What They Said Wednesday–Elder Dallin H. Oaks

(Seems I have missed the last two weeks. Ooops!)

Talk: Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Importance of Desire

• Desires dictate our priorities. Priorities shape our choices. Choices determine our actions
• Desires to satisfy our needs compels our choices and determine our actions
• Common Desires and overriding desires
  • Food - fasting
  • Shelter - camping
  • Sleep - story of military unit from Richfield, Utah.
    • Commander stayed up all night to make sure his men stayed awake and safe.
    • “I knew if we ever got home I would be meeting the parents of those boys.”
• 3 Essentials
  • Desire
  • Labor
  • Faith
    • Alma taught that faith begins with a desire to believe
• Alma 22:18 - Aaron teaching the King of the Lamanites - I will give away all my sins to know thee.
• The lord will judge all men according their works, according to the desire of their hearts (D&C 137:9).
  • Are we prepared to have such dire consequences attached to our desires?
• Readjusting our desires is not easy.
• We often desire that worldly quartet: Property, prominence, pride, and power
• How do we develop our desires?
  • Begin with a desire for such qualities
• Story of the Moab Hiker, Aron Ralston (from 127 Hours - that’s the correct spelling)
• When we have a vision of what we can become our desire and our (power to …) increase enormously.
• All of us face potential traps that can prevent our forward destiny.
• We should remember that righteous desires cannot be superficial, temporary
  • Must be heartfelt, unwavering, and permanent
  • Must be willing to overcome ALL our sins
• “What we consistently desire over time is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity.”
  • Elder Neil A. Maxwell, October 1996, “According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts”
• Important to LOSE desire to sin.
  • Eternal beings forgive all who wrong them
  • Welfare of other above themselves
  • Will of God above theirs 
• All should desire and work towards a temple marriage.
  • Back to the opening prayer - bring them into the “safety of the covenants.”
• Each should reject the politically correct but utterly false disregard for the importance of marriage.
• Guys and girls--don’t just hang out, don’t put career first--be prepared to commit and have a family.
• Our desires dictate our priorities, our priorities shape our choices, and our choices determine our actions.