Have Hope

The world would be a pretty dark place if there wasn't any hope. It's easy to look at life through the lenses of disappointment, anger, sorrow, fear and discouragement. It's more difficult but infinitely more rewarding to look through the all-encompassing lens of hope.

Have hope, and watch your perspective of the world change

Hope inspires us to overcome what some might call 'the impossible'. Elder Steven E. Snow relates how Roger Bannister was able to accomplish an ambitious goal through hope—

Roger Bannister was a medical student in England who had an ambitious hope. He desired to be the first man to run a mile (1.6 km) under four minutes. For much of the first half of the early 20th century, field and track enthusiasts had anxiously awaited the day the four-minute-mile barrier would be broken. Over the years many outstanding runners had come close, but still the four-minute barrier stood. Bannister dedicated himself to an ambitious training schedule with the hope of realizing his goal of setting a new world record. Some in the sporting community had begun to doubt whether the four-minute mile could be broken. Supposed experts had even hypothesized the human body was physiologically unable to run at such speeds over such a long distance. On a cloudy day on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister’s great hope was realized! He crossed the finish line in 3:59.4, setting a new world record. His hope to break the four-minute-mile barrier became a dream which was accomplished through training, hard work, and dedication.

Without hope, Bannister would not have developed the dedication and perseverance necessary to accomplish this goal. Hope allowed him to work hard and train with the confidence that he could break the four-minute barrier.

The scriptures define hope as the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we hope for and have faith in the promise of eternal life. Hope enables us to keep God's commandments and serve those around us, even when it may be initially challenging to fulfill these obligations.

Have hope, and watch your perspective of the world change. Hope makes everything brighter.