Moroni 10:33

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

Here is hope! Moroni's final words are of hope. We can hope to be spotless and holy and acceptable to God because Christ has ransomed us and paid our price. God can be merciful because of Christ, which fills both the Father and the Son with joy. Their joy is our one true hope.

Moroni 10:21

And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.

We cannot be saved without faith, hope, and charity because we will not be like God without these three attributes. The Savior can wipe away our sins, but he cannot change us against our wills. If we have not done the work to develop faith, hope, and charity, we will fall short of the full hope of Christ. He offers the gifts of the Spirit, but we must receive them for them to work in our lives.

Moroni 9:25

My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.

The bleak events of the world can weigh us down and overwhelm us. But they do not have to crush us. Christ can lift us, strengthen us, and comfort us, even in the midst of turmoil.

Moroni 7:44

If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

Our conversion is not complete without charity. Faith and hope are of no value if they are not guided by charity. The natural outcome of faith and hope is charity, but charitable behavior works against our mortal nature. The natural man says he never has enough, and whatever he gives away diminishes him. Charity, however, operates on the economy of abundance. One who has charity believes he has enough and to spare, because he has faith that God is the source of all things, and he has the hope (expectation) that God will always provide from his infinite source of abundance. Thus, charity is the ultimate victory over the natural man and is the infallible consummation of our conversion.

Moroni 7:42

Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.

Faith leads inevitably to hope. Without faith we cannot have hope. With faith, hope is inescapable. How could we have abiding faith in Christ and not have an abiding hope in forgiveness,  redemption, resurrection, and exaltation? Such a paradox would be illogical and unsustainable.

Ether 12:4

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

Belief in God leads to faith, which leads to hope. The hope of our faith is to return to God and live with him forever. Such hope becomes an anchor that holds us fast to God. If we want to live with him in the better world to come, would we not want to do all we can in this life to draw close to him? Would we not want to be like him in every way we can, our mortal limitations notwithstanding? If so, then we would want surely to do his works, which are, of course, good works. If we are going to be comfortable in his presence, we must learn to do what he does, think what he thinks, and want what he wants. We do good things as a natural outcome of acquiring godly attributes. We do good works not so others think we are great but so they realize God is great.

Mormon 9:21

Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

If we want power from God, we begin with belief in Christ, as evidenced by our submitting to the first principles and ordinances of his gospel, which are faith and repentance, followed by baptism and the conferring of the Holy Ghost by one holding the proper authority.

We must trust with our whole heart and soul in Christ. He holds our very salvation and eternal life in his hands. When we trust him, we do not try to wrestle our salvation away from him as if we can save ourselves. No, we do not doubt in the least that he can and will redeem us.

With that trust and faith in Christ, we go to the Father in his name and ask for the help we need to strengthen and increase our faith. We ask him to change our hearts and minds from the squalor of the natural man to the humility of a disciple of Christ. Such a prayer will God always, always answer.

And his answer will be a miracle, for it is only by the miracle of the Christ's Atonement that a sinner can be washed clean and spotless.

God excludes no one from the promise of hope in this formula, to the ends of the earth and the end of time. Everyone can receive his grace. If we do not, it is only because we exclude ourselves by trying to get it some other way than how God has prescribed. He has the right to set the conditions by which we come to him. We have the choice to accept or reject those conditions. We do not, however, have the right to override the consequences of our choices.

Mormon 5:11

For I know that such will sorrow for the calamity of the house of Israel; yea, they will sorrow for the destruction of this people; they will sorrow that this people had not repented that they might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus.

Because the Nephites willingly and intentionally turned away from Christ, he could do nothing for them. He cannot embrace those who do not want to be embraced. I do not understand why anyone would not want to be clasped in the arms of Jesus. To be warm and safe in his arms is the most comforting experience I can imagine. I make lots of mistakes and fail constantly to live up to the life I know I should live, but I repent when I realize my mistakes. And so I have hope in Christ.

3 Nephi 19:9

And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.

Though these people had been in the very presence of the resurrected Christ and had heard him speak with his own voice, they wanted more than anything to have the Holy Ghost. Why? Because the Holy Ghost is the manifestation of the spirit of Christ, which he had promised they could always have with them. As life-changing as seeing the Savior would be, the Holy Ghost can change our lives even more. He does not address our eyes and ears but rather our minds and hearts. He will work continuously, if we let him, to change us and purify us and sanctify us. Though we may see with our eyes that Christ lives, that is no proof that we will live. The Holy Ghost testifies to us, however, that we will live, and it is that testimony, combined with faith in Christ, that gives us hope. These disciples wanted that hope that comes through the Holy Ghost.

