Where is my Heart?

I will be the last one to tell you that a mission is easy.
I will be the first to tell you that it is worth it.
You see so many miracles, testifying that God is in the details of your life and in the lives of those you serve.
You see the Gospel change hearts and minds, especially your own.
You hear wonderful words of counsel, both from the Holy Spirit and from your inspired leaders who have been called of God.
You have the chance to help others "taste as [you] have tasted, and...see eye to eye as [you] have seen." (Alma 36:26)
Most importantly, you are being an instrument in the Lord's hand to further His work here upon the earth.

Just last weekend I had the opportunity to hear words of counsel from my mission president. He said something that really struck me. He quoted Elder David A. Bednar who said that 'heart' in the scriptures is, "The sum total of our desires, affections, intention, motives and attitudes. Thus, our hearts determine who we are and what we will become."
The heart is so important. It is the center of physical well-being. Without our heart, we would not be able to live. Besides being for our physical well-being, our heart is what the Lord sees. For, the Lord sees "not as man seeth...for the Lord looketh on the heart."* He sees our desires, our affections, our intentions, our motives and our attitudes.
There is a list of questions that ask, in a nutshell, 'where is my heart?' in any given situation.
    What are my desires?
    Where are my affections?
    What are my intentions?
    What are my motives?
    What is my attitude?
As I asked these questions, I realized just how deep of a self-evaluation these questions were. They made me think about everything I did, how I did it, and why I did it.
And that is the point of this life: to find out where our hearts are and to put our hearts in the right place so that we will be prepared to return to the presence of God. (Alma 34:32)
Our hearts need to be in line with the Lord's will for us. We can seek to understand His will as we pray. In the Bible Dictionary it tells us that, "Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God..." Through sincere prayer we can come to know for ourselves the things that God will require of each of us personally and individually.

*1 Samuel 16:7