Maddy, my daughter, asked me to help her with a spiritual thought for mutual. Her Beehive class activity for the night was going to be focused on the hope chest. (Yea!) Maddy said it was her idea. (Double Yea!)
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We started by reading a few different scriptures to see if anything we found went along with the idea of a Hope Chest. We began focusing on 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 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."
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Maddy practiced what she was going to say - a few times. We both, in our own minds could see the correlation, but agreed it was a stretch. So we tried something else.
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I am a visual learner. If I can see it - I usually get it. So, Maddy and I went to the whiteboard. This is what we drew, as we talked about the correlation between a hope chest and a testimony:
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A hope chest, historically, is a box where a young women collects items: linens, dishes, a special dress, etc... - in hope/preparation for married life. The box being portable, so she can take it with her.
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A testimony, is a place in your heart where you continually add to it: prayer, scripture study, service, etc... - in faith/preparation for eternal life. A testimony is the one thing you take with you.
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It is amazing what you can learn when you put a some thought into something. I especially enjoyed the conversation Maddy and I had as we were brainstorming our ideas. :)
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As for the activity, the girls were asked to bring an item, a momento, to place into their hope chests. When Maddy came home at the end of the night she was holding a box that her young women leaders had given her to begin her very own hope chest.
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I love that the leaders are encouraging this!