3 Nephi 9:15

Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

Eternity has no beginning or end, but Christ is the beginning of our section of eternity. As the first born of Heavenly Father's spirit children, Christ is the beginning of our generation. He is the beginning of hope, the beginning of the resurrection.

Helaman 8:18

Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of these things, but there were many before the days of Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and this that it should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption should come unto them.

The existence of the restored priesthood is proof that salvation is achievable. Why would God grant men authority to perform saving ordinances if salvation were not obtainable? Why would he grant men power to heal illness and afflictions if we just die and rot in the grave? Why would he give us the temple if exaltation in the celestial kingdom is out of reach?  The very fact that we have the priesthood is a sign of hope from God.

Alma 39:15

And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people.

Alma was certain that Christ would come. He would "surely come." Nothing would stop him or hinder him in his mission to save the world from death and all who would repent from hell. Christ would bring the happiest of news -- that we would not be left to our mortal fate and natural weaknesses without help. He would surely come, without fail, and bring ransom, rescue, deliverance and salvation with him. For those who were discouraged he would bring hope. For those who were in despair he would bring renewal. For those who had failed he would bring another chance. For those who sorrowed and grieved he would bring peace and joy. His coming would be the best news and the gladest tidings of all.

Alma 37:17

For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers.

The scriptures record God's fulfilling of promises to previous generations and dispensations, and thus provide us with hope. For God is the same yesterday, today, and always. Because he has kept and honored covenants with previous people, we can have confidence that he will act with integrity towards us.

Alma 34:41

But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.

Hope is the antidote of despair. Afflictions may seem to fill our lives and consume our days and threaten to overwhelm us. But they are never permanent. God is always at the end of the tunnel. What afflictions teach us is patience. We will need patience in the celestial kingdom because we will have imperfect children to deal with for a very long time. This life is where we begin to learn the lessons of patience. The reward of patience is hope.

Alma 32:21

And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

Faith is hope for things we cannot see, touch, hear or prove with our mortal senses, but which we know nevertheless are true. We do not need faith in what we know. Faith causes us to act on what we hope is true. As we act, our faith is vindicated when we see our hope validated. Eventually faith, acted upon and answered, becomes knowledge and ceases to be faith. Hope becomes more than a wishful desire. It becomes a firm expectation.We know the outcome of our faith, and we rest in the assurance that our hope is justified. 
 
Faith gets me up in the morning and enables me to move forward through the day. By faith I keep doing the things that need to be done each day in the hope that I am doing something good that will make a difference. Faith keeps me from giving up when I see my weakness and shortcomings and wonder if I will ever be anything more than the wretched man that I am.

Alma 31:31

O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.

Our souls are comforted in Christ when we are comforted by the love of Christ, which is given to us through the power of the Holy Ghost, who is the Comforter. We are comforted about the troubles we face by the knowledge that Christ has suffered all things and overcome all things. He will not let us fail if we are trying. He will make up for our weaknesses and pardon our mistakes. We can have hope and comfort in this life and the rest of the Lord in the life to come.

Alma 14:6

And it came to pass that Zeezrom was astonished at the words which had been spoken; and he also knew concerning the blindness of the minds, which he had caused among the people by his lying words; and his soul began to be harrowed up under a consciousness of his own guilt; yea, he began to be encircled about by the pains of hell.

We are all guilty. But we do not have to be torn apart by guilt if we repent and look to Christ. Zeezrom did not yet have faith in Christ, and so he had no hope. To be guilty without hope of redemption is the very definition of hell.

Alma 10:22

Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and by pestilence, and the sword.

A little leaven raises the whole lump. A righteous few can avail much in securing society. But we must all do our part. We must share goodness and hope wherever we go and wherever we are.

Alma 9:17

And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name.

We all have hope. If we call upon God in sincere repentance, he will have mercy on us. No one is beyond his mercy if we are willing to try.

Alma 7:22-23

And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive. And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

The disciple's creed. If we could live by these simple principles, we would go far in approaching a Christ-like life.