During their incarceration they were starved, abused, and constantly threatened with death. However, the Prophet and several of his friends were unjustly imprisoned in the miserable darkness of Liberty Jail. From his earliest records, we see that he was willing to meet his own challenges with confidence in his Savior and faith in the work. Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration, learned much about the nature of hope during his life.
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Through their conviction, these two great prophets gave us an example of how to keep our hopes alive in even the darkest of circumstances. He had faith in the integrity of his son, and he had hope that although the people might be lost, their descendants might one day be saved through the power of the Lord. Nevertheless, Mormon reaffirmed his hope. In an epistle to his son, Mormon described some of the Nephites’ and Lamanites’ abhorrent crimes. As the final contributors to the Book of Mormon record, they witnessed their once-great civilization fall into total chaos and horror. If we ever feel like we live in a world that embraces evil, then we have some small idea what Mormon and his son Moroni must have felt. Mormon and Moroni’s Hope ( Mormon 1–2, 7 Moroni 9)
Because of his faith, all of his blessings were eventually restored. Even after losing everything, Job maintained his hope that eventually everything would be OK, whether in this life or the next. His wife even said, “Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die” ( Job 2:9). Job’s challenges were bad enough that even his friends and family lost hope for him. The Old Testament tells the story of a man who had everything he could possibly want, and then it was all taken away. Sometimes the Lord allows challenges to come upon us so that we can be strengthened by overcoming them. Not all of our trials are a result of our own transgressions. This understanding-that we can be forgiven and return to our Father in Heaven-is central to the entire plan of salvation (see M. Russell Ballard, “That the Lost May Be Found” Ensign, May 2012, 97–100). It might be difficult to make your way back home to Him, but when you do, He will welcome you with joy and love. The Savior wants each of us to know that forgiveness is attainable. Despite his fears, he did return to his family and was shocked to discover that his father loved him just as much as he always had. However, he was afraid his family would not be willing to forgive him. Eventually the boy saw that his choices had made him unhappy, and he longed for a chance to repent and return to his family. In His parable of the prodigal son, Jesus Christ described a young man who had made many bad choices. The way back home may seem daunting.Īs with all mortal pains, the Savior understands this feeling and wants to teach us how to overcome it. Whatever the case, it’s easy to become discouraged. Maybe we’ve become lazy in keeping our covenants. Maybe we’ve made a bad choice and are still being hampered by the consequences. Sometimes we stray from the path of righteousness. The Parable of the Prodigal Son ( Luke 15:11–24) Here are a few scripture stories to remember whenever you feel afraid or distressed. The scriptures and general conference addresses, when we study them in faith, can give us something that will help drive away fear and lead us to a brighter future. The words of ancient and modern prophets allow us to see things from a more eternal perspective.
Thankfully, as members of the Church, we have resources that can help drive away the anxiety and doubt that naturally come when we face the uncertainty of the future. Likewise, when faced with personal challenges and the choices we’ll need to make as we grow older, we sometimes let our fear paralyze us. All it takes is a glance through a newspaper or a few minutes watching the evening news to start to feel as though everything is going from bad to worse. There’s no way around it the world can sometimes seem pretty scary.
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