The rule of mercy

Before we begin, I need to acknowledge that the thoughts and ideas expressed here this month are. at least in part, inspired by our Institute class instructor, Jack Helgeson – a man full of knowledge of the gospel and love for the Lord.

As we begin to read the scriptures, the first thing we often notice is the wrath and the judgments of God. We learn that the Father cannot tolerate sin “with the least degree of allowance.” (Alma 45:16, D&C 1:31) We learn that sin must be accounted for in one way or another – that if we are unrepentant, we must suffer for our sins, (D&C 19:15-18) and that our suffering will be exquisite and sore. We see Him destroy Sodom and Gomorra. We read of the flood. We see the Savior drive the moneychangers from the temple. We are told of the cataclysmic events we will see in the last days.


Many both in and out of the Church who study the scriptures never get past the fire and brimstone part. They preach a God of wrath and indignation who will strike with lightning, floods, fire, and pestilence. They preach a God who has little mercy and no sympathy for sinners. They warn us that if we don’t behave, bad things will happen to us.

But as we read more carefully, we rediscover our Savior and His loving Father as Gods of tender mercy. We discover that godly mercy underlies all of the scriptures and doctrine of the Great Plan of the Eternal God (Alma 34:9) and that the Savior delights to forgive. He wants to forgive. (D&C 58:42, Mosiah 26:30) Both He and his Father want us in His Father’s Kingdom. As Richard L. Evans has said so beautifully:

“Our Father in Heaven is not an umpire who is trying to count us out. He is not a competitor who is trying to outsmart us. He is not a prosecutor who is trying to convict us. He is a loving Father who wants our happiness and eternal progress and who will help us all he can if we will but give him in our lives an opportunity to do so with obedience and humility, and faith and patience.”

We are often judgmental of ourselves. We allow the adversary to plant thoughts of despair in our minds. We expand on his whisperings – we tell ourselves that we cannot live lives of sufficient piety and humility to warrant entry into the Celestial Kingdom. We are often most vulnerable and hardest on ourselves in the dark of night when we reexamine our lives with the willing support of the evil one. We find it easy, too often, to be judgmental of ourselves and others. We condemn ourselves and others to the lower kingdoms, sometimes on the flimsiest of evidence. In fact, we are not qualified to judge others or ourselves. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said this:

“Thus, we must refrain from making final judgments on people because we lack the knowledge and the wisdom to do so. We would even apply the wrong standards. …The Lord’s way of final judgment will be to apply His perfect knowledge of the law a person has received and to judge on the basis of that person’s circumstances, motives, and actions throughout his or her entire life (see Luke 12:47–48; John 15:22; 2 Ne. 9:25)…From all of this we see that the final judgment is the Lord’s and that mortals must refrain from judging any human being in the final sense of concluding or proclaiming that he or she is irretrievably bound for hell or has lost all hope of exaltation.” (Judge Not’ and Judging, Ensign, Aug 1999, 7)

How can we condemn others or ourselves when our own knowledge and effort is imperfect concerning the gospel? Brigham Young said:

"We have very scanty ideas concerning the great plan called the plan of salvation—the system of doctrine, ideas, and practices that pertain to all the intelligence that exists in eternity. Very small, minute, and abstract ideas and principles are given to the children of men in relation to it, because they can bear but little—a little here and a little there, as it is written by the Prophet, 'line upon line, and precept upon precept.'" (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886], 8: 33)

We who have imperfect knowledge of the law (and that includes all of us, to some extent or other) have our agency preserved by the very fact that we are ignorant of the law. In fact, we only know what the Lord wants us to know. Alma said:

"For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true." (Alma 29:8)

This is the rule of mercy. This is the great law: We are not held accountable for the things we do not know or understand. The unknown will never be held against us, but always for us. (Jack Helgeson) In fact, the spirit withdraws from us when we are wayward to protect us from knowledge the Lord senses that we cannot comprehend or apply, and to preserve our agency. Ignorance of law preserves our agency because if we knew all (as does the Father), the choices would be obvious. They would not be real choices.

Defining accountability is a complex process, one that is beyond the ability of any mortal mind. Such judgment is only possible for one who knows us, one who knows our thoughts, deeds, motives, and actions and circumstances.

When we enter an earthly court, we find that ignorance of the law is no excuse. This is because the judge and/or a jury of peers cannot discern your thoughts or the intentions of your heart. Justice is blind and must always be served. Mercy only comes when there is some reason for compassion established by lawyers for the defense or by the perception that the defendant is truthful about mitigating circumstances surrounding his/her misdeeds.

When we enter those “royal courts on high,” there is no contest between lawyers, no hidden fact, no possibility of untruth. Justice is not blind, and mercy is served first. The Judge (the Savior) has the ability of God to exercise judgment. No jury of peers is convened, and the lawyer for the defense is the Savior himself. He is our advocate with the Father. (1 John 2:1, D&C 29:5, 32:3, 45:3, 110:4) He is the mediator. He pleads our case with the Father even while he judges us. He alone can judge righteously because he knows each of us intimately. He knows our names. He knows our earthly circumstances. He knows our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts. He knows how much knowledge we possessed while on earth. He knows of our repentance for sin. He has suffered for our pains and sufferings and for our sins, “and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32, D&C 29:5) He will do everything in His power to offer mercy to each of us. The Lord describes His work – as delegated to Him by the Father – as follows: For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39)

Little children become accountable at age 8, when the Lord allows them to be tempted in small ways by the adversary. Until that time, Satan is bound concerning them. But accountability for sin for them (and us) is a process that occurs over a period of time based on knowledge, understanding, and gospel maturity. They (and we) are not suddenly fully accountable simply because they (or we) have reached the age of 8. They (and we) must grow and learn, just as Nephi described:

"For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have." (2 Nephi 28:30.)

But if we find our understanding darkened, if we find our knowledge removed, it is at least in part because the Savior, in his mercy, is protecting us from knowledge the Lord senses that we cannot comprehend or apply, and wishes to preserve our agency.

So judging ourselves or others is a mistake. We must live the gospel to the best of our ability based on the knowledge we have. We must repent of sin, because we have knowledge of the great atoning sacrifice. We must give service, love, and charity because we have knowledge of how those things fit into the Great Plan of The Eternal God. We must teach our children. We must abide by the counsel given to us by our leaders. We must exercise our agency to make good choices. We do these and other things because of the knowledge and understanding we have been blessed with in the Church. But, in fact, the Lord withholds many things from our understanding because of his mercy toward us. President Joseph Fielding Smith said this:

"The things of eternity, the things that endure, are kept hidden in large measure from our blinking eyes. Nor could we understand them were they revealed because of the lack in our knowledge and experience. We might compare this with a figure which we can comprehend. Should the teacher place before a group of students in the first grade a problem in algebra no matter how clear it might be to him, his pupils could not comprehend it. So we may not have all the answers, our finite minds do not comprehend the infinite."

Let’s avoid judgment of ourselves and others and measure our progress in this life based on Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s statement:

"Paced progress not only is acceptable to the Lord but also is recommended by Him. Divine declarations say: "Ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now" (D&C 50:40); "I will lead you along" (D&C 78:18). Just as divine disclosure usually occurs line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, so likewise we will achieve our spiritual progress gradually…" Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Men and Women of Christ, p. 23)