I particularly love teaching the gospel. I love helping people to feel the Spirit and learn something new and get excited about the teachings of Jesus Christ. I love inspiring people to do something good. And I love the way God blesses me each and every time I give it a go. I've never had a teaching calling in the church, per se. But I've taught a lot of Relief Society lessons. Every time I've been asked to teach, I've been enormously blessed by the experience and ended up feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for what God teaches me through the teaching process.
Recently, He blessed me with a new favorite scripture to add to my list of Soul Treasures.
The lesson was number eight in the Lorenzo Snow manual. The title, "Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart," comes from a Psalm of David:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24
What a beautiful prayer! What an example of humility and courage! Doesn't it seem strange that David would, while addressing God, call attention to his own flaws and weaknesses? Aren't those the things that we usually try to cover and hide, and beg God to overlook? Instead, David asks the Lord to search him, see his flaws, and lead him to a better path.
To me, this seems to reveal a more excellent relationship between Father and son. David really knew God. He knew His goodness and mercy, completely trusting him to see him as he really was and love him anyway. He also trusted him enough to put his life in God's hands, asking Him to direct him towards any and all changes for the better.
Lorenzo Snow encouraged us to adopt this prayer and make it our own every day of our lives. That sounds hard to me. We as imperfect mortals are pretty stubborn about doing things our own way. We're also very embarrassed of our flaws, and anxious to hide them. But the sooner we see God for what He is--our perfect, loving, merciful, all-knowing Father--it only makes sense. His perspective allows Him to see perfectly what is obstructed from our view. We do plenty of things in this life that are harmful to ourselves. He, on the other hand, will do nothing that will not make us happier, stronger, and more complete.
