I purchased my mini PMG, and haven't stopped reading it since. Because of its size, I get to keep it with me, and read it when I am alone, and have a minute. Whether it is a break between classes, or waiting for my folks to pick me up, I get this sacred gift of time.
My favorite chapter in PMG is Christlike Attributes, chapter 6. While reading it, a paragraph really jumped out at me.
"Christlike attributes are gifts from God. They come as you use your agency righteously. Ask your Heavenly Father to bless you with these attributes; you cannot develop them without HIS help. With a desire to please God, recognize your weaknesses and be willing and anxious to improve."
I love that. I re-realized that those attributes, I desire to have, are in fact GIFTS. I cannot achieve anything without HIM. So, I have decided to take the attributes apart, and work on them individually. I love what Preach My Gospel says about...
Hope.
"Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples, reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have 'moved away from the hope of the gospel' (Col. 1:23). Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down."
- Elder Neal A. Maxwell
"Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance. It is believing and expecting that something will occur. 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. The scriptures often describe hope in Jesus Christ as the assurance that you will inherit eternal life in the celestial kingdom. President James E. Faust taught: "Hope is the anchor of our souls....Hope is trust in God's promises, faith that if we act now, the desired blessings will be fulfilled in the future....The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death"
What is hope and what do we hope for?
- 2 Nephi 31:20 - Moroni 7: 40-48 - Romans 8:24-25
- Alma 58: 10-11 - D&C 59:23 - Hebrews 6: 10-20
- Ether 12:4, 32 - D&C 138: 14 - Topical Guide, "Hope"
