Capstone Practicum
Judging Others
1) “This
topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it
comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting
to cause harm, please apply the following:
Stop
it!”
Dieter
F. Uchtdorf, - “Judging Others? Stop
it!” Apr. 2012 General Conference
2) Forgiveness for
our sins comes with conditions. We must repent, and we must be willing
to forgive others. Jesus taught: “Forgive one another; for he that forgiveth
not … [stands] condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the
greater sin” (D&C 64:9) and “Blessed are the merciful: for they
shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)
Of course, these words seem perfectly reasonable—when applied to someone
else. We can so clearly and easily see the harmful results that come when others
judge and hold grudges. And we certainly don’t like it when people judge us.
But when it comes to our own prejudices and grievances, we too often
justify our anger as righteous and our judgment as reliable and only
appropriate. Though we cannot look into another’s heart, we assume that we know
a bad motive or even a bad person when we see one. We make exceptions when it
comes to our own bitterness because we feel that, in our case, we have all the
information we need to hold someone else in contempt.
Dieter
F. Uchtdorf, - “Judging Others? Stop
it!” Apr. 2012 General Conference
3) When I was a
student, nothing tried my faith more than the falling away of the Three
Witnesses. If ever there was a temptation, for the sake of appearances, for the
Church to compromise Church principles, that was the time. It was not done; and
therefore, what had shaken my faith, one day was transformed into an anchor to
hold it steady.
When you hear stories, be wise. Unless you are in all the interviews,
and hear all the evidence, you are not in a position to really know. Be
careful, lest you jump to a confusion.
Unless you are a participant and have
full knowledge, better:
“Judge not,
that ye be not judged.
“For with what judgment ye judge, ye
shall be judged.” (Matt. 7:1-2.)
Boyd K. Packer – “Judge Not According
to the Appearance” Apr. 1979 General Conference
4) None of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to
be so. And yet for some reason, despite our own imperfections, we have a
tendency to point out those of others. We make judgments concerning their
actions or inactions.
There is really no way we can know the
heart, the intentions, or the circumstances of someone who might say or do something
we find reason to criticize. Thus the commandment: “Judge not.”
Appearances can be so deceiving, such a poor measure of a person.
Admonished the Savior, “Judge not according to the
appearance.”
Thomas S. Monson – “Charity Never
Faileth” Oct. 2010 General Conference
5) What is
charity? The prophet Mormon teaches us that “charity is the pure love of
Christ.” In his farewell
message to the Lamanites, Moroni declared, “Except ye have charity ye can in
nowise be saved in the kingdom of God.”
I consider charity—or “the pure love of Christ”—to be the opposite of
criticism and judging. In speaking of charity, I do not at this moment have in
mind the relief of the suffering through the giving of our substance. That, of
course, is necessary and proper. Tonight, however, I have in mind the charity
that manifests itself when we are tolerant of others and lenient toward their
actions, the kind of charity that forgives, the kind of charity that is
patient.
I have in mind the charity that impels us to be sympathetic,
compassionate, and merciful, not only in times of sickness and affliction and
distress but also in times of weakness or error on the part of others.
There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those
who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are
afflicted. True charity is love in action. The need for charity is everywhere.
Thomas S. Monson – “Charity Never
Faileth” Oct. 2010 General Conference
6) I can see now,
better than I could as a young man, how I might have used that guidance. There
were sports teams that had players and coaches who influenced me to do good.
There were some that did not. There were friends, some of them not members of
the Church of Jesus Christ, who by their example influenced me to do good and
to remember the Savior.
There were schoolmates and teachers whose approval and friendship I
sought who somehow made me want to do good and enhance my feelings for the
Savior. I was blessed to find my way. But I would have done even better had I
understood both the importance of my choices and the way to choose.
Mormon knew that. Had I read more carefully his words in the Book of
Mormon, and others like them, I would have been even more blessed and more
protected. Here are Mormon’s words:
“Seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge,
which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge
wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge
ye shall also be judged.
“Wherefore, … ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye
may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and
condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.
Henry B. Eyring – “Walk In The Light”
Apr. 2008 General Conference
7) As
a student of the scriptures and as a former judge, I have had a special
interest in the many scriptures that refer to judging. The best known of these
is “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
(3 Ne. 14:1; Matt. 7:1).
The key is to understand that there are
two kinds of judging: final judgments, which we are forbidden to make, and
intermediate judgments, which we are directed to make, but upon righteous
principles. I will speak about gospel judging.
First, a righteous
judgment must, by definition, be intermediate. It will refrain from declaring
that a person has been assured of exaltation or from dismissing a person as
being irrevocably bound for hellfire.
Second, a righteous
judgment will be guided by the Spirit of the Lord, not by anger, revenge, jealousy,
or self-interest.
Third,
to be righteous, an intermediate judgment must be within our stewardship. We
should not presume to exercise and act upon judgments that are outside our
personal responsibilities.
Fourth, we should, if
possible, refrain from judging until we have adequate knowledge of the facts.
A
fifth principle of a
righteous intermediate judgment is that whenever possible we will refrain from
judging people and only judge situations.
Sixth, forgiveness is
a companion principle to the commandment that in final judgments we judge not
and in intermediate judgments we judge righteously.
Seventh, a final
ingredient or principle of a righteous judgment is that it will apply righteous
standards. If we apply unrighteous standards, our judgment will be unrighteous.
Dallin H. Oaks – “Judge Not and
Judging” from a talk given 1 March 1998 at BYU
8) There is one qualification to this principle that we should
not judge people without an adequate knowledge of the facts. Sometimes urgent circumstances require us to
make preliminary judgments before we can get all of the facts we desire for our
decision making.
From time to time some diligent defenders
deny this reality, such as the writer of a letter to the editor who insisted
that certain publicly reported conduct should be ignored because “in this
country you are innocent until you are proven guilty.” The presumption of
innocence until proven guilty in a court of law is a vital rule to guide the
conduct of a criminal trial, but it is not a valid restraint on personal
decisions. There are important restraints upon our intermediate judgments, but
the presumption of innocence is not one of them.
Dallin H. Oaks – “Judge Not and
Judging” from a talk given 1 March 1998 at BYU
9) I will be
forever grateful for the wise counsel my mission president gave me as I arrived
in England to serve as a missionary. He said, “Elder Ashton, these people in
this land have been at it a long time. If you will keep your eyes, ears, and
mind open, you can learn much while you are here. Look for the good and
overlook that which is different from your ways.”
The longer I stayed in England, the more I appreciated his advice. Day
by day I grew to love and appreciate that great country and its people. For
example, instead of freezing in the raw winter weather, I did as the English
did—I put on another sweater rather than wasting time murmuring and
complaining.
Robert West wrote, “Nothing is easier than fault-finding; no talent, no
self-denial, no brains … are required to set up in the grumbling business.” (Richard
L. Evans’ Quote Book, Salt Lake City: Publishers Press, 1971, p. 221.)
Whether accusations, innuendos, aspersions, or falsehoods are whispered
or blatantly shouted, the gospel of Jesus Christ reminds us that we are not to
retaliate nor contend. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift
to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness to God.” (James 1:19-20)
Marvin J. Ashton – “Pure Religion” Oct.
1982 General Conference
10) Sometimes people feel that it is wrong to judge
others in any way. While it is true that we should not condemn others or judge
them unrighteously, we will need to make judgments of ideas, situations, and
people throughout our lives. The Lord has given many commandments that we cannot
keep without making judgments. For example, He has said: “Beware of false
prophets. . . . Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16) and “Go
ye out from among the wicked” (D&C 38:42). We need to make judgments of
people in many of our important decisions, such as choosing friends, voting for
government leaders, and choosing a spouse.
The Lord gave a warning to guide us in
our judgment of others: “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and
with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest
thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that
is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote
out of thine eye—and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first
cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the
mote out of thy brother's eye” (3 Nephi 14:2-5).
LDS.org
Gospel Topics – “Judging Others”
Judging Others
When I was called judgmental once, it tore my heart in two
But looking back, I have to say I guess that it was true.
I’d made a crack about someone that wasn’t very nice.
I would have used a kinder phrase if I thought about it
twice.
Why can’t I look at other folks and not judge them at all?
They’re tall, or short or good or bad . . . that last one’s
heaven’s call!
However, I’ve set standards that a date must live up to.
He has to be a gentleman to get date number two!
I figure I should marry with a good high priest again.
Is that judgmental nature or just setting standards then?
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