Real Intent

The authentic, complete submission to the will of Heaven because that has become one’s sole objective. It is not to get a great reward, nor to negotiate some blessing here and now, nor to become great in the eyes of Heaven. It is simply to have no other object in mind than to glorify God. It is the intention to not be influenced by any other motive but the building of God’s kingdom.

Covenant of Christ and the Book of Mormon uniquely use this term. Real intent is required for acceptable prayer: It’s similarly counted as evil if a person prays without real intent of heart (Moroni 7:2 CE). Real intent is also mandatory to obtain the gift of the Holy Ghost: I know if you follow the Son with all your heart — without being hypocritical or deceptive before God but acting with pure intent, repenting of your sins, showing to the Father you are willing to take upon yourselves the name of Christ by baptism, by following your Lord and Savior down into the water according to His word — then you will receive the Holy Ghost (2 Nephi 13:2 CE). The best description of real intent comes from the resurrected Nephi when he appeared to Joseph Smith and revealed the existence of a buried record. After informing Joseph of the plates and departing, Nephi returned, and after repeating the same message again, he added this:… a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family) to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbid me, saying that I musthave no other object in view in getting the platesbut to glorify God, andmust not be influenced by any other motive but that of building his kingdom, otherwise I could not get them (JSH 3:8). This is Joseph’s best explanation of real intent, and he learned it from an angel. The tendency to seek one’s own will is evil. It is also evil to feign cooperation with Heaven when one’s real desire is to get something from Heaven. God’s will should be good enough to justify seeking to do it.¹