To Judge Righteous Judgment?

[gr8ideas]

TO JUDGE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
Concern often has arrisen when lessons are drawn from King Benjamin’s discourse on sharing our substance with the needy. When he tells us to “not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish”, many seem to feel that the message is not really meant for members of the church. Some feel justified, because of the generous fast offering contribution that goes to provide for those in need, in withholding from those in need outside the church.
What about that person we encounter on the street that asks for food or change. Do we look upon him and say, “the man has brought upon himself this misery”, “he looks like he could work to me”, “and therefore, I will stay my hand and not impart unto him for his punishments are just”.
We may decide that we will simply pass him by and “notice them not” (Mormon 8:39). After all we can’t be accountable if the person doesn’t really “petition” us.
We may say in our hearts that we cannot give because the person will use the funds to buy wine or cigarettes or drugs or whatever. No one would want to be responsible for helping someone else to commit sin.
Maybe we should have this person do some sort of work for the money, that’s what would probably be required of us if we went in to ask for welfare assistance. If it is alright for the church to require work, surely we shouldn’t just give with no thought of helping this person keep their “self respect” by working. There can’t be two laws, one for the church and one for us as members can there?
This may be a good time to examine the laws and commandments involved in King Benjamin’s admonitions. The Savior stated the principle of sharing our substance during His mortal ministry and again to the Nephites when He appeared on this continent. We should share with the needy all that we can, according to King Benjamin, remembering, “that a man should not run faster than he has strength” (Mosiah 4:27). Jesus said, “Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that ask of thee” (Matt. 5:41-42). Alma says to impart of our substance “of our own free will – yeah and unto every needy, naked soul” (Mosiah 18:28). Alma the son of Alma says if we do not impart of our substance to those in need, that our “prayer is vain and availeth you nothing and ye are as the hypocrites who do deny the faith” (Alma 34:28).
There are no passages exhorting us to share with the poor where we are told that we should judge the need of the beggar. We are not told to even consider why he puts up his petition to us. We are not held responsible for how he uses the gifted funds. In fact, Nephi tells us that it grieves the Lord when we “turn away the needy from judgment, and take away the right from the poor of my people that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless” (2 Nephi 20:2).
Are there times when we as individuals may judge others, as those holding priesthood keys of judgment should do? We have been commanded to judge between good and evil for ourselves (Moroni 7:1-20). Clearly, as parents, we have the obligation by virtue or our parenthood, and also the patriarchal priesthood received in the Endowment, to judge our families in righteousness. Jesus recognized our right to give good gifts to our children (Matt. 7:11). Just as He judges our needs and answers our prayers accordingly, so we have the same stewardship responsibility with our family here on earth.
It is interesting that by virtue of the mantle of Patriarchal Priesthood authority received in the Endowment that the bishop acts in his Priesthood office. The calling of bishop is not simply an ecclesiastical office but a Priesthood office that is Patriarchal in nature. The bishop is “father of his ward” or congregation. Because of this fatherly obligation, the bishop is set apart as a “common judge” in Israel and given the solemn responsibility to execute judgment over his flock, as a righteous father should judge righteously in his home over his family. Holding the Patriarchal priesthood keys of a father and the mantle of a Bishop, the bishop may interview us for personal worthiness to go to the temple or serve in positions in the ward. He may also exact penalties on us for transgression. As part of his stewardship he may require us to work for funds or food received through the welfare programs of the church. He may even deny us welfare benefits if in his judgment it is to our detriment. He has every right to do this because he is a “common judge” in Israel. The bishop normally may not exercise his keys of judgment outside the jurisdiction of his ward or family, just as the stake president exercises the keys of his stewardship only in his stake. We thus find Jesus teaching His disciples who would hold the keys of judgment as Apostles and other priesthood leaders to “judge righteous judgment” (Matt. 7:1 JST). To the multitude, however, he says, “judge not, that ye be not judged” (3 Nephi 14:1). It is clear that those who would hold the keys of judgment were to judge righteous judgments, and since the multitude would hold those keys only in connection with their families, He commands them not to judge for with that judgment that they judge so shall they be judged. Even the bishop or stake president may only exercise these keys of judgment within the jurisdictional boundaries of their respective stake or ward except as they are exercising their fatherly responsibility in their own family.
If the bishop is walking down the street and is asked by the beggar for funds he is under the same obligation as you or I. He must impart freely, for that is the law, and he knowing the law would not want to judge that person wrongfully by exercising priesthood keys that he does not hold.
Hopefully, we can see that there is not one law for the church and one law for us but one law only. We cannot exercise priesthood keys that we do not hold and have not been given; we cannot judge outside our family when we have no right to do so. On the other hand, as parents, we cannot avoid the responsibility and obligation of judging righteously within the context of our own family stewardship. We should not simply impart as we would to the “beggar” instead of taking the time to make decisions based on what’s best for our family and the individuals involved.
King Benjamin was giving us a great discourse on priesthood authority when he said “and if ye judge a man who putteth up his petition to you for you substance the he parish not and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done. I say unto you, woe be unto that man, for his substance parish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to things of this world” (Mosiah 4:22-23).
King Benjamin gave us a great promise when we do as the Lord directs and impart freely without judging unrighteously. He says it is done “for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day”. What a promise, indeed, when contrasted to the fate of those who exercise priesthood keys they do not hold to their own condemnation.
In conclusion it appears that there are two principles involved when we are asked by those in need to share our substance. The first as stated by the Lord is to “Give to them that ask thee”. The second is that in the context of priesthood or patriarchal authority we must “judge righteous judgments”. When we are obedient to His law of Judgment, we are not as the hypocrites who deny the faith, and we are able to retain a remission of our sins.
If the beggar puts up his petition to us in vain we “deny the right" of the poor, for all of our substance does belong to God and He has asked us to share the excess above our needs. By withholding from the poor we not only are being disobedient but it appears that we have exercised keys of judgment that we do not hold and in doing so bring the judgment of God upon ourselves.
Rather than being concerned about finding ways to avoid the petition of the needy we should be looking for ways to express our love for God’s children both in and out of our families. Let us as individuals be found giving freely, even with fervor to those in need, and judging righteously within the family that we have been blessed to have stewardship over.
(For further light on how to judge with righteous judgments, we are referred to the 7th chapter of Moroni, vs. 1-20 for Moroni’s masterful discourse on judging good and evil.)

