Some days, by the time work is done, I am just tired. The kind of tired that settles into your patience, your words, your tone. And on those days, I don't always speak with love. I know better. But knowing and living aren't always the same thing, are they?
I've been thinking a lot about why that gap exists — and what to do about it.
The 4 C's of Editing
In the world of writing and journalism, editors use a framework called the 4 C's to evaluate and improve any piece of writing. The four principles are simple:
- Clarity — Is the meaning clear and easy to understand?
- Consistency — Are the choices uniform and reliable throughout?
- Correctness — Is it accurate, true, and free of error?
- Completeness — Is anything missing that needs to be there?
Editors don't throw out a draft just because it has problems. They sit with it. They look for what's working and what isn't. They revise with patience and purpose. And then they hand it back — better than before, but still a work in progress. Sounds familiar?
President Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, once said:
"Each of us can do a little better than we have been doing. We can be a little more kind. We can be a little more merciful. We can be a little more forgiving. We can put behind us our weaknesses of the past, and go forth with new energy and increased resolution to improve the world about us."
When I read that, I understand that we are just asked to be a little better and to give a little more of ourselves. The Lord does not expect perfection or completeness from us in this life, but He requires our willingness to grow and keep improving.
Living the 4 C's
So what does it look like to apply these editing principles to living the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Clarity means knowing who you are and what you believe — clearly enough that it shows up under pressure. When I hold the Savior's image in my mind, the noise quiets. I remember what matters. His image brings clarity to my mind.
Clarity isn't just intellectual knowledge of the gospel. It's His image becoming so internalized that it shows in how you speak, how you listen, and how you respond to every situation in our lives.
Consistency is the hardest C. It's not enough to get it right once. We have to get it right all the way through, even when we're tired, even when the conversation is hard, even when no one is watching. Editors call this failure style drift — when a document starts strong and then, under the pressure of length and fatigue, begins to wander. I know that drift. I've lived it on my most exhausting days. But here's what I'm learning: consistency isn't built by willpower alone. It's built by returning to the source often. My walks on Temple Square. My time in the temple. My scripture study. My prayers. These are my checkpoints — the moments where I return to myself, to Him, and ask: Am I still on track?
Correctness means aligning our lives to truth. In editing, correctness is about gently realigning the text to what it was always meant to say. The Savior does this for us. He doesn't correct us with harshness. He corrects us with love — quietly redirecting us back to the truth of who we are and who we can become.
Completeness is perhaps the most tender of the four. It asks: Is anything missing? Have I left something unsaid that needed to be said? Have I skipped the person right in front of me because I was too tired to see them? Completeness in the gospel means not just going through the motions, but being truly present. Appreciating what — and who — is right in front of us.
The Perfect Editor
I am not the editor of my own life. I can make revisions. I can try harder. I can return to my checkpoints and recalibrate. But the One who truly sees the whole manuscript is the Savior. He works with it patiently and mercifully.
That's what makes Him the Perfect Editor. Not because He demands a flawless first draft — but because He is always willing to sit with us in the revision. He sees what we were always meant to be, and He helps us find our way back to it.
An Invitation
If you're anything like me, you've had days where you didn't live up to what you believe. Days when the tiredness won. Days when the wrong version of you walked into the room. That's okay. That's one of your drafts. The Perfect Editor hasn't given up on you. So return to the checkpoints. Hold His image in your mind. Appreciate what — and who — is right in front of you. And trust that every small revision, every little more, is not lost. It is becoming something more beautiful than you can yet see.
We are all works in progress. But we have the perfect Editor — and He believes in us.
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