Message Of Hope
Jenny Simmonds
Hi, my name is Jenny Simmonds and thanks Kerry for trusting this wild card to write the message for this month. Let me share just a little about myself. I was raised in Canada, so you can expect me to pronounce words “funny” from time to time. I am a nurse and work as the Home Health Nurse Administrator for Intermountain Healthcare. I am also married to the amazing Gary Simmonds who is a jack of all trades; really, he is!! We have 4 incredible children: Cameron who is almost 27 and will be graduating for UVU this year and heading to grad school, Ranae is 23 and is the positive pulse of the family, Matthew who is a senior this year, and Collin who is getting his feet wet in high school. Yes, for all of you that have young kids, it is nice to only have to get myself ready each morning….but please be careful not to wish away the years, because there are days I would do anything to get them back.
I was asked to share just a short message and I chose a topic that creates great passion within me; that is a message of HOPE. If we are to understand the promises in scripture concerning how the Lord will conquer evil and how truth will conquer error can help us face the future with hope and optimism. In today’s world we see war, natural calamities, and economic crises. At times these events are not just things we observe from a distance but are things that affect us personally. It is easy to be distracted and forget that this world is also full of much goodness, love, kindness, and joy. Therefore, we should rejoice in life, and praise God for allowing us to live at this amazing time.
Let us all remember and teach the children in our lives that the New Testament ends with a message of great hope. John the Revelator saw things that are to come and told us of the blessings we would receive if we remain righteous and endure to the end.
John saw a book with seven seals, or time periods, and he described how Satan has always fought against the righteous (see Revelation 5:1–5; 6). But John also saw that Satan would be bound and that Christ would reign in triumph (see Revelation 19:1–9; 20:1–11). Finally he saw that the righteous would dwell with God after the Last Judgment (see Revelation 20:12–15). For Christ to accomplish this task, there must be enough righteous people on the planet. Christ is not waiting for the world to be “too wicked” as the trigger for the second coming but rather, waiting for enough righteous people to be on the Earth to prepare the way for him.
We should all face the future with hope because we know that the forces of evil will be overcome. We should all maintain a positive outlook as we face challenges because we have the scriptures, the teachings of living prophets, priesthood authority, temples, and the support of each other as members of this ward. And most important, we should have hope in eternal life because of the Lord’s perfect atoning sacrifice (see Moroni 7:41).
By: Jenny Simmonds
Neighborhood: View Pointe
Calling: Music Director, Young Women Specialist
