It is given to us to be able to judge good from evil. “And
in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according
to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine
assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths” (Ezekiel 44:24).
The way to judge is plain, so we may know, “with a perfect
knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night” (Moroni 7:15).
“To judge, or not to judge—is that the question? The
seemingly contradictory uses of the word judge in the Book of Mormon can be
confusing. In 3 Nephi 14:1 the Savior says, ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged.’
Yet Moroni 7:15 says that ‘it is given unto you to judge.’ Fortunately, Moroni
7:18 clarifies the concept of judging: ‘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.’
“The real question seems to be whether we judge rightfully
or wrongfully. The Joseph Smith Translation of Matthew 7:1 confirms this
interpretation: ‘Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged: but judge
righteous judgment.’”[1]
We all receive the Spirit of Christ. This is how we know
good from evil. “And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from
evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or,
by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and
also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become
miserable forever” (2 Nephi 2:5).
Mormon shows us a way to judge. If it leads us to do good
and to persuade others to believe in Christ, it is sent from Christ. This is
how we “may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God” (Moroni 7:16).
“In a revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord taught, ‘The
Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world … Every one that
hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father’
(D&C 84:46–47). The Lord, in a later revelation, further discussed the
Light of Christ: ‘the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through
him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your
understandings; Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill
the immensity of space’ (D&C 88:11–12).”[2]
What ever persuades us to do evil, deny Christ, and not
serve God may know this knowledge comes from the devil. He persuades no one to
do good.
It is through seeing the light we may judge, for the light
is the light of Christ. “He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a
light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which
is endless, that there can be no more death” (Mosiah 16:9).
“That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light,
and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter
and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:24).
“The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all
things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of
God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the
midst of all things” (D&C 88:13).
Through the light of Christ, we must be carefully we do not
judge wrongly. The same judgement by which we judge is how we will be judged.
Mormon asks us to search diligently using the light of
Christ to know good from evil. “For the word of the Lord is truth, and
whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the
Spirit of Jesus Christ” (D&C 84:45).
“He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all
things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through
all things, the light of truth;
“Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also
he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it
was made” (D&C 88 6-7).
If we “lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not,
ye certainly will be a child of Christ” (Moroni 7:19).
“And the Lord said unto [Alma2]: Marvel not that
all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people,
must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen
state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons
and daughters” (Mosiah 27:25).
“Importantly, Mormon and Moroni warn us of the dangers of
lacking faith, but they do so chiefly by warning us against the dangers of
misjudging, denying, and rejecting the gifts of God. We need to turn judgments
away and ‘condemn [the gifts] not’ to become children of Christ (Moroni 7:19).”[3]
[1] What's
in a Word?, Cynthia L. Hallen, Maxwell Institute website.
[2] Joseph
Smith and the Problem of the Unevangelized, Reviewed by David L. Paulsen
and Brent Alvord, Maxwell Institute website.
[3] Mormon’s
Question, Candice Wendt, Journal of
Book of Mormon Studies 24 (2015): 252.
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