1 Corinthians 4:5

"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God."

1 Corinthians 4:5

"Make manifest the counsels of the hearts." ... in some ways that is scary... people will know what I am thinking, and have thought. I don't always think good, positive thoughts. ... but in other ways it is really, really good: I have *always* wanted to be able to communicate with other people my thoughts... how I really feel, what is really there in my mind and heart... I think that we would be able to talk more openly, about everything. I love language, or I wouldn't teach it, but sometimes it can get in the way of your message. An author named Nancy Kress in one of her books, talked about this invention in the possible future, kind of a holographic thought projector. It allowed people to see not only the core thought, but all of the relationships to that thought in the mind. When we take even our thoughts out of context, let alone our words, they are easy to misinterpret, so if you could see all the relationships that go along with that thought... all the side paths and connections that your brain makes as you are thinking, then you would have truer communication than we have now. Anyway, babbling about books... but sincerely, imagine what it would be like to know the thoughts of someone else. So great for your friends, for people you care about, because you have another way to show affection, and they can feel that respect that you have for them... and SO bad for people you don't like, or who don't like you, because even if in that moment you find out that they are cooler than you thought, your negative thoughts about them are screaming in everyone's heads... perhaps a possibility involved with why we couldn't stand to be in the Lord's presence if we are actively involved in sin... could you stand all of the good people in heaven to hear your thoughts, let alone the Lord himself? Let's work on changing our thought patterns and negative emotions now, so that we won't be cringing when the Lord makes them manifest.

Omni 1:1-2

"Behold, it came to pass that I, Omni, being commanded by my father, Jarom, that I should write somewhat upon these plates, to preserve our genealogy—

Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done."

Omni 1:1-2

I think that we all feel like this sometimes... that we haven't kept the commandments or listened to God as well as we "ought to have done." When we feel like that, the challenge is to get better at those things, and not just accept ourselves as we are. We can always improve and grow, no matter where we are in our lives... good or bad. God isn't judging us based on an impossible standard... he just wants us to become better than we are now. If we work on improving, then we'll become better, and over time we'll reach heights we hadn't dreamed we could ever attain. Today, let's pick an aspect of our lives that needs improvement and work on that... even if we start at zero, we can still make a difference in our lives. Life with God is better than life without. :)