Adam Bair, the program director for the Applied Business Management program at BYU-Idaho, noticed a common thread between the students he was mentoring. Every time he’d get a new student who came to him for advice they would use the words, “I hope that…” Whether it was comments like, “I hope that I’m in the right major,” or “I hope that this won’t be on the final exam,” Bair felt like students needed to be reminded of the true meaning of hope.
In his devotional address titled “Lessons of Hope,” Bair reflected on the concept of hope. He emphasized its profound significance in both everyday life and spiritual practice. The word “hope,” he said, is used a lot in daily conversations and means “little more than a desire that the event may happen.” Bair shared that in the context of faith it transcends wishes and embodies trust and confidence in unseen truths.
“I think there’s always room for hope. I’ve thought about the topic of hope. I think it’s timely and timeless. We always need to reflect on hope and hoping that we can become better and then doing those things that will help is become better is always a message that I think we need to hear,” Bair said in an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio.
Bair shared a few lessons in his devotional address, the first using chemical and physical erosion as a metaphor for how the Atonement of Jesus Christ can transform the nature of people. Initially, people are rough and unyielding but can change through repentance through the Atonement. It is not a change that can be done overnight, much like erosion, it may take a while, but it does not mean it’s impossible.
The second lesson Bair shared was about the art technique called pointillism. The technique is where an artist paints several small dots of color which eventually blend to form a complete image once viewed from a distance. Bair said each dot represents a moment or a decision that may not make sense up close but will form a beautiful picture over time. Bair emphasized how important it is to move forward with trust and faith in the plan that Heavenly Father has, because He is the artist of your life.
“While we don’t consistently see the artwork or feel a sense of broader purpose in the process, from additional perspectives, we can see the Lord’s hand in our lives,” Bair said.
The last lesson Bair shared was about inflection points and how in math they are where a curve changes direction. Those inflection points symbolize significant turning points in life. The curve of someone’s life can be heading up or down depending on their choices. Bair recounted the moment in his life when he was a student at BYU-Idaho and how that impacted his faith and helped his curve go up.
“Increasing hope in God and His plan for our lives is a small change that can have a profound influence on the curves of our lives,” he said.
Bair said these lessons help illustrate how hope that is grounded in faith and trust in the Savior can help people endure life’s challenges and recognize divine patterns. His address encourages people to develop that hope in Christ, a hope that is not merely a wish but a profound trust and confidence that helps people through trials, helps people grow spiritually and allows righteous actions that lead to eternal joy.
“President Jeffery R. Holland has taught, ‘Because the Restoration reaffirmed the foundational truth that God does work in this world, we can hope, we should hope, even when facing the most insurmountable odds. That is what the scripture meant when Abraham was able to hope against hope—that is, he was able to believe in spite of every reason not to believe,’” he said.