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Stephen H. Peterson Devotional: Gaining the Desires of the Heart

The Lord will grant to us the desires of our hearts, be they good or evil, taught Elder Stephen H. Peterson, BYU-Hawaii service missionary and project manager, during the weekly devotional April 28 in the Cannon Activities Center. Elder Peterson taught, "The Lord explained, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

Elder Peterson encouraged the students to think about the desires of their hearts multiple times during his address, saying, "I hope to motivate you to look inward, to examine the desires of your heart. Think about the things that you really want out of life. What do you spend your precious idle time thinking about? Do you have aspirations about your chosen career – if not maybe you are on the wrong path. But more important where is your heart. Are you striving for perfection? Do you desire to leave behind all of your sins? Have you had that mighty change of heart described by Alma?"

Quoting a number of scriptures, Elder Peterson explained that the Lord has promised to grant us the desires of our hearts, no matter what they are. One of those scriptures, Mark 11:24 reads, "Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever you desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

"God is much more generous than we can even comprehend," continued Elder Peterson. "We must understand that He is driven by a desire to give us a fair and complete test. He will respond not only to our needs, but also our wants – and judge us for them."

A number of stories in the scriptures illustrate this point, and Elder Peterson shared two; Christ's apostle John and three of the apostles in the Americas, known today as the Three Nephites, desired to live forever to share the gospel with many. To the Three Nephites, Christ said, "Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me. Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men..."

Additionally, King Solomon of the Old Testament was also blessed because of the righteous desires of his heart. King Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom and knowledge so he could be a good king and a just judge. God granted this desire of Solomon's heart, and his "wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt." King Solomon was also blessed with great riches, equal to the greatness of his wisdom.

Elder Peterson then shared examples from his own life, and how the desires of his heart have often been exceeded by blessings he has received from the Lord. He was always interested in engines and mechanics, and hoped to work with them in his career. During college, Elder Peterson joined the ROTC, and after graduation he accepted a commission to the Air Force, which eventually allowed him to work on maintenance for airplanes as well as other jobs involving mechanics, keeping him happy. At the time of his retirement from the Air Force, Elder Peterson was serving as a bishop in Redlands, California, and he struggled for more than six months to find employment.

At this point in his address, Elder Peterson interjected some counsel for the students: "I offer some timely advice for all of you. These are hard times. Finding a job may be difficult. Don't take it personally. Do not let it affect your self-esteem. Self-examination is useful. Depression is not! You will find good employment but you may have to be patient."

Elder Peterson continued by sharing the stories of his next employment opportunities and they exceeded the desires of his heart, including his employment with Ford Aerospace in the field of computer integrated manufacturing systems.

Other job opportunities followed, including directing a missile defense program, the head of an engineering department, and a plant manager in England and Nevada, among others.

Elder Peterson, however, had one more strong desire: "[Sister Peterson and I] wanted to go on a mission while we were young enough to enjoy the work and had enough energy to be productive." At the same time, their bishop had the feeling they needed to serve a mission as well. The three of them prayed, and determined that it was time for the Petersons to serve a mission. During their physicals, Elder Peterson explained that he found out he had cancer. "The reason for the call now was abundantly clear." Because of that physical, the cancer was discovered and treated before it caused any harm. "What an incredible blessing as a result of our desire to go on a mission," he added.

The Petersons were called to serve a mission to the Republic of Georgia in Eastern Europe as the country director for humanitarian work. They loved their time there, and though the church in that area was small, they met success and loved their service. "Our desires for a productive mission were again something better than we expected," remarked Elder Peterson.

They served another mission at the Park City Family History Center in Utah, and are now on their third mission. "I really love working for the Lord."

Elder Peterson closed by sharing three powerful principles associated with desires 1. Seek not for riches, but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. 2. The second principle states the conditions required to fulfilling our desires. There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. 3. "The third principle has to do with timing. The Lord operates according to his time line – not yours – remember it took me 24 years in the Air Force and a couple of years as a consultant to get into automotive."

"Get your heart right – I promise you that all else will follow. Said the prophet Joseph, The nearer man approached perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his maker and is caught up to dwell with Him."

"I challenge you to search your heart with the desire to become pure, even perfect. I pray that you will desire that your sins be as scarlet that you may give them away, that you may abhor sin, that you may strive for perfection in all that you do. In order to do that, you must stand in holy places, let your eyes see no evil, let your ears hear no evil, and keep your hands clean."

--Photo by Monique Saenz