Judging

• 1 Nephi 17:22

Laman and Lemuel complain and accuse that their father has judged the people of Jerusalem.

• Alma 41:14

Alma tells son, Corianton, to judge righteously.

• Mormon 8:19-20

For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again; for according to his works shall his wages be; therefore, he that smiteth shall be smitten again, of the Lord.

Behold what the scripture says—man shall not smite, neither shall he judge; for judgment is mine, saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine also, and I will repay.

• Moroni 7:14

"take heed ... 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."

"It is given unto you to judge."

• D&C 11:12

Commandment to judge righteously.

• D&C 82:22-23

22) And now, verily I say unto you, and this is wisdom, make unto yourselves friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, and they will not destroy you.

23) Leave judgment alone with me, for it is mine and I will repay. Peace be with you; my blessings continue with you.

• D&C 111:11

Be wise as serpents, yet without sin.

• Matthew 7:1-5

See JST to dispel common false doctrine.

Verses 1-2 also cited in 3 Nephi 14:1-2

Verses 3-5 also useful for dispelling common false doctrine.

• Matthew 10:16

Be wise as serpents, yet without sin.

• Leviticus 19:15

"Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement ... but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor."

• Isaiah 1:16-27

16) Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

17) Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

18) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19) If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

20) But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

21) How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

22) Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

23) Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

24) Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

25) And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

26) And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

27) Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

• Isaiah 2:4

"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

• Isaiah 3:1-2,13-14

1) For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

2) The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,

13) The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

14) The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

• Isaiah 4:4

"When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning."

• Isaiah 5:3,7,16

3) And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

7) For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

16) But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

• Joseph Smith Jr. in Dean C. Jesse, ed., "The Papers of Joseph Smith", Vol. 1, p. 43

"It is not rumor ... upon which we are to found our judgements of one's merits or demerits: If it is we erect an altar upon which we sacrifice the most perfect of men, and establish a criterion by which the 'vilest of the vile' may escape censure."

• Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, p. 210

(taken from History of the Church 6:310-312)

"God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself."

• Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith", p. 118

Evils of Hasty Judgment

• Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith", p. 138

(Referring to the discerning of pride in others.) "And again, outward appearance is not always a criterion by which to judge our fellow man; but the lips betray the haughty and overbearing imaginations of the heart; by his words and his deeds let him be judged."

• Tyler J. Griffin, "How Do We 'Judge Righteous Judgement'?", Ensign, Feb 2019

• Alexander Grace, "Judgement is Fun. She Loves It", YouTube, 24 Sep 2020

Notes

It is worth some research to make sense of this issue, as the importance of judging and being wary are manifest, both in scripture, and in reason. It is nonetheless also manifest, from the same sources, that the activity of fault-finding is wicked, and how to distinguish between right conduct and improper conduct is made to seem somewhat uncertain.

At this time, I would venture that fault-finding consists in the activity of identifying weaknesses in others out of pride or covetousness. Perhaps it may also consist of, or extend to, imagining faults that we have no right reason to imagine. (Such, for example, I seem to have seen become a staple of news media reporting of the decisions of certain disliked public servants. Everything is labeled a weakness and everything is reported in a negative light, whereas another preferred public figure may do some very similar thing and have it spoken of as a strength.)

Good judgment, however, would likely be free of pride and covetousness, and would be characterized by proper application of right principles based upon sound evidence.

Anyhow, more keys for discerning proper conduct in this regard would probably be useful.

A similar dichotomy is likely present in the admonition to not gossip, and the admission that it is incumbent upon he who has been warned to warn his neighbor. We are to proclaim truth but are to refrain from vain janglings.

There also seems to be a dichotomy between judging, so as to make correct moral choices, and passing judgement of a person's eternal worth. Clearly, we have no right or authority to damn a person, yet people make that kind of judgement all the time. Judgement is related to justice and charity. We receive no glory for damning others, but in serving them by bringing them closer to our Heavenly Father; an act that requires discernment. (Which is a synonym for judgement.)

Cross-References

• Fault-Finding
• The Gift of Discernment