Finding Hope In The Face of Sorrow
During the last couple of weeks, I have been thinking about the doctrine of hope. The thoughts came as I contemplated the conditions we face in mortality. The state of the world is in chaos. Two extremes exist simultaneously: inconceivable wickedness, marked by the denial of objective reality, and an outpouring of spiritual power as holy temples begin to dot the earth, both pointing to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
However, wickedness does not prevail like it did in the time of Mormon, where he witnessed the destruction of the people he loved. Somehow Mormon found a reason to hope. He wrote, “And wo is me because of their wickedness; for my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days; nevertheless, I know that I shall be lifted up at the last day.” He was confident because of an experience he had at age 15. “And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.”
This last statement is fascinating to me. Mormon was noticeably different from his peers. Ammaron, the chief scribe and keeper of the sacred records gave the ten-year-old Mormon the future responsibility of completing the historical record of his people. “Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe.”
There is no doubt in my mind that Mormon gave himself to prayer and deep thought as he observed the world around him. This led to his divine encounter with the Savior. You may think that no such thing could ever happen to you. I know that I have had doubts that I could have such an experience, but now I am not so sure about that.
For nearly six years, I have had the opportunity to serve in the temple each week. Additionally, I have been writing these messages for more than four of those same years. The combination of these experiences has caused me to focus on spiritual matters more intensely than in the past. While I have not had a singular encounter with the divine as Mormons have, I have experienced God in a cumulative way. I, too, can say that I know the goodness of God and am confident that if I can manage to remain faithful, I will be lifted up at the last day.
My hope is based in Jesus Christ.
As I have gotten older, I am motivated to prepare myself for a time when I am no longer able to do the things a younger man can do. My sweetheart and I serve in an assisted living facility on Sundays, and I have witnessed the ravages of old age. This has given me an even greater insight into what awaits me. Contemplating mortality is in itself sobering.
Most of us are a lot like Thomas, who could not believe that Jesus had risen from the tomb until he saw for himself. Our encounter with the risen Lord is more likely to come in a cumulative way, as I described earlier. When we have had enough experiences with God, we will believe in the literal resurrection and redemption that comes as a result of the atoning sacrifice of the Savior.
Try to imagine how you would deal with life if Jesus had not come. I am sure that we would all long for a continuance of existence with loved ones, but it would be next to impossible to imagine how such a thing could be. But because Jesus did come to save us from both spiritual and temporal death, we have hope. What a miracle.
There are hundreds of examples of things we have deemed impossible. But then someone comes along and does the impossible. Many of these things we now consider commonplace and mundane. Even now, atheists say that it is impossible that Jesus rose from the dead despite the witnesses found in the scriptures. But when we have an encounter with God, that impossibility becomes possible. That is hope in the face of sorrow.