The Righteous Judge
Of the Presidency of the Seventy
In
His mortal life, Jesus
Christ was a loving
judge, uncommonly wise and patient. He is known in the scriptures as “the
righteous judge” (2 Timothy 4:8; Moses 6:57), and His counsel to us
is to also “judge righteous judgment” (see Joseph
Smith Translation,
Matthew 7:1–2 [in Matthew 7:1, footnote a]) and to “put your trust
in that Spirit which leadeth to do good … [and] to judge righteously” (D&C 11:12).
This
counsel to the Nephite Twelve will help us judge as the Lord does: “Ye shall be
judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what
manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27;
emphasis added). We sometimes forget that when He gave the counsel to be as He
is, it was in the context of how to judge righteously.
Unrighteous Judgment
A shameful
example of unrighteous judgment comes from the parable of the lost sheep, when
the Pharisees and scribes ill-judged both the Savior and His dinner company,
saying, “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them” (Luke 15:2)—they were oblivious to
the fact that they were sinners themselves. Possessed of condemning hearts, the
scribes and Pharisees never knew the joy of rescuing lost sheep.
It was also “the
scribes and Pharisees” who brought “a woman taken in adultery” (John 8:3) to the Savior to see if
He would judge her according to the law of Moses (see verse 5). You know the rest of
the story, how He humbled them for their unrighteous judgment and how they were
“convicted by their own conscience” and departed “one by one” (verse 9; emphasis added). He
then said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. And
the woman glorified God from that hour, and believed on his name” (Joseph Smith
Translation, John 8:11 [in John 8:11, footnote c]).
The natural man
and woman in each of us has a tendency to condemn others and to judge
unrighteously, or self-righteously. This even happened to James and John, two
of the Savior’s Apostles. They were infuriated when the people of a Samaritan
village treated the Savior disrespectfully (see Luke 9:51–54):
“And
when [they] saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come
down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
“But he turned,
and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
“For
the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (verses 54–56).
Today’s
“common judge[s]” (D&C 107:74), our
bishops and branch presidents, should avoid any similar impulse to condemn, as
James and John did on that occasion. A righteous judge would respond to
confessions with compassion and understanding. An erring youth, for example,
should leave the bishop’s office feeling the love of the Savior through the
bishop and enveloped in the joy and healing power of the Atonement—never shamed
or held in contempt. Otherwise, the bishop may unwittingly drive the lost sheep
further into the wilderness (see Luke 15:4).
Discipline
However,
compassion doesn’t nullify the need for discipline. The word discipline comes from the Latin word discere, “to learn,” or discipulus, “learner,” making a disciple a student
and follower.1 To discipline in the Lord’s way is to lovingly and
patiently teach. In the scriptures the Lord often uses the word chasten when speaking of discipline (see, for
example, Mosiah 23:21; D&C 95:1). The
word chasten comes from the Latin castus, meaning “chaste or pure,” and chasten means “to purify.”2
In
the world, it is an earthly judge who condemns a man and lockshim in prison. In
contrast, the Book
of Mormon teaches us
that when we willfully sin, we become our “own judges” (Alma 41:7) and consign ourselves to
spiritual prison. Ironically, the common judge in this case holds the keys that unlock the prison gates; “for with the
chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of temptation” (D&C 95:1;
emphasis added). The proceedings of a righteous judge are merciful, loving, and
redemptive, not condemning.
Young
Joseph Smith was disciplined with a four-year probation before obtaining the
golden plates, “because you have not kept the commandments of the Lord.”3 Later, when Joseph lost the 116 manuscript pages, he
was disciplined again. Though Joseph was truly remorseful, the Lord still
withdrew his privileges for a short season because “whom I love I also chasten
that their sins may be forgiven” (D&C 95:1).
Joseph
said, “The angel was rejoiced when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim and said that God was pleased with my
faithfulness and humility, and loved me for my penitence and diligence in prayer.”4 Because the Lord wanted to teach Joseph a
heart-changing lesson, He required a heartrending sacrifice of him—sacrifice
being an essential part of discipline.
Sacrifice
“In
ancient days, sacrifice meant to make something or someone
holy,”5 which links it, in an interdependent way, to the
definition of the word chasten—“to
purify.” Likewise, in ancient Israel, forgivenesscame
through a sin or trespass offering, or sacrifice.6 The sacrifice not only “point[ed] to that great and
last sacrifice” (Alma 34:14) but also
helped engender a deeper sense of gratitude for the Savior’s Atonement. An
unwillingness to sacrifice as part of our penitence mocks or belittles Christ’s
greater sacrifice for the same sin and trivializes His suffering—a callous sign
of ingratitude.
