Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope."
— Moroni 7:41-42
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve titled his October 1992 general conference address "The Joy of Hope Fulfilled." He spoke of many situations that people worry about, including natural disasters, political unrest, warfare, economic chaos and the plagues of pornography, drug misuse, immorality, AIDS and child abuse.
"The media busily satisfies an apparently insatiable appetite of audiences to witness murder, violence, nudity, sex and profanity," Elder Ballard said. "Is not this the day of which Moroni spoke when he recorded: 'Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.' (Mormon 8:35.) And then he prophesied of conditions of the world as they are today."
Elder Ballard said that many have resigned themselves to accept the wickedness and cruelty of the world as being irreparable. "They have given up hope," he said. "They have decided to quit trying to make the world a better place in which they and their families can live. They have surrendered to despair.
"Admittedly we have ample reason to be deeply concerned because we see no immediate answers to the seemingly unsolvable problems confronting the human family. But regardless of this dark picture, which will ultimately get worse, we must never allow ourselves to give up hope!"
He quoted Mormon's counsel: "Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope." (Moroni 10:20.) Elder Ballard them stated his own message: "The Lord is in control. He knows the end from the beginning. He has given us adequate instruction that, if followed, will see us safely through any crisis. His purposes will be fulfilled, and someday we will understand the eternal reasons for all of these events. Therefore, today we must be careful not to overreact, nor should we be caught up in extreme preparations; but what we must do is keep the commandments of God and never lose hope!"
Further, Elder Ballard added: "But where do we find hope in the midst of such turmoil and catastrophe? Quite simply, our one hope for spiritual safety during these turbulent times is to turn our minds and our hearts to Jesus Christ."