Friday, August 30, 2024

D&C 7:4 -- On Joy and Desires

"And for this cause the Lord said unto Peter: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he might bring souls unto me, but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily come unto me in my kingdom."
Doctrine and Covenants 7:4


I like the idea that God rewards us according to our desires, and that we don't all have to have the same desires. After this, Christ clarifies to Peter that his desire was also good, and that "ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired."

There are a lot of things that we need to learn from God, and all of us need his help to change our hearts and to change our desires to a certain extent... so that we desire good, and God's will. God isn't, however, trying to drum out our individuality or change us into mindless zombie followers. He Loves us as individuals, and our desires, when they are good, are something that God also sees as good, and he rewards us with the things that we truly want. Not that we can always have what we want in this life, but God knows us perfectly (better than we know ourselves), and he is teaching us and leading us to joy in a personalized way, respecting who we are.

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