[awake]

I believe we can't just read scriptures in isolation, while not considering other wisdom and teachings also.

I believe we all have the ability and responsibility to make righteous judgments about anyone we come in contact with on earth, we do this by the Spirit of discernment and by what the scriptures say.

I don't believe that the command to judge righteously is only for leaders, for I believe we can come under condemnation if we knowingly give money to those who refuse to work but choose to be lazy, (for that only encourages evil) or give to those who we know will use it for evil purposes. Again, we can't read scriptures in isolation, we must use all the knowledge we have been given to understand any principle correctly.

Most of us only have so much money to give to the poor without having to ask for money ourselves. So we have to choose who we will give our money to. Most of us can easily find far more people needing help then we have money to give. I myself believe in helping the widows and the fatherless that I know 1st. For men who 'seem' able bodied and yet ask for help, depending on the situation and the Spirit, I might give them a sandwich or money or even might offer them a small job to do for money.

Every situation is different and as long as our heart is right, the Spirit can guide us to know what is best in any given situation. For there are many people who would live off the dole if possible, even though they can work, and that would just be supporting and encouraging evil. Prophets have also taught against supporting the idea of living off the government dole.

[Juliette]

Great post. Gives me much food for thought. We have no idea what has occured in the life of a homeless person.
I walked out of ZCMI one day and a begger on the sidewalk holding a sign, had thrown up all over himself. I didn't want to see that. I was throughly disqusted. Later I was dissapointed in myself for being so disqusted. The drunk man laying in the gutter has the same worth as you or I.
We have a friend who is a paramedic on the Phoenix fire dept. He tells us of the many precautions taken when treating a homeless person. They carry Turberculous and many other diseases.
I also get disqusted when I see people on access and food stamps while some people work so hard to provide for their families. I know it is wrong to judge un-righteously. I need to do better.

Moroni 7: 15,16

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the aSpirit 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.

[gr8ideas]

I can really see your point Awake and agree that if we were to always not only have the Spirit with us but listen to the promptings there would be no need for the prophets like King Benjamin to admonish us. However, the Lord has said:
D&C 130:23
23 A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.

I believe that that is how we are tested in all things. We learn a lesson and the Spirit confirms the truthfulness of it to us, but than the Spirit is withdrawn so that we can test for ourselves on our own to see if it has become part of what we really want. In this way we are not able to use either Satan or the Lord as an excuse for our weakness in keeping the commandants.

