Elder B. Corey Cuvelier, a General Authority Seventy, inspired students to let God’s will become their greatest desire at the devotional on Nov. 11.
Elder Cuvelier is a BYU public relations graduate. He worked for Shell Oil Company and later served as a mission president in Brazil. Throughout changes in his life, Elder Cuvelier said the question, “What do you want?” would often guide him and his wife as they made decisions.
Before his career at Shell Oil Company, Elder Cuvelier had applied for a promising job. However, as he was being interviewed, the interviewer had fallen asleep.
“I paused and looked around, almost hoping someone would jump out with a camera and tell me I was on a prank show! But no such luck,” he said, and he didn't get the job.
After this disappointing interview, he found a stack of résumés for Shell Oil Company in the BYU career center and decided to apply. He was asked for an interview, in which the first question was, “What do you know about Shell?”
Unsure how to answer, he remembered a trick he learned in second grade. Pulling out his calculator, he typed "71077345" and held it upside down, showing the interviewer that it spelled “Shell Oil.”
Despite the lack of a better answer, his interviewer laughed and this experience led to Elder Cuvelier's eventual career.
“It’s interesting how life unfolds when we remain persistent and resilient, put forth effort and trust the Lord,” he explained. “Looking back, I can see that even in my insecurities, the résumés, the interviews and the calculator tricks, the Lord was guiding me toward something deeper — understanding a question He eloquently asked both John the Beloved and Nephi: ‘What desirest thou?’”
Elder Cuvelier said that when the Lord asks this question, He already knows the answer. Thus, He is not asking His followers for information, but for personal transformation. Elder Cuvelier explained that lasting joy is found in this transformation.
“We trade personal ambition for eternal purpose and replace fear with faith. And in that process, we discover that the Savior truly desires our joy — lasting, eternal joy,” he said.
Referencing Christ’s desire to always do the will of His Father, Elder Cuvelier said students should also make doing God’s will their greatest desire.
As a young full-time missionary in the Brazil São Paulo South Mission, Elder Cuvelier found that his desires shifted from good grades and athletic success to becoming more spiritually mature.
“That’s where my heart started to change — where I stopped asking only for blessings and started asking how I could be a blessing,” he said.
He said as he followed Apostle Neil L. Andersen’s counsel to “educate” his desires, he had to put forth great effort and rely on God’s grace.
After returning home from his mission and while attending BYU, Elder Cuvelier found himself missing the strong spiritual desires he once experienced on his mission. He decided to educate his desires by asking for a calling, worshiping in the temple and sharing his testimony.
“We must become fluent not only in our discipleship and in the gospel of Jesus Christ but also in the language of our disciplines, professions and training,” he said.
When Elder Cuvelier was on the BYU soccer team, he was once playing very poorly in a game at Notre Dame.
His coach called him off the field, and Elder Cuvelier kicked a chair in frustration.
However, his coach explained that he had called him to the sideline for another reason besides his performance. His teammate was in a medical emergency and needed a priesthood blessing.
“As I’ve reflected on that experience and others, I’ve learned that what once seems urgent becomes secondary, and what once seems small becomes sacred,” he said. “When we align our desires with the Savior, our perspective changes.”
To close, Elder Cuvelier invited the audience to dedicate quiet time to pray and share their deepest desires with God.
“If you pray with faith, seeking for inspiration to ask according to God’s will, He will answer. It will be done,” he said. “As you align your will with His, you will find peace, direction and joy beyond anything you could plan for yourself.”