Three hopes 'smiling brightly before you'

Since you have already entered on the path to eternal life, just stay in it, "and in order to stay in, you must have hope, a bright hope smiling before you and lighting your way," Julie B. Beck declared March 29 during the General Young Women Meeting.

Sister Beck, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, said: "Mormon asks, 'What is it . . . ye shall hope for?' His answer tells us of the three great hopes: 'Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ, and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal.' " (Moroni 7:41.)

Expounding on the three great hopes, she said: "When you were baptized, you became participants in the first great hope, the atonement of Christ. Every time you worthily partake of the sacrament, you have the opportunity to begin again and do a little better. . . . Your hope and faith in the Savior will increase as you repent and make personal changes that are the equivalent of burying your own sins.

"The second great hope is the resurrection. You are all promised that through our Savior Jesus Christ you will be resurrected, and you know that when this life is over, there is still much more life to be lived."

After sharing the account of the righteous example set by her 20-year-old niece before her death in an auto accident, Sister Beck said: "Because of Christ there is 'hope smiling brightly before' you and you need not worry too much about sickness, death, poverty or other afflictions. The Lord will take care of you. Your responsibility is to keep the commandments, feast upon the words of Christ, and stay in the path to your heavenly home."

The third great hope, she said, is the hope of eternal life. "Because you have a Savior, you can plan for a future that extends beyond this life. . . . Because you have a Savior, you also believe in a happy eternal life of creating, serving and learning. You are already in the strait and narrow path, and there is hope smiling brightly before you."