung on our wall on my mission.

And did you ever notice that you can literally find "J-o-y" in the word "Journey?" Neat, huh!

This is a sample of what I have learned in 280 pages:

• The word "Joy" is used 79x, which is once almost every 3 pages!
• That includes 2 chapters that have it 8x (can you guess which chapters?)
• That does not include the dozens of times the words "rejoice," "happy," "cheer," and "delight" appear. 
• Gratitude makes you happy
• The entire purpose of our existence is to have joy (2 Nephi 2:25)
• Choosing makes you happy (2 Nephi 10:23)
• The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes you happy because He suffered ALL (1 Nephi 8, 11; Mosiah 3-4; Alma 7)
• Keeping the commandments makes you happy (Mosiah 2:41, everywhere)
• Getting baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost makes you happy (Mosiah 18)
• Repenting makes you happy (Mosiah 27)
• Heed and diligence to the scriptures = Joy
• Back then, people got so happy they passed out. I REALLY want to experience this! (See Alma 18, 27, 29)

So, do you believe me yet? 

I'm not going to lie, being a working student again is a lot harder than I expected. I thought life would be so much easier when I came home from serving a mission. I think the most stressful part is the fact that I'm self-centered and self-serving again. It takes extra effort to remember to put Heavenly Father first and to trust that the Gospel answers apply to my crazy life now. 

I'm not posting this "happy" post because I am ridiculously happy and think you should be too. Rather, it is a reminder to me and you that the Gospel is the true source of happiness, and if we just look to the sources Heavenly Father has already given us we will be able to get through the trials that come our way. =)