Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Desire

 I was just reading in 3 Nephi 28. This the chapter were the 12 disciples Jesus chose to minister and teach the people of the Nephites/Lamanites are basically each granted a wish. "What is it that ye desire of me?" is the question Jesus asks them. Later in the chapter, Mormon writes about how the Lord explained that a change was made in the 3 who desired to continue bringing souls to Christ until he came again. 

Our bodies and our minds and feelings are constantly undergoing changes. Cells die and new cells form. We learn and our ideas and perceptions about life and people and the world around us alter based on our life experiences. Our feelings can alter vastly in a matter of moments and can ebb and flow like the ocean tide. 

But all these changes are guided in their direction based on our desires and our commitment to those desires. We all have desires we don't see happening. I desire to lose 30 pounds. But I also desire to eat ice cream. So while I am working on the weight by working out and trying to eat healthy, it is not coming off too quickly because... well ice cream (and other treats I also desire to eat.)

When life experiences happen to us, it is only through aligning our will with the Father's, that we can truly change to become like our Savior. When our will (our desires) are in line with the Father's, we learn in His light. We seek to perceive in His views. And our desires for things of the world fall away.

The problem is that it is hard to live in the world and maintain our spiritual desires to be on par with the Father's. That whole physics law of everything going to chaos - entropy - it is real. It takes constant effort to maintain our spiritual desires. We don't live in heaven any more. We don't have the Savior living among us. But we have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost if we will receive it.

This is why the little daily things of praying and reading scriptures and serving others etc are so important. These little things help us feed and grow in our spiritual desires. They help us feel the Spirit. They help us align our will with the Fathers. And as we feed and grow in our desires, change will come. We will become a bit more like our Savior, little by little. Change will come. It will start by honing our desires.