Never Give up Hope

I just read a great article in the Deseret News that gave me a lot of hope. Everything we hear in the news and in our lives is always so negative. There's wars, high gas prices, falling stock markets, rising unemployment, and a housing crisis. The list goes on and on. But the latest devotional message delivered at BYU was worth repeating.

"We are the people of hope," said Bishop Richard Edgley. "We are the disseminators of hope. This is our mission...We have hope for the now in our lives. We have hope for the foreseeable and unforeseeable future. And we have hope for the eternities ahead."

Some may wonder if there is a happy future for us and our families. We've been assured that we absolutely have everything to be grateful for, and it is a marvelous time to be alive! President Thomas Monson recently said, "the opportunities today are limitless, many things are right, and we have much to be grateful for."

Bishop Edgley added, "As disturbing as some news is, what might be most alarming is an increasingly Godless society where the righteous are accused of being intolerant and without compassion. Those attempting to live the time-honored teachings of Christ are often considered out of touch and uniformed. Those staying true to our most sacred principles are ridiculed and sometimes even persecuted."

"We have every reason to be optimistic and full of hope--hope for this life, hope for our children and hope for the eternities to come....Never, never, never lose hope. And never, never, never give up believing in yourself. Ours is the opportunity to be a carrier of optimism, of faith and to spread the hope of the gospel to others throughout the world. After all, that is what Jesus died for."