The Lord Looketh on the Heart

I'm teaching an interesting lesson in Elder's Quorum today. And by "interesting" I mean unusual and, in my case, difficult to understand. The lesson is Teachings of Presidents of the Church - Lorenzo Snow, Chapter 8: "Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart." If I'm reading it right, it seems to be about the fact that since the Lord sees our hearts, we should be careful to make sure our hearts are pure.

I'm not sure how I'm going to teach this lesson. It would make sense to start by reading a paragraph out of the manual (the one that tells how people sometimes carry written character references that don't match their true character), then start a discussion contrasting true character and reputation. Then we could talk about the way people are on the inside doesn't always match the way they seem on the outside. And the Lord sees both.

In a way, it doesn't matter what my friends think of me, or what my Bishop thinks, or my mom, or even myself. The only judge that matters, eternally, is God. Am I doing right by Him?

President Snow recommends self-reflection. "It would be well to examine ourselves, hold communion with ourselves in the secret closet, to ascertain how we stand... before the Lord, so that if need be we may renew our diligence and faithfulness, and increase our good works."

I know that I, personally, need to frequently renew my diligence and faithfulness, or they will waiver. Fortunately, I'll have an opportunity to do that in only a few hours, while I take the Sacrament. Today, I will rededicate myself to the Lord and His service. Today, I'll pledge to try harder to resist evil and choose the right. Today, I'll ask for renewed inner strength and will-power to overcome my shortcomings and to become more like what God wants me to be.

And if that doesn't fill all the time I'm given for my lesson, I'll share highlights from the lesson I was supposed to teach last week.