I have often thought that,
excepting His infinite and eternal atonement, the final judgment that the
Savior must pass upon each of us will be the most difficult task that the He
will be called upon to perform. He is so patient, compassionate and loving with
each of us that to tell us we have not measured up to the standards that His
Father has set will cause him great sorrow and pain. If we have not taken full
advantage of the infinite atonement that he has so selflessly provided for us,
his sorrow will be compounded by our insensitivity to his love and compassion.
How difficult will it be for Him to
say something like: “Oh, dear brother or sister, Thou knowest the truth. Thou
wast taught. How many times did I try to gather thee? How many times did the
Holy Ghost try to reach into thy heart, and ye would not?” Frederic Farrar, in
his book, Life of Christ, speaking of
Christ’s sermon in Luke 12, says:
…at the thought of that awful judgment a solemn agony passed over the spirit of Christ. He
thought of the rejected peace, … he thought of the divided households and the
separated friends.
So, painfully, the Savior must
pronounce judgment. He loves each of us beyond measure, and He desires to give
us all that we have merited, all that the Father offers, but when mercy cannot
be offered because it is “everlastingly too late” (Helaman 13:38.), justice
must be satisfied through suffering for sin. D&C 19:16-18 tells us what the
unrepentant sinner must endure:
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that
they might not suffer if they would repent;
But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of
all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both
body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
After justice is satisfied, such
persons will inherit the glory to which their mortal efforts entitle them. Still,
the Savior will mitigate our judgment as compassionately as he possibly can
because he knows us better than we know ourselves. In April 1901 General
Conference, Elder Charles W. Penrose said this:
He that is obedient in all things and overcometh all things,
shall inherit all things. All that the
Father hath shall be given unto him. But if he will not be obedient, if
he will not bow to the laws which entitle him to celestial glory, he must
receive that condition and that measure of glory in that kingdom the laws of
which he is willing to obey.
The Savior is uniquely qualified because
of his supreme sacrifice to sit as judge of our mortal progress and
accomplishments. No other of The Father’s sons can do so. The keys of this
priesthood ordinance rest with Him. He alone can decide whether we were
sufficiently diligent in mortality to merit the words: “Well done, thou good
and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21.)
We can never fully know another
person’s thoughts, aspirations, motivations, feelings, needs, desires, or
emotions. Often we do not fully understand those things even in ourselves. We
are all sinners. We all fail. We are all successful. We are never perfect in
this life, even though that is our goal. We all repent. Only the Savior knows
and understands us fully. We cannot lie on that day because He knows. His
judgment will be just because He knows, and we know that He knows.
I think that is one reason why the
Savior counsels us not to judge others. He knows, as only the Savior and judge
of all the sublime creations of the Father can, that judgment of others in this
life can only result in sorrow and pain for both the judge and the judged. When
we judge, we can offer neither mercy nor justice. Stephen L Richards,In his
book, The Church in War and Peace, tells us:
An unforgiving person who harbors resentment and ill feeling
against another often suffers more than the victim of his enmity, so that in
divine providence there is a self-imposed penalty for uncharitable judgment.
But we do make judgments ourselves
almost daily. We must gauge the trustworthiness of business people, those who
keep our earthly funds secure, those to whom we make charitable contributions,
and even sometimes our own children, among many others. It is the destructive
and divisive condemnations we make based on what we think we know about others that are the real concern of the Lord.
Another reason that we are
commanded not to judge is simply because we do not have the right. The right to
judge is part of the keys of office held by certain leaders: bishops, stake
presidents, and general authorities as given by the Savior himself through His
prophets and delegated by them (D&C 107:74). This right to judge carries
with it the gift of discernment so that a righteous judgment can be effected.
The King James Version of the scriptures is very clear. The Savior, in Matthew
7:1-2, says:
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete,
it shall be measured to you
again.
The JST adds
the following to the verse in Matthew 7:2:
Judge not unrighteously,
that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment. [italics added]
I have always thought that the
addition of the word “unrighteously” was a perfect clarification of that
scripture. It still does not give us the right to judge, even if we are living
a righteous life (although that could be hard to do if we are judgmental), but
I assume that the Savior recognized the right of certain priesthood holders to
sit in judgment as delegated by those in authority. Why can those who are
delegated the authority from the Savior through the prophet sit in judgment? Besides
holding the keys, I think that this is explained fully by some advice given by Jehosaphat,
the King of Judah, (2 Chronicles 19:6) when he appointed judges in every city
throughout his land. He counseled them thus:
…Take heed what ye
do: for ye judge not for man,
but for the LORD, who is with you in the
judgment.
So the reason that a bishop can
judge righteously is because if he approaches the task properly with prayer and
fasting, the Lord is with him as he sits as a common judge in Israel . The gift of discernment is his right as the holder of the
keys. It’s true that bishops have the keys of judgment delegated to them in
mortality, but even so, they judge only a partial judgment. They do not judge
all of anyone’s mortal performance, but only acts for which they must be called
to repentance by Church authorities. Even as they judge, the balm of repentance
is still offered, and even if refused, is still available when finally awareness
of guilt prevails.
Only the Savior can judge our
mortal performance, and he never passes eternal judgment on us while we are in
mortality. His love and patience with us in this second estate are boundless.
He sorrows when we sin, and joys with us when we repent.
I have had the opportunity and
responsibility to serve as a common judge in Israel , always a difficult and last resort process. Church courts
are designed to effect repentance, to help a person forsake sin and return to
full fellowship in the gospel, but when there is no remorse, justice must be
served.
It seems to me that the pain and
sorrow I felt as I sat with my counselors and rendered judgment for a
transgressor is only a small measure of the sorrow the Savior will feel in the
final judgment. When that final judgment comes from the Holy One of Israel,
there can be no repentance or reinstatement, only suffering for sin and consignment
to that eternal state which the person has merited.
I like the King James Version. It does not
equivocate. Perhaps it is the better scripture for us to use as a basis for our
feelings toward others. “Judge not.” No hedging. No exceptions. Unless you hold
the keys, do not judge. Be compassionate, loving, and understanding. Luke 6:37 teaches us:
…condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be
forgiven:
So when the
Savior asks us not to judge, he does so out of compassion and love for us, and
out of a desire for us to avoid the sorrow and pain associated with such
judgments. Let’s follow his admonition: “Judge not.”
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