What Desirest Thou?

1 Nephi 11:2-3 And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what ^adesirest thou?   

The question, "What desirest thou?" really can reveal who we are and where we are headed.  If we can truthfully look at our desires and honestly prioritize them, we can know where we are going.  Maybe it's easiest to evaluate our desire based on our actions.  Because what we do is a physical evidence of what we want.  

If I say I want to become a great pianist, and spend my days watching television, then obviously my desire to be a pianist isn't very strong.  Our actions and our desires have to be aligned for us to progress.

The general conference talk from April 2011 by Lynn G. Robbins discusses this idea.  He talks about DO and BE and says in order to BE the person we want to be, we must DO the things to get us there.  We may pretend to BE a righteous person, but in secret we are DOING things we shouldn't be doing.  Or we may DO good things to be seen of men, but have wicked motives.  Which brings me back to desires.

In my times of contemplation, of worship, of prayer, I truly desire to be the best daughter of my Heavenly Father that I can be.  But then life interferes and I may slight my scripture study, or ignore a prompting to call my neighbor, or snap at my husband.  However, if I focus on my righteous desires, I will prioritize scripture study, try harder to listen to the Spirit, attend the temple and apologize to my husband.  My desires will be fulfilled as my righteous actions lead me closer to my Father in Heaven.

We Heeded Them Not

Nephi tells this part of his father's vision of the Tree of Life:  And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of ^ascorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not.

One of Satan's powerful tools is ridicule and he uses it brilliantly.  Having the approval and acceptance of others is a basic human need, and when we don't get it, it can be devastating.   


This scorn can come in many ways.  Sometimes it comes from those close to us, from family or friends or acquaintances.  Other times it may be more generalized, as when national figures such as athletes or movie stars or comedians or politicians ridicule the church, or righteous standards.  Our society loves to support and praise immorality and drug use and drunkenness, while scoffing at virtue and sobriety and honesty.


But Nephi simply says, ". . . we heeded them not".  He didn't struggle with it, he just ignored it.  He later tells us that those people who paid attention to the ridicule coming from the spacious building fell away and were lost.


A lady in my ward told about someone at work who has set a goal to get her to drink a cup of coffee.  She keeps saying that it's just one cup of coffee and it won't hurt her.  So she asks her several times a day if she'd like a cup of coffee.  This sweet young woman just turns her down over and over.  She heeds her not.

Exceedingly Great Joy

Who doesn't want "exceedingly great joy"?  But how do we get it?  What must we do?

Lehi gives the answer as he recounts his dream of the Tree of Life.  The thing that gave him exceedingly great joy was to partake of the fruit.

It's not always easy or convenient to partake of the fruit.  Sometimes it involves sacrifice.  But the reward is so great!

It's interesting to me that the very next thing Lehi did after he partook of the fruit and experienced such joy was to look around for his family.  Of course he would want to share such joy with his loved ones.  What point is there in keeping joy to yourself?  When your loved ones experience joy also, it multiplies your own joy.  Who hasn't watched their children tearfully bear their testimony, while tears ran down their own faces?  We rejoice in the righteous lives and examples of our children.  We rejoice in our Savior.  We rejoice in the Fruit.  This is true joy.