For a variety of reasons, brothers and sisters, today's society seems to struggle in order to be hopeful. The associated causes and effects comingle ever so subtly. Such typify our sincere but proximate hopes. Life's disappointments often represent the debris of our failed, proximate hopes. Instead, however, I speak of the crucial need for ultimate hope.
Ultimate hope is a different matter.
Unsurprisingly, hope is intertwined with other gospel doctrines, especially faith and patience. Just as doubt, despair, and desensitization go together, so do faith, hope, charity, and patience. The latter qualities must be carefully and constantly nurtured, however, whereas doubt and despair, like dandelions, need little encouragement in order to sprout and spread. Patience, for example, permits us to deal more evenly with the unevenness of life's experiences. Faith and hope are constantly interactive and are not always easily or precisely distinguished.