The Murals

In the Salt Lake Temple, the walls in the various rooms are covered with beautiful murals. While the temple is not open to the public (only church members in good standing may enter), many smaller renditions of the murals can be seen in the work of the 5 art missionaries sent to Paris to prepare by studying with the masters of the Paris art scene. They were to return and paint appropriate murals on the walls. The most prominent among them was a Swiss-born artist, John C. Hafen. You can find out much more about him by Googling John C. Hafen, or Utah impressionism.

The young artists returned with their styles much altered by impressionist artists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, and others. They largely abandoned the schooling of the old masters in favor of impressionism. Consequently, many of the murals in the temple exhibit a decided impressionist leaning.

I explain this so that you may gain some understanding of the wonderful quote from John C. Hafen below, enabling you to comprehend his artistic surroundings and motivation. He said:

In paintings that you may see hereafter; cease to look for the mechanical effect or minute finish for individual leaves, blades of grass, etc. but look for the smell, soul, feeling and the beautiful in line and color. [Italics added}

What strikes me about this quote is that it has profound meaning for us as we evaluate not only art, but people. If we add one more quote by Washington Allston, an American romantic painter, known as “The American Titian,” we can perhaps form a basis for a proper way of evaluating those sublime creations of our Father-in-Heaven – mortal men and women – including ourselves. Allston said:

Never judge a work of art by its defects.

Your average art critic can always find something to complain about when evaluating a work of art. That’s easy. We can do it as well as the most astute critic, and perhaps our judgments are of just as little worth as his or hers. All art has flaws. What Hafen and Allston are telling us is: overlook the flaws. Focus on the sublime – the “soul, feeling, and the beautiful.”

This is perfect counsel for us as we deal with our fellow mortals. The Father created us as perfect beings, but in mortality, we have developed the flaws and character traits indigenous to the mortal experience. We all have them – none escapes. Judging others by their flaws is somewhat like casting aside a white rose because it has a tiny spot on one petal. You can miss entirely the beautiful shape of the flower, and its overwhelmingly sweet fragrance.

As a matter fact, the Savior gives us profound advice on this subject in Luke 6:37:

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Helen Keller had insight born of her own mortal defects:

The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they must be felt with the heart.

Mother Teresa said:

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

We have an expression about this way of thinking in the Church. We often say that we can feel the spirit of a person – a speaker in sacrament meeting, an apostle, a home or visiting teacher, a husband or wife. We say that we feel these things through the heart – another way of describing the touch of the spirit of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost can assist us as we evaluate friends, leaders, used car salesmen, neighbors, our children’s acquaintances, and the many others with whom we come into contact every day. George Bernard Shaw offered a lighthearted quip about judging and being judged:

The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor; he took my measurement anew every time he saw me, while all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit me.

Love might be a good substitute for judging and evaluating others. The Lord loves us in spite of our flaws and imperfections and makes no judgment while we are still in mortality, while we still grow and mature, while we are prone to the tests of the flesh. Can we do less? Joseph Smith said:

Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race (History of the Church, 4:227).

Only the Savior can judge our mortal performance, and (I reiterate) 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. The Savior is our advocate with the Father and it is by his grace we are saved. He does not judge us in this life because to do so would not allow his advocacy for us with the Father. D&C 29:5 teaches us to rejoice because the Savior advocates for us, and does not judge us in mortality:

5 Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.

He knows our weaknesses, and how to succor us and lead us to repentance. A mortal judgment on his part would preclude his succor and advocacy. D&C 62:1 tells us:

1 Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted.

I like the King James Version of Luke 6:37 better than the JST (judge not unrighteously). The KJV 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. Chieko N. Okazaki, in her book, Disciples, tells us:

Jesus Christ teaches us not to judge, offers his forgiveness even before we offer our repentance, and surrounds us with his love—love pressed down, love shaken together, and love over-flowing any measure we can possibly offer in this life or the next.

Luke 6:37 further teaches us:

…condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

We can never fully know another person’s thoughts, aspirations, motivations, feelings, needs, desires, or emotions. Often we do not completely 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. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Philosopher and Ex-President of India, said:

The worst sinner has a future, even as the greatest saint has had a past. No one is so good or bad as he [or we] imagines. (Italics added).

Only the Savior knows and understands us fully. We cannot lie on judgment day because He knows. His judgment will be just because He knows, and we know that He knows.

When we look at the eternal works of art that our Father has created, let us do as the artists suggest: avoid the defects and look for the “soul, feeling, and the beautiful.” It’s there in each of us. 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 the Savior’s admonition: “Judge not.”