On
the other hand, through the sweet irony of sacrifice, we actually gain something of eternal worth—His mercy
and forgiveness and eventually “all that [the] Father
hath” (D&C 84:38). As
part of the repentance process, sacrifice also acts as a healing balm to help
replace “remorse of conscience” (Alma 42:18) with
“peace of conscience” (Mosiah 4:3). Without sacrifice, a
person may find it hard to forgive himself or herself, because of a lingering
consciousness of something withheld.7
The Parent as a Righteous Judge
While few of us
will be called to be common judges, the principles of righteous judgment apply
to all of us, especially to parents who have a daily opportunity to use these
principles with their children. To effectively teach a child is the very
essence of good parenting, and to lovingly discipline is the very essence of
being a righteous judge.
President
Joseph F. Smith taught, “If children are defiant and difficult to control,
be patient with them until you can conquer by love, … and you can then [mold] their
characters as you please.”8
It
is insightful that in teaching how to discipline, the prophets seem to always
refer to Christlike attributes. The Doctrine and Covenantsgives us this
well-known advice on discipline:
“No power or
influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by
persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love
unfeigned;
“By kindness,
and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and
without guile—
“Reproving
betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy
Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love” (D&C 121:41–43).
This
scripture teaches us to reprove “when moved upon by the Holy Ghost,” not when moved upon by anger. The Holy
Ghost and anger are incompatible because “he that hath the spirit of contention
is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he
stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger” (3 Nephi 11:29).
President George Albert Smith taught that “unkind things are not usually said
under the inspiration of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord is a spirit of
kindness; it is a spirit of patience; it is a spirit of charity and love and
forbearance and long suffering. …
“…
But if we have the spirit of fault finding … in a destructive manner, that never comes as a result of the companionship
of the Spirit of our Heavenly Father and is always harmful.
Our Children’s True Identity
When the Savior
visited the Nephites, He did something extraordinary with the children:
“And
it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the children of the
multitude … , and he did loose their tongues, and they did speak unto their
fathers great and marvelous things. …
“…
And they both saw and heard these children; yea, even babes did open their
mouths and utter marvelous things” (3 Nephi 26:14, 16).
Perhaps
more than opening the mouths of babes, the Lord was opening the eyes and ears of their astonished parents. Those
parents had been granted the extraordinary gift of a glimpse into eternity and
of beholding the true identity and premortal stature of their children. Would
that not forever change the way the parents sawand
treated their children? I like this variation of a quote attributed to Goethe:
“The way you see [a child] is the way you treat them, and the way you treat
them is [who] they [will] become.”10 To remember a child’s true identity is a gift of
foresight that divinely inspires the vision of a righteous judge.
Conclusion
President Thomas S. Monson has taught us, “Never let a problem to
be solved become more important than a person to be loved.”11How vital that
principle is in becoming righteous judges, especially with our own children.
There
is only one way to judge righteous judgment, as Jesus Christ does, and that is
to be as He is. Therefore, “what manner of men [and women] ought ye to be?
Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27).
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
NOTES 1. See “disciple,” etymonline.com. 2. See
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. (2003), “chasten.” 3. Karen
Lynn Davidson and others, eds., Histories, Volume 1: Joseph Smith Histories,
1832–1844, vol. 1 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers (2012),
83. 4. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 71; emphasis
added. 5. Guide to the Scriptures, “Sacrifice,” scriptures.lds.org. 6. See
Bible Dictionary, “Sacrifices.” 7. The sacrifice we offer on the altar of the
sacrament table each week is a broken heart and a contrite spirit (see
2 Nephi 2:7; 3 Nephi 9:20; Doctrine and Covenants 59:8). A broken
heart is a repentant heart; a contrite spirit is an obedient spirit (see
D. Todd Christofferson, “When Thou Art Converted,” Ensign or Liahona, May
2004, 12). 8. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith
(1998), 299. 9. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith
(2011), 225, 226, 228; emphasis added. 10. Attributed to Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe, brainyquote.com. 11. Thomas S. Monson, “Finding Joy in the
Journey,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 86.
“How To
Become Like He Is”
cji
11/1/16
Foregoing
the worldly example
becoming
as the Savior is
this our
goal in the mortality
raising
the bar in all way today
rejecting
the evil found in anger
rejoicing
in the love of forgiveness
reaching
out to all within pure love
learning
and growing within/without
how to
become as he is this hour
truly
the way has been shown
for us
simply to be obedient!
Copyright © 2016 – cji
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