Hope is the ability of the mind to contemplate the future through a promise made by a higher power, whether that power is in the form of a human institution or by God. Promises made provide a form of hope, or peace of mind, from worry about the future; for the human mind is not only capable of storing the past in the form of memory, but it is also capable of contemplating the future either in hope, or hopelessness. Obedience to God's laws became a factor in the "hope" process, for any hope beyond the grave rested in the hands of a superior being that, alone, possesses the power of Eternal Life.

Richard O. Govier (1928-2018) was a Protestant pastor and missionary and travelled the world in that capacity. He planted a number of churches as well as training pastors who served in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and across the United States.