Lesson Notes 11/2

You can find the talk by clicking on the following obnoxiously long link:

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=2d0584d4a0a0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

Just like finals come at the end of a class, final judgment is reserved for the end of a person's stint in mortality. Since we never know when someone else's class is going to be over, we can't pass judgment on them. Final judgment is reserved for the Lord.

"The Great Parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard; … He holds the reins of judgment in His hands; He is a wise Lawgiver, and will judge all men, … 'not according to what they have not, but according to what they have,' those who have lived without law, will be judged without law, and those who have a law, will be judged by that law." - TPJS p. 218

Even the Lord reserves final judgment until the end of our mortal probation. The woman taken in adultery was told to "go and sin no more;" she was given time to repent. But the Lord also makes intermediate judgments about what actions are good and bad, even if people themselves aren't assigned those labels until the final judgment. So how do you "love the sinner but hate the sin?"

Example question from Sara: How do I decline an invitation for my daughter to go see a movie she's not ready for?

Answers:
Danielle - Deciding who your kids hang out with is one of the judgments you have the responsibility to make.

Trina - Just explain where you're coming from: "We're not ready for that, but we should get together and do something else sometime."

Betsy - You're not saying "I'm better than you so I'm not going to hang out with you." You're just saying "We don't do this."

Idea from Mary: Remember the scripture "Let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds" (D&C 64:11) whenever tempted to find fault with someone. Developing a habit like that can help you be a lot less judgmental.

(Disclaimer: I recreated people's quotes the best I could from my notes. My apologies if I didn't get them exactly right.)