Repeatedly in the Book of Mormon we hear characters reminding themselves and others of the deliverance of their fathers as an anchor point upon which to build their faith and encourage their confidence.  That one story, of Moses and the children of Israel being delivered from bondage in Egypt, has stood for millennia as the quintessential instance of God’s willingness to help us with our problems and deliver us from our afflictions.  Both Jews and Christians lay claim to it, not only as part of their heritage, but as affirmation that God is with them in their endeavors.

It is interesting to me that those who forgot what God had done for their fathers faltered.  Those who remembered went forward with courage and optimism.  If they or their fellows felt faint of heart they would tell themselves the story again to bolster their hearts to face the unknown that lay before them.

We are no different.  It is interesting to note that when Moses approached the Children of Israel, having been freed by Pharaoh, the people were reluctant to go.  For them the choice wasn’t between bondage and freedom, it was between bondage and the unknown.  So it is with us.  We are prone to fear the unknown.  We tend to predict the worst and to fear what we’ve imagined.  The future appears dark and foreboding.  We become pessimists.  The story of the Exodus repeats itself over and over again in every life.  Almost daily, we face the unknown of the future and tend to fear it.  That is, unless we tell ourselves stories to the contrary.  Unless we remind ourselves that God will go before us and bear us up.

The scriptures are replete with such stories.  So is life.  The news, ordinarily is not.  A lot of how optimistic we feel comes of the kind of stories we tell ourselves.  Even more effective are the stories from our own lives.  Build optimism with stories from your own life and close family members.  These stories have more meaning because of the reality we can easily attribute to them.  My grandfather bought 30 head of dairy cattle during the Great Depression on a signature loan and paid for them in one year.  Telling myself that story helps me feel optimistic about what I can do during these troubled times.  This isn’t positive thinking.  This is faith building.  My grandfather attributed the success to God who, first inspired him to make such a bold move and second, opened the way for his success.

In my view true optimism can only be enjoyed when God is the fundamental element in the equation.  Without God’s direction and assistance what we might call optimism is mere wishful thinking.  We can think positively all day long, but if our thoughts lack God’s aprobation and grace the outcome will be entirely different.  It may or may not end in success.  But, even if it ends in success on our terms, it is likely to result in utter failure in God’s eyes.  The stories that build true optimism are stories of God’s goodness in our lives.  These stories are not restricted by apparent impossibilities, they are made wonderful because they are about emerging victorious against overwhelming odds.  Seek and tell yourself these stories.  Nephi did it!  So can we!