Sabbath Devotional :: Hope

As we near the end of this election season, I know many of us are feeling stressed, anxious, and just plain tired. Right now, it feels as if we’ve been sprinting for quite some time and can see the finish line, but we don’t quite know what lies on the other side.

For the most part, I’m able to keep the stress and anxiety at bay in a few ways — taking positive action and making time for the things that nourish my soul. A few nights ago, though, I found it catching up to me, and I prayed that the Lord would calm my anxious heart and soothe my troubled mind. And silly as it may sound, the thought that came to my mind was the Mr. Rogers quote to “look for the helpers.”

And so this week I have found hope and joy in seeing the good that so many are doing right now. I have found hope in reading your stories of acts big and small to make a difference, to be peacemakers, to help those around you, to grow your vote and get out the vote, to bring kindness and empathy and goodness to those around you.

Dear sisters, WE are the helpers! We can be the peacemakers, the peace builders, the peace bringers.

“The surest way to find joy in this life is to join Christ in helping others.” At the heart of all this is the two great commandments: to love God and to love our neighbors. This is what compels us to act, and this is what brings us hope and joy even in times of anxiety and uncertainty.

In General Conference last April, Elder Holland spoke about having a perfect brightness of hope, and hoping for a world free of some of the problems we’re currently facing. He said, “Undergirding all of this is our relentless hope for greater devotion to the two greatest of all commandments: to love God by keeping His counsel and to love our neighbors by showing kindness and compassion, patience and forgiveness. These two divine directives are still — and forever will be — the only real hope we have for giving our children a better world than the one they now know.”

This is how we make a difference. This is how we have hope in the Savior for a better future. By loving God and by loving our neighbors.

“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men” (2 Nephi 31:20).

Tomorrow is All Saints Day, a holiday we don’t really celebrate in our church but that in other Christian faiths is marked by honoring those who have come before us and those who will come after. This weekend, I plan to use this occasion to honor the pioneer foremothers of our faith who fought for the right to vote, to honor those who acted on their faith to build a better future, and to honor the miracles and blessings from a loving Heavenly Father that have carried so many people through difficult times in the past.

Remembering both the positive action taken by those who came before us, and the miraculous blessings that helped them through their struggles, brings me hope. Hope that our Heavenly Father is aware of our current struggles and will send blessings to sustain us, and hope that our actions can and will have a positive impact. I plan to honor my children and future generations by having hope for a bright future — and working to build it.

“Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world… always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God” (Ether 12:4).

Find ways you can help, find people you can love, and find hope in Christ.

Megan Blood Seawright is the senior director of the peaceful root for Mormon Women for Ethical Government. She also serves as communications director.