I want to start today by studying the words of the prophets: I have seen a few things lately that I wouldn’t necessarily count as “pornography” but they were not really things I’d like to keep looking at nor do I feel they allow the Spirit to be with me much.
I’ve felt those same temptations today and hope that this study will help change me “desires” and “appetites”.
I hope each of us will search our hearts to determine what we really desire and how we rank our most important desires.
Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming.
“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (D&C 88:63).
When we have a vision of what we can become, our desire and our power to act increase enormously.
…all of us face potential traps that will prevent progress toward our eternal destiny. If our righteous desires are sufficiently intense, they will motivate us to cut and carve ourselves free from addictions and other sinful pressures and priorities that prevent our eternal progress.
As Elder Neal A. Maxwell said:
“When people are described as ‘having lost their desire for sin,’ it is they, and they only, who deliberately decided to lose those wrong desires by being willing to ‘give away all [their] sins’ in order to know God.”
“Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity.”6
This is a great and fitting talk for me right now.
My desires seem to go back and forth. I recently finished reading the Book of Mormon and also the classic book “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Both books seemed to help me have better desires: when I found myself with nothing to do, I read from great books.
I guess my question to myself and to God is “How can I maintain these desires on a continual basis?” “What can I do to hold myself more accountable?”
One area of my life that I feel is lacking is humble prayers to my Father in Heaven. “He does hear and answer prayers. He will be there when [I] need him most.” (Patriarchal Blessing).
I have desires to get into a better daily routine.
I have desires to serve my family and people around me.
I have desires to serve full-time missions with my family and wife.
I have desires to share my testimony with anyone who is ready to listen.
I have desires to do God’s will for me and for my family.
I have desires to provide a living for my family that will give each of us all the opportunities to grow, develop talents, and learn.
But, unfortunately, I’m also a “natural man – an enemy to God…and will be forever and ever unless [I] put off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ…”
I want to go to the temple more often.
I want to read the scriptures again – this time with a topical study as opposed to just reading for “fun”.
I want to magnify my callings as a teacher and home teacher to less active families.
I most of all want to REMEMBER these desires to do what’s right when I’m tempted to fall into temptation or addictive tendencies.
I love my family. Becky is expecting our FOURTH baby in July! We’re all really excited about that. I want to be the best father and husband.
Hasta luego!
Nate
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