The Golden Cord of Hope

An old Greek myth tells the story of Theseus who faced the daunting task of entering an elaborate labyrinth, finding and slaying the Minotaur, then finding his way back out of the maze. After falling in love with him, the princess Ariadne gives Theseus a golden cord to insure his safety. Theseus ties the cord to the entrance of the labyrinth and unrolls it as he goes. Thus after defeating the Minotaur instead of being hopelessly lost in the depths of the winding maze, Theseus finds his way out easily by simply following the golden cord.
This story has some wonderful parallels to life which often seems a dangerous labyrinth that is difficult to navigate, but when a golden cord ties us to our eternal destination, the task is not so daunting. And what is our golden cord? The good news that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When we place our hope in Jesus Christ, and follow His teachings we have our own golden cord.
The prophet Ether tells us that hope is an anchor to the soul (Ether 12:4). The meaning of that metaphor becomes more poignant when we realize that the Hebrew word often translated as hope is tikvaw which literally means "a cord." It is easy to see how the word cord became associated with the feeling of hope because hope is something you so very much expect to happen that you "tie yourself to it." When you are tied to something, you are pulled in that direction. In other words, your hope directs your life. It is your anchor. When Jesus Christ is our hope, we are tied to Him. He is our anchor.
With this in mind, it is important to realize that everyone has hope. Everyone ties themselves to something. We sometimes hear people say that they have no hope, but that is not true. Even a suicidal person has placed their hope in the belief that death will bring them comfort and peace. Some people place their hope in wealth thinking that if they just have enough money they will be safe and comfortable in life. Others place their hope in intelligence thinking that if they know all the answers they will be safe. Others hope that popularity or materialism will give them peace. Hermits hope that if they can withdraw enough from society and other people they will be safe and comfortable. There are hundreds of things people place their hope in, but only one thing that will give eternal comfort and salvation: hope in Jesus Christ.
As we "tie" ourselves to Him, amazing things begin to happen. Like Theseus, we find the way back to safety and security well defined and navigable. In addition, we experience something Theseus never did. When our hope is tied to Christ, we feel him pulling us along, helping us make the journey, helping bear the weight of our burdens which makes the journey lighter.
When we are "tied" to Jesus Christ, we hope not just in His saving power, but in all of His teachings and doctrines. We have our own golden cord of hope and therefore fully expect to find our way back into the presence of God–an eternal place of safety and comfort.