This week I tried to develop the Christ-like
attribute of hope. I read the appropriate section in Preach My Gospel and all
of the corresponding scriptures. From Ether 12:4, 32 I learned that hope cometh of faith and that having hope
will result in the desire to abound in good works and will lead you to glorify
God. This principle makes sense to me because if you have hope for eternal
life, you must have had faith in Christ first. It will also be easier for you
to pray to and praise God if you first had faith that he exists and loves you
and that you will be able to live with Him again someday. In Moroni 7:40-48 I
also learned that without faith there is no hope and those who have hope are
meek, lowly of heart, and have charity. The most important things we should
hope for are to be as pure as Christ and that we’ll be able to live with
Heavenly Father in our heavenly “mansions.” Once again, this scripture teaches
that faith and hope go hand in hand. I never really understood the difference
until I sat down and read these scriptures with a prayerful heart. Being humble
seems to be an important factor in having hope. Someday I hope to be able to
say that I have charity, the pure love of Christ, for all of God’s children.
Every day, I prayed to be able to understand the principle of hope better and for experiences that would give me the opportunity to exercise hope. The most significant teaching moment I experienced this week was when I got a text from my Mom about a dear friend, Heidi. Heidi unexpectedly passed away in March of last year (2013) from a pulmonary embolism in her leg. Next month, her parents are hosting a “Chasing the Sun-Heidi Run 5k” near their home in CA. My mom texted me letting me know that Sister Greenwood had a van of fifteen seats that could take me and my roommate, McKenna, to Rocklin so that we would be able to participate in the race. I was very excited for this opportunity to honor Heidi so Kenna and I both immediately went to Heidi’s blog to sign up. After signing up, I was looking at the blog and came across Heidi’s story, as written by her mother. My roommate had warned me about reading it a week earlier but curiosity overcame me and I began reading about the months leading to Heidi’s passing and how she was struggling with breathing, which affected her running and her future as a cross country runner for BYU-Hawaii. I read about the morning her mom found her on the floor, face gray and eyes rolled back into her head, and thought she was dead. I read about how the paramedics and doctors tried to revive her but they could not stop the blood from pooling in her body- her legs, her lungs, her head. I read about her sisters flying in from Utah to be able to say goodbye to their sister. I read about the crowds of families and friends (over 200) crowding the hospital hallways with the hope that Heidi would make it through. As you can imagine, reading this in detail was too much for me. I had already felt the pain of loss and the anguish that comes from losing someone you love at the time of her passing, and I was able to slowly overcome it. But now, all the pain came back and I mourned at the loss of a daughter, a sister, and a friend. It was again difficult to think of all the experiences Heidi would never experience on this Earth- high school graduation, the birth of her first niece, marrying her true love in the temple, having children of her own, etc. As always, I ached more for family, her parents and her six siblings, than I did for my own pain. Mine could never compare. After sobbing, I went into my room and prayed for comfort and prayed, like I do every night, for Heidi’s family, that they would be continually comforted. As I prayed, I recognized that I was exercising hope. I had hope that Heavenly Father had a special plan for Heidi and that was why she was taken from this Earth so prematurely and unexpectedly-she was special. I had hope that she was completely happy, living in the Celestial kingdom with her Heavenly Father. Most of all, I had hope that her family is forever and that they will all be reunited someday. I could not imagine living without hope. Hope is what keeps us going, helps us to survive our trials. More than ever now, I want to be a missionary and share this hope with others. I want them to understand that there is a life after this one and that families are forever. I will always exercise my hope of this and I am grateful for this week’s experience. And I can’t wait to see Heidi again.
Every day, I prayed to be able to understand the principle of hope better and for experiences that would give me the opportunity to exercise hope. The most significant teaching moment I experienced this week was when I got a text from my Mom about a dear friend, Heidi. Heidi unexpectedly passed away in March of last year (2013) from a pulmonary embolism in her leg. Next month, her parents are hosting a “Chasing the Sun-Heidi Run 5k” near their home in CA. My mom texted me letting me know that Sister Greenwood had a van of fifteen seats that could take me and my roommate, McKenna, to Rocklin so that we would be able to participate in the race. I was very excited for this opportunity to honor Heidi so Kenna and I both immediately went to Heidi’s blog to sign up. After signing up, I was looking at the blog and came across Heidi’s story, as written by her mother. My roommate had warned me about reading it a week earlier but curiosity overcame me and I began reading about the months leading to Heidi’s passing and how she was struggling with breathing, which affected her running and her future as a cross country runner for BYU-Hawaii. I read about the morning her mom found her on the floor, face gray and eyes rolled back into her head, and thought she was dead. I read about how the paramedics and doctors tried to revive her but they could not stop the blood from pooling in her body- her legs, her lungs, her head. I read about her sisters flying in from Utah to be able to say goodbye to their sister. I read about the crowds of families and friends (over 200) crowding the hospital hallways with the hope that Heidi would make it through. As you can imagine, reading this in detail was too much for me. I had already felt the pain of loss and the anguish that comes from losing someone you love at the time of her passing, and I was able to slowly overcome it. But now, all the pain came back and I mourned at the loss of a daughter, a sister, and a friend. It was again difficult to think of all the experiences Heidi would never experience on this Earth- high school graduation, the birth of her first niece, marrying her true love in the temple, having children of her own, etc. As always, I ached more for family, her parents and her six siblings, than I did for my own pain. Mine could never compare. After sobbing, I went into my room and prayed for comfort and prayed, like I do every night, for Heidi’s family, that they would be continually comforted. As I prayed, I recognized that I was exercising hope. I had hope that Heavenly Father had a special plan for Heidi and that was why she was taken from this Earth so prematurely and unexpectedly-she was special. I had hope that she was completely happy, living in the Celestial kingdom with her Heavenly Father. Most of all, I had hope that her family is forever and that they will all be reunited someday. I could not imagine living without hope. Hope is what keeps us going, helps us to survive our trials. More than ever now, I want to be a missionary and share this hope with others. I want them to understand that there is a life after this one and that families are forever. I will always exercise my hope of this and I am grateful for this week’s experience. And I can’t wait to see Heidi again.
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