1. “He that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither faith, HOPE, nor charity.” –Moroni 7:14

2. “And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with HOPE and perfect love.” –Moroni 7:26

I don’t know quite what to make of these, other than to point out that hope seems to be a gift of the Spirit. Maybe hope is something like desire with an admixture of possibility.

2) Must the object of hope be objectively improbable?
(a) A friend of mine recently graduated in the top 10% of her class at a top 10 law school. She took a bar review course and studied obsessively. She took the exam in a state in which a little over 80% of first time takers pass. And she came out *hoping* she passed. It was a constant, gnawing uncertainty for her, despite the fact that no bookie would lay odds *against* her passing. This is a case where she’s hoping for something that is objectively probable. It may even be subjectively probable. But the stakes are so high that the uncertainty works on her mind in such a way that hope is made possible.
(b) Do we hope for the resurrection? Is that event objectively improbable? Since, doctrinally, we regard it as an absolute certainty, how could it be objectively improbable? Couldn’t it be only subjectively so? I may be misunderstanding what you mean by objective improbability.

Scott

As you point out, I also need to clarify what I mean by “objectively improbable.” At this point I think I mean something like “the public evidence doesn’t support the probability.”

Hope in the resurrection raises interesting issues similar to the questions at the end of my blog: does Christian hope suffice as a type for hope in general? I think it does, but if it does, then the hope for the resurrection raises important but difficult issues, such as what does my certainty of the resurrection mean? When I say that I am certain of the resurrection, am I saying more than if I say I hope for the resurrection? It seems so, but I’m not sure how to parse the differences or, then, to understand the implications of those differences for ordinary hope, what theologians call “natural hope.”

4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

How would “hoping with surety” fit into Jim’s account? This verse makes Christian hope seem closer to expectation than confidence.

The OED gives “safety, security” as the first meaning and has examples up through the 17th century. “Certain knowledge” coexists with “safety” at the same times. The second meaning makes some hope a matter of sure knowledge, but the first doesn’t: we could read the surety of hope in Ether to mean that those who believe can safely hope for a better world.

[It doesn’t track the print version perfectly, but there is an online 1828 Webster resource worth bookmarking at: http://www.cbtministries.org/resources/webster1828.htm ]