Judge Righteous Judgment

In the Sermon on the Mount the Savior made this well-known statement: “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” (Matthew 7:1-2). Paul similarly taught, “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ…. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way” (Romans 14:13). The Savior said of Himself, “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). These verses would seem to suggest that we never judge; and yet, at another time, the Savior said this to the Jews at Jerusalem: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Mormon also taught us this: “Take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil” (Moroni 7:14-15). These verses suggest that we do need to judge, albeit that it must be done righteously. President Oaks made this comment about these two different commandments relating to judging: “I have been puzzled that some scriptures command us not to judge and others instruct us that we should judge and even tell us how to do it. I am convinced that these seemingly contradictory directions are consistent when we view them with the perspective of eternity. 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.” We have no right to pass final judgments on people, but we must make frequent intermediate judgments every day as we seek to navigate mortality and protect ourselves and our families.

                Many of the Savior’s teachings indeed suggest that we must make judgments, even regarding people, as we seek to follow Him and keep His commandments. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount shortly after He said not to judge, He also said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” This verse suggests that we should not give sacred spiritual knowledge to just anyone, and clearly at least some kind of judgment must be made to determine who it is that we can share our spiritual pearls with. Similarly, He also said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:6, 15-18). Clearly if we are to recognize false prophets, we must judge them (albeit in an intermediate way) to determine if their fruits are good. On another occasion He told the people, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). He similarly said, “Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation” (Mark 12:38-40). Surely if the people were to beware of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the scribes, they had to pass some kind of judgment upon them to understand the kind of people they were. Jesus Himself gave this stinging judgment of them: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27-28). He was warning the people of the destructive spiritual nature of these Jewish leaders and wanted the people to be able to see and judge for themselves what righteousness really was.

                So, in the end we must make judgments to navigate life and stay on the covenant path that the Savior has laid out for us. We must make judgments about what movies we watch, what music we listen to, what friends we spend our time with, and what groups we participate in. It is never our place to condemn others or to suggest we know someone well enough to pass judgments with finality on them. But we should not shy away from passing judgments between good and evil each day in the way that Mormon taught: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Moroni 7:16).