Elder Neil L. Andersen Says Educating Righteous Desires Is Lifelong Quest

Speaking Tuesday at a devotional during Brigham Young University’s Education Week, Elder Neil L. Andersen spoke about the Church’s commitment to education, the lifelong process of “educating of our righteous desires,” and the foundational role of temple covenants.

The Value of Education

Elder Andersen, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told a crowded Marriott Center audience on August 20, 2024, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints values education.”

He said the Church’s commitment to a university education is apparent in its support of:

• Three BYU universities and Ensign College, with more than 75,000 enrolled students.
• BYU–Pathway, with more than 66,000 enrolled students across the world.
• 6,000 professional university and Pathway instructors.
• More than 700,000 enrolled students in the Church seminary and institute program plus 3,000 instructors and 60,000 volunteer teachers and missionaries.
• More than a billion dollars for the support of education each year.

“Our education allows us to think more deeply, to better understand the world in which we live, and to greatly improve our work opportunities,” he said.

The devotional coincided with BYU Education Week, August 19–23, an annual five-day conference in Provo, Utah, offering close to 1,000 classes for youth and adults on a variety of topics.

Newsroom 2024 BYU Education Week Coverage

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Educating Righteous Desires

Referencing this year’s Education Week theme from Romans Chapter 12: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,” Elder Andersen focused on “one of the deepest parts of renewal ... the refining, purifying and educating of our already righteous desires. ... Not the learning of a skill, not information inserted into the mind — the education of our desires.”

“Our desires are profoundly important, and at the foundation of how we choose to live our life,” he said. “Desire is initiated by one’s own will and agency, and it works within us.”

Righteous desires include believing in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, following Him, caring about others’ well-being, being worthy of eternal life, obtaining or living with an eternal companion, raising children worthy of God’s blessings, helping build the Kingdom of God, and living the Lord’s laws of happiness.

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“What does it mean to educate my spiritual desires?” Elder Andersen asked. “We educate our desires as we refine and purify our already righteous desires. ... When the framework of our desires are righteous, we then educate them in such a way that the attributes we live align with the desires of our heart. ... We shape our lives in a way that will allow our desires to be realized.”

The process of educating our desires combines two sets of gifts, he said. First are our effort, sincerity, real intent, courage, and choices. The second are “the added blessings from the gifts and grace that our Heavenly Father gives to us.”

The process requires time and patience. “Our road to becoming is more than a marathon; it is the journey of a lifetime … and well beyond,” he said.

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Throughout mortality, we “seek to better know and understand our Heavenly Father’s desires for us,” he taught. “Then step by step, year by year, through His grace and our will, our desires become one with His.”

The Foundational Role of Temple Covenants

Elder Andersen said he felt impressed to speak about the five covenants Latter-day Saints make in the holy endowment in the temple, which are “foundational to educating your righteous desires.” They are:

1. Live the law of obedience and strive to keep Heavenly Father’s commandments.
2. Obey the law of sacrifice, which means sacrificing to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit.
3. Obey the law of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the higher law that He taught while He was on the earth.
4. Keep the law of chastity.
5. Keep the law of consecration [see “General Handbook,” “Temple Ordinances for the Living,” Chapter 27, p. 229].

In His house, the temple, God speaks to and teaches His children through His Spirit. Because He knows and understands your strengths, weaknesses, anxieties, hopes, longings, fears, private struggles and faith, “the Lord’s revelation … is His truth, especially for you, His encouragement and comfort to you, His correction of you, His love for you,” Elder Andersen said.

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While “our need to educate our righteous desires is very much individualized,” Elder Andersen shared an example of how one might approach educating their righteous desires in the temple and then gave a promise.

“We study these desires in our mind. We reason through what we are willing to think or do, how we are willing to use our agency. We consider the gifts and grace we will need for our desires to actually improve, actually be educated,” he said.

“My promise to you is that as you thoughtfully prepare to enter the Lord’s house, with willing hearts, with real intent, awaiting the Lord’s direction, you will receive the lifting power to educate your desires and strengthen you in your desire to become.”

In conclusion, Elder Andersen said the best example of aligning our desires with the will of the Father is our Savior, Jesus Christ. “While our struggles can in no way imaginable be measured against His, His incomparable example of aligning His will with the will of the Father brings us a beautiful vision of our way forward.”