That’s Santa, and he’s speaking Cantonese again. He’s saying "good... it’s good!" And it IS.

As we begin a brand new year, I’d like to propose something a little different about HO HO HO. For the purposes of this little message, I’d like it to stand for HOPE and OPTIMISM. Maybe it can be a "code" we use for ourselves. We look in the mirror each morning (if we dare) and say to our self: "HO HO HO!" It’s a signal that life is good, and it’s going to be a good day. We’re going to do all we can to make it good.

I try to imagine you reading this. Yes, YOU. Has it been a hard year? I mean 2008, not the first few hours or days of this new year. Have there been some times of trouble? Have you felt some discouragement and frustration? Most have, because there’s a lot happening in this world which has had and continues to have huge effects on individuals, families, communities and nations. So does it seem almost ridiculous for me to write a little message about HO HO HO? Some of you maybe haven’t even read this far, because it seems a topic way out of touch with what’s going on in your life, in your home, in your heart. Some of you have not had what you’d consider a good day in a long, long time.

But hold on a minute. Stay with mee. Hang in there. Let me see if I can explain this invitation for 2009 to be a year of HOPE and OPTIMISM.

Here’s something from Nephi (the first Nephi in The Book of Mormon) as he finishes his ministry and his contributions to this sacred book:

2 NEPHI 31:20 — 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. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

One thing I like about it is the idea of pressing FORWARD. A new day, a new year, a new page of your life.

And Nephi attaches "a steadfastness in Christ" to that pressing forward idea. Jesus has made so much possible for us, and Who better to count on, to lean on, to trust! He really IS our Savior, our Redeemer, our Advocate with our Heavenly Father.

Then Nephi adds the part about "having a perfect brightness of hope." Wow. That’s not just your average hope, is it. He could have said "having hope," but ponder his description of the kind of hope that accompanies pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ. A perfect brightness of hope! Wow again.

Then Nephi reminds us of the two great commandments: loving God and loving each other. Now the recipe is even better, because we’re about to find out what comes from the oven (so to speak) (did I lose you there?... hope not).

And we get to feast! We get to read, study, ponder and apply the words of Christ. Beautiful!

And we endure to the end. Not the end of 2009, not the end of a road or a task or a trial. We endure to the end of each day and each year, experience, and to the end of mortality. And what comes out of the oven? ETERNAL LIFE! I wish I could express how I feel about that. I wish I could describe my feelings in some beautiful way.

Nephi is saying what Jesus wanted him to say — he’s instructing us in HO HO HO — in HOPE and OPTIMISM. He’s saying that if we "hang in there" (press forward, steadfastness in Christ, perfect brightness of hope, love for God and each other, feasting on the scriptures, enduring to the end), we will return HOME.

In spite of anything and everything which may be discouraging or frustrating, in spite of anything which causes you to feel lonely or overwhelmed . . . there is hope smiling brightly before us (from "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet"). Doctrine and Covenants 68:6 — Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you . . . .

Many of you have read or heard about Anne Frank who hid from the Nazis with her family in a tiny place in a home in Amsterdam. They were in that cramped situation for 25 months! They had to remain completely silent from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm every day! Anne was an optimist. In her journal she described their hiding place as "a little piece of blue heaven, surrounded by heavy black rain clouds."

I suppose we can’t imagine what her circumstances were like, just as I probably can’t imagine what your circumstances are like. But I do know that HOPE and OPTIMISM are possible and that attitude is a choice. We can create and enjoy "a little piece of blue heaven" even at times when we are "surrounded by heavy black rain clouds." So I invite you to consider 2009 as a year of HOPE and OPTIMISM.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HO HO HO!
Love, MEE