How much desire do you have? You can quantify desire in terms of what you are willing to sacrifice to obtain what you seek.
One story from the life of a missionary named Ammon illustrates how desire varies. When Ammon had defeated a king in battle, the king offered him half his kingdom to spare his life:
Now the king, fearing he should lose his life, said: If thou wilt spare me I will grant unto thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, even to half of the kingdom. (Alma 20:23)
Later, when Ammon’s brother taught the king the gospel, the king offered to give away his entire kingdom to know God:
`And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy. (Alma 22:15)`
In offering everything he had, the king showed that his desire for Christ was greater than his fear of death.
There is no limit to how much desire you can have. It is possible to have so much desire that you can conquer any challenge possible in this life. In fact, to overcome all things and obtain eternal life, you must desire to seek and obey God more than anything else.
Jesus plainly taught that obtaining all he offers requires a fullness of desire:
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13)
26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14)
For some reason, in spite of the plainness with which God has explained the totality required to obtain him, people consistently swap out something less than everything in their understanding of what it takes. One such person came to Jesus professing reconciliation to God and was surprised when Jesus pointed out what should have been obvious to him— that he was holding back a great deal from God:
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19)
If you can think of anything you wouldn’t want to go through if that were the price of obtaining what you desire, then your desire is limited. If your reasons and experiences revealed that the suffering you are unwilling to endure is in fact required to obtain what you say you desire, you will either have to increase your desire, or accept that you do not actually want what you say you want. Instead, what you really want is to avoid the suffering that has waylaid you. There will always be suffering beyond what you yet know, which is why there is no limit to the amount of desire you can have.
What are you holding back? Are you scared to desire the greatest things, because you think you can protect yourself from disappointment by doing so? A desire that is limited to only some things will never generate the actions needed to obtain all things.
Do you hold back obedience to some potential improvement you already know of? Those who limit what they will do for God limit what God can do for them.
Do not underestimate the power or potential of desire. If you open your eyes, you will see those around you with incredible desire. You may even know someone who exercises a fullness of desire. This degree of desire is within the potential of all people, but exceedingly few dare to exercise it. Most prefer to cower before the fear they have of daring to dream—of daring to believe that God truly is as good as we’ve been told by people who know him better.
Do you believe God can give you all things? The Lord said: “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.” (Enos 1:15)
Those with great faith have great desire. They do not constrain their desires through unbelief. They dare to dream. They are happy to have God point out to them the limits of their present desires so that they can learn to desire better things.