Lately the seeming chasm and paradox of justice and mercy have been on my mind. I have always kind of wondered why God's justice exists in the first place if it seems so harsh. I have always believed God is a kind, loving, and understanding being. It is hard for me to understand the God that is sometimes described in scripture as an "angry god" or a "jealous" god, one not to be provoked should you desire to avoid his wrath.I have come to understand that justice must exist for everything to be fair. The desire for "fairness" begins at a very young age--as a basic part of human nature. Some people just happen to get away with a lot of stuff and seem to evade the consequences of their actions. Most of the time, the consequences seem to catch up to them at one point or another in this life, but for those that don't or for those who have been wrongly harmed, justice must exist or God would be a respecter of persons.“All mankind can be protected by the law of justice, and at once each of us individually may be extended the redeeming and healing blessing of mercy."(LDS Aaronic Priesthood Manual--http://www.lds.org/manual/aaronic-priesthood-manual-3/lesson-9-justice-and-mercy?lang=eng)So even when God has to judge us it is out of love to create the most fair situation for all involved. And, God is the only one that knows our hearts, background, personality, and tendencies to judge us perfectly and give us the most "slack" for our mistakes. Furthermore, He provided the Savior to pay the price to fill in the gaps where our best wasn't sufficient.“Unless there is a mediator, unless we have a friend, the full weight of justice untempered, unsympathetic, must, positively must fall on us. The full recompense for every transgression, however minor or however deep, will be exacted from us to the uttermost farthing. “But know this: Truth, glorious truth, proclaims there is such a Mediator." (LDS Aaronic Priesthood Manual--http://www.lds.org/manual/aaronic-priesthood-manual-3/lesson-9-justice-and-mercy?lang=eng)
As I have gotten older, I have understood what the phrase "living in the world but not of the world" means on an intellectual level. There are so many ideas, concepