Judgment

People often say don't judge. However, we should judge - as the Lord judges.

"He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth" (Isaiah 11:3-4). The Lord will judge each of us - but He will do it righteously. Most mortals do not judge righteously - we judge based on very limited knowledge from the circumstances that we observe and on outward appearances. This is why Samuel assumed that Eliab was the Lord's anointed - because of outward appearance. Then the Lord gave Samuel this admonition: "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

This also explains why the Lord is able to judge righteously when we are often not able. We know that God is omniscient - he knows all things. The Lord knows everything about each one of us - our thoughts, actions, and the desires of our souls. However, we know very little in comparison. We can see that someone looks clean and well-kept and think that they are a great person, or see someone in torn-up clothing and assume they are poor or not as good as those who look better. We can hear that someone did something we feel they shouldn't have, but we probably don't know their exact reasons for doing it. We cannot say someone is a terrible person because they do things that we don't agree with. We don't know even a hundredth part of what the Lord knows about what they've done, why they've done it, and where their true desires lie.

That is what gives me peace - knowing that "I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts" (Doctrine and Covenants 137:9). We know what we can see as we observe other people, and we can understand more about them as we talk with them and gain knowledge about their experiences and current circumstances. However, in this life we will never know them as perfectly as the Lord knows them, and so we cannot judge as perfectly as the Lord does.

In the various situations of our lives where we need to pass judgment on a person or a decision, we ought to pray for the gift of discernment. God can allow us, through the Spirit, to understand people and circumstances to a deeper level than what can be observed on the surface. If we have this gift given to us, then we can judge righteously and not worry when the Lord tells us "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged" (Matthew 7:2). I remember noticing the gift of discernment while I was on a mission and having interviews with my mission president. Specifically, with my first mission president, it was apparent to me that he had this gift. He always seemed to know more about me than I ever told him. He could tell what my desires were and how things were going with me, as if he could look through my eyes straight into my soul.

I hope that each of us can develop this gift of discernment by praying for it and always trying to look beyond what we can observe on the surface level of situations that we encounter. As we develop this gift, we will be able to judge as the Lord judges because we will see others as He sees them. So feel free to judge - as long as you are doing it how the Lord would.