JUDGEMENT

Someone made the comment in my Sunday School class: “LDS people are SO judgmental.”

I have come to learn that part of the reason that we are so judgmental is because we are taught to be.

The Book of Mormon:  Moroni 7: 16-19

For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

And now, my brethren, 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, I beseech of you, brethren, that 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.

It is very important to distinguish good and evil and follow the Spirit.  When we ignore the Spirit we become desensitized.  I believe that if we don’t make judgments, we will be blind from what is right and wrong and be swept away by the worldly ideals and values.  Satan wants us to be apathetic and not care about anything – accepting everything into our lives so that the most important and spiritual things will be lost in the crowd.  Many people become desensitized, no longer recognizing good v. evil.

As the scriptures state, we can judge by the light of Christ and we can also judge wrongfully.  Here is the difference to me in my life:

Judging by the Light of Christ

As a mother and wife, I not only judge what influences I want in my life, but feel the desire to protect my family as much as possible in this corrupt world.  I avoid the things that could threaten my marriage or be a poor example to my children.  The other day one of my friends posted an inappropriate profile picture on Facebook.  Even though my husband may not see it, since it is my account, I still didn’t feel like I should keep that friend on Facebook, as I would be upset if my husband ever were to see it.  I explained to her why, hoping that she’d understand that as a married woman, I don’t see a need to keep that kind of influence around.

Now, one may say, well – what is wrong with friends and family members wearing bikinis/being immodest if everyone else is doing it?  #1 I don’t have to associate or talk to “everyone else.”  I wouldn’t want to be put in a situation to have to be rude to a friend or family member by avoiding them the whole time.  #2 I consider those close to me to be examples to my children, they look up to family.  I wouldn’t want the poor choices of friends and family to have a negative influence on my children.

My philosophy is:  CHOOSE GOOD PEOPLE TO BE AROUND YOU – if they threaten your standards, marriage, values, then they may not be worth including in your circle of friends.  Judge those things that are important to you.

Some may think that I am harsh – for me there is a huge difference between saying “I’m better than them” v. “I don’t want that negative influence in my life.”

I love talent.  I can appreciate good acting, dancing, singing – but I refuse to worship celebrities.  I admit, I had a Backstreet Boys poster on my wall growing up and felt a mild crush towards one of them.  But now I have learned that in reality – I wouldn’t be happy living with someone who didn’t live according to God’s standards.  I am disappointed with the way most celebrities choose to live their personal lives – with producing nude/skanky photos, etc.  I have learned to avoid getting to know about their personal lives so that I can still enjoy the talent without it being tainted by their worldly lifestyles.

Part of becoming like Christ is to make righteous judgments and to also love people despite their mistakes.  I do not believe in looking down on others or casting them out, but I do believe in surrounding yourself with people who respect your highest beliefs and standards.  Choose friends who will help you become your best self.

“The friends you choose will either help or hinder your success.” (BYU Speech 3/7/10 : Ronald Rasband)

“Those living at a telestial level are not necessarily unpleasant or “bad” people. Nevertheless, they are allowing appetites and passions to govern their choices and their lives.”  (Lili Anderson in BYU address 2005: “Three Realms of Law, Light, and Life”)

Judging Wrongfully

Having felt misunderstood and misjudged in my life, I try to constantly remind myself that I don’t completely understand everyone else’s situations and trials.  It seemed that some people thought I should have handled my husband’s one year deployment better.  For me, I did the best I could.  I believe that we one of the reasons why we judge wrongfully is because of our ignorance and narrow mindedness.  People often FORGET or don’t understand how hard it is to go through things like birth, having a newborn, etc.

We sometimes compare our weaknesses with other’s strengths = bad self-esteem

We sometimes compare our strength’s with other’s weakness = pride

People judge others to see how they are doing in comparison, wanting to feel better about themselves.  It is easy to cross the line and start thinking that you are better than others and not including them because of that.  Some may judge because they feel threatened by beauty, wealth, etc.  Others judge for the opposite reason – they are the ones with wealth, beauty, etc. and want those with similar tastes and opportunities/luck to be in their circle of friends because those are the things that are important to them. 

The world bases judgment on money, fashion, weight, plastic surgery, etc.  God bases judgment on good v. evil.  It is important to be aware of the way we are judging and what is the most important to us – is it fame and fortune or virtue and obedience?