And Juliette, I appreciate the kindness of your words. How happy we should be that it isn't us setting in the gutter covered with filth having to beg for food. But, if you are like me and have had to beg to the Lord for forgiveness of sins and weaknesses with suffering, maybe having to just ask for some food or other handout wouldn't be so bad. Thank you for your thoughts. DH

[karend77]

Please read Elder Deiter Uchtdorf's talk from October 2011 on "Providing the Lord's Way"

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2 ... poor+teach" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is a portion:

There are many good people and organizations in the world that are trying to meet the pressing needs of the poor and needy everywhere. We are grateful for this, but the Lord’s way of caring for the needy is different from the world’s way. The Lord has said, “It must needs be done in mine own way.” He is not only interested in our immediate needs; He is also concerned about our eternal progression. For this reason, the Lord’s way has always included self-reliance and service to our neighbor in addition to caring for the poor.

In 1941 the Gila River overflowed and flooded the Duncan Valley in Arizona. A young stake president by the name of Spencer W. Kimball met with his counselors, assessed the damage, and sent a telegram to Salt Lake City asking for a large sum of money.

Instead of sending money, President Heber J. Grant sent three men: Henry D. Moyle, Marion G. Romney, and Harold B. Lee. They visited with President Kimball and taught him an important lesson: “This isn’t a program of ‘give me,’” they said. “This is a program of ‘self-help.’”

Many years later, President Kimball said: “It would have been an easy thing, I think, for the Brethren to have sent us [the money,] and it wouldn’t have been too hard to sit in my office and distribute it; but what a lot of good came to us as we had hundreds of [our own] go to Duncan and build fences and haul the hay and level the ground and do all the things that needed doing. That is self-help.”10

By following the Lord’s way, the members of President Kimball’s stake not only had their immediate needs met, but they also developed self-reliance, alleviated suffering, and grew in love and unity as they served each other.

[A Random Phrase]

Great opening post. :ymapplause: I fear that those of us who rationalize not giving, who are angry at the thought of giving, who condemn the beggar are going to have an unpleasant wake-up call either in this life or the next. The scriptures are plain: If we have it, we should give it. If our family would go hungry or naked or homeless if we gave, then we are not required by God to give - but only if we say in our hearts, "I give not because I have not. If I had, I would give."

We truly are beggars before God - or we have never truly sought forgiveness for the mire we are in. And if we think "all is well" and that we are not in a mire of any kind, I suspect that we are in greater need of repentance than those who appear to need repentance. We have no ground on which to stand when it comes to judging/condemning a beggar. And the richer we are as to things of Babylon, the less ground we have to stand on. As the scriptures put it:

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:17-19

[Matthew.B]

The OP has, IMO, some of the best scriptural interpretation on the subject I've read for a long time, and has cleared some things up I have been wondering about. Particularly, the clear definition of how priesthood keys are the key difference between when to "freely give" without thought of the recipient "working for it", and when to apply the principles taught by Elder Uchtdorf in the talk linked by karend77.

Right now there is one homeless gentleman in the neighborhood that I live in (that I have the chance to interact with), and I try to give him a little money every time I see him, relying on the Lord to guide when those times would be (although I fail far too often to stop and help, for various reasons that I am repenting of). I also try to give him a little bit of food out of the food storage, knowing that I won't be able to use it all before I move, and I won't be able to take it with me. The principle that has guided me, and that brought edification to my soul when I followed it, was King Benjamin's words on the subject of imparting our goods to the poor.

As for giving money/assistance to those who we know will misuse it: I think it is common human nature (at least, it is common for me) to seek help from the Lord- comfort, divine assistance, whatever- and then, when God gives us what we need and more (because that's always how He operates) immediately squander whatever excess is given to us. I know that too often when I am depressed and seek comfort and assurance, in the past I have, as soon as I feel better upon being ministered to by the Holy Ghost, run off and use my newfound joy and energy for some trivial or even sinful purpose. How frustrating it must be for God in that situation!! But if the Lord of Hosts sees fit to still give us what we seek, even if He knows we will abuse it, why is it my place to refuse to do the same with my resources? Let the Lord judge between the giver and the recipient, and reward both according to the intents of their hearts.

[gr8ideas]

In the end, whatever we do we must be careful not to offend the Spirit. All of your posts have made me feel happy I decided to post this. Thanks for all your comments. DH