Why Dost Thou Set at Nought thy Brother?

 Yesterday we received a letter from our school district superintendent highlighting the racism that students—“in particular Black or African American students”—continue to experience in our schools. This comes less than two years after the suicide of Izzy Tichenor, a ten-year-old autistic student in the district who had been bullied and made fun of, leading to her taking her own life. The letter encouraged the community to “reinforce, within their homes, values of kindness, respect, and human dignity.” We saw the kind of racism and mistreatment that this letter is attempting to combat at the elementary school our students attend as one particular teacher of color was severely mistreated by students and teachers—so much so that she has now left the school after only a short time here. It is frustrating that such things would happen in a community dominated by Latter-day Saints who of course believe, in principle, in the divine worth of every individual and the common brotherhood and sisterhood of men and women. As President Nelson has taught, “Our commitment to the Savior causes us to scorn sin yet heed His commandment to love our neighbors. Together we live on this earth, which is to be tended, subdued, and shared with gratitude. Each of us can help to make life in this world a more pleasant experience…. Together we may stand, intolerant of transgression but tolerant of neighbors with differences they hold sacred. Our beloved brothers and sisters throughout the world are all children of God.” We to not only believe this but act in accordance with this, and we must teach our children to do the same amongst their peers. As King Benjamin urged us, “And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness. But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another” (Mosiah 4:14-15).

                I like the way that Elder Uchtdorf encouraged us to root out bullying, hatred, and unkindness. He said, “When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it!” We have to learn to truly care about how our actions cause others to feel and strive to do those things which will help those around us feel safe and valued. Elder Uchtdorf continued with these questions to help us evaluate ourselves, “Consider the following questions as a self-test: Do you harbor a grudge against someone else? Do you gossip, even when what you say may be true? Do you exclude, push away, or punish others because of something they have done? Do you secretly envy another? Do you wish to cause harm to someone? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to apply the two-word sermon from earlier: stop it!” Paul asked similar questions to the Romans that we would do well to also consider: “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. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 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 14:10-13). Each of us will indeed stand before the Lord in judgment, and surely on that day we will be held accountable in particular for how we have treated one another. This statement from the First Presidency and Twelve issued over thirty years ago is just as important for us to live by today: “It is morally wrong for any person or group to deny anyone his or her inalienable dignity on the tragic and abhorrent theory of racial or cultural superiority. We call upon all people everywhere to recommit themselves to the time-honored ideals of tolerance and mutual respect. We sincerely believe that as we acknowledge one another with consideration and compassion we will discover that we can all peacefully coexist despite our deepest differences.”