There is nothing like being bombarded, from all angles, with a message. The first thing was a reminder that this month’s Visiting Teaching message should come out of the Conference Addresses. That is always difficult for me to do; I sometimes pick several and combine their message, or pick a different one for each sister, but this one kind of knocked me in the head, so I nodded.

The second thing was a lesson we had on, I guess you could say–cleansing your soul. Reevaluate your prayers, look in the mirror and really LOOK in the mirror, set goals and write them down, even create a board to look at daily. That reminded me of years ago an artist friend telling me to do just that. By creating a Design Board, Wish Board, Focus Board (call it what you want), you can stay focused all year long reaching the desires of your heart. Each year you do a new one as you grow, accomplish, and extend yourself.

As I pulled together a newsletter for my Relief Society, I randomly grabbed some conference talks off the Internet and happened on Elder Oak’s talk—Desire.  As I read it, everything fell into place.

I recalled the first Wish Board I had made. It was done on a large mat board and I had cut up pictures of some of my favorite things, with the idea that I was doing all right and I could just keep doing what I was doing. I liked to read, to decorate, to serve; I had happy memories, I had hopes of traveling, on and on and on and on.

Today, my board is quite different. Now, the board isn’t the important thing, but if you would like to make one here’s a quick how-to:

• Use a manila file folder. It’s easier to store so you can keep it and compare over the years.
• With the Internet, you can search any image you could possibly need. You can add personal photos. You can be as creative as you want because this is yours. The Internet just opens the world up better than a little old magazine.
• For my first one, I let the pictures be my thoughts. Now, I write in my thoughts. And nowadays my thoughts run much deeper than any picture.
• Be honest. If you don’t absolutely love looking at your board, you haven’t been honest with yourself. Rip it up and start over.

I went ahead and made a board, but you know, another thing I learned is I like to write about my accomplishments, rather than my goals. That’s something that has changed in me over the years. I already know the road I’m on. It’s just a matter of getting everything done, and boy does it feel good to get GOOD things done.

Here are my highlights of Elder Oaks’ talk, but I encourage you to read it to get your own highlights.

“ I have chosen to talk about the importance of desire.

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.

First I speak of some common desires.   Three examples will demonstrate how we sometimes override these desires with other desires that we consider more important.

First, food. We have a basic need for food, but for a time that desire can be overridden by a stronger desire to fast.

Second, shelter. As a 12-year-old boy I resisted a desire for shelter because of my greater desire to fulfill a Boy Scout requirement to spend a night in the woods.

Third, sleep.  I learned an example of this from a combat-seasoned officer. In one battle they had to repel a direct assault by hundreds of enemy infantry. The captain had the field telephone lines wired into his tent and ordered his numerous perimeter guards to phone him personally each hour on the hour all night long.  When asked how he could do this, his answer shows the power of an overriding desire.“I knew that if we ever got home, I would be meeting the parents of those boys on the streets in our small town, and I didn’t want to face any of them if their son didn’t make it home because of anything I failed to do as his commander.”

What an example of the power of an overriding desire on priorities and on actions! What a powerful example for all of us who are responsible for the welfare of others—parents, Church leaders, and teachers!

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. We should remember that righteous desires cannot be superficial, impulsive, or temporary. They must be heartfelt, unwavering, and permanent. “Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity.

Another great teaching on desire, especially on what should be our ultimate desire, occurs in the experience of the Lamanite king being taught by the missionary Aaron. When Aaron’s teaching caught his interest, the king asked, “What shall I do that I may be born of God” and “have this eternal life?” (Alma 22:15). Aaron replied, “If thou desirest this thing, … if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest” (verse 16). The king did so and in mighty prayer declared, “I will give away all my sins to know thee … and be saved at the last day” (verse 18).

In modern revelation the Lord declares that He “will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts” (D&C 137:9). Readjusting our desires to give highest priority to the things of eternity is not easy. We are all tempted to desire that worldly quartet of property, prominence, pride, and power. We might desire these, but we should not fix them as our highest priorities.”

Now, this is the amazing thing that I learned about myself. Years ago, I was more concerned with my life being “just right”. The perfect life meant being able to buy what I wanted, when I wanted, anything I wanted. I was pretty satisfied with the limited, self-serving image I had of myself.

As I gathered my thoughts, pictures, and ideas for this new “wish board”, I realized that I was after different things, more holy things, yet I believe I’m quite a bit more interesting than I used to be. My study of the Relief Society plays a significant role in how I spend my time. And I don’t labor over scripture reading like I used to; I relish the joy of learning these glorious doctrines. I still want to travel, but there’s a purpose to my traveling bug now. My thoughts include the Lord more than ever before.

Something that has always bothered me is running into people who say they are too busy and they don’t have time. Well, aren’t we all too busy and short on time? Or is that code for I’m more important than you?

Elder Oaks, with one swipe of his two-edged sword, has cut that excuse to ribbons. Fasting over Food. Achievement over Shelter. Accountability over Sleep. When we put our faith in the Lord, we can overcome our limitations. We can delete the unnecessary. We can pursue that which brings life eternal.

When our desire is for things of this world, we will be dragged down and our vision will be limited. Sure our boards will be pretty. You bet, we’ll have things to brag about. But they will decay and leave us empty and boring.

I have learned for myself that I am much bigger than my little board. It may be a stepladder to keep me focused, but as I work on becoming more holy, I will reach beyond and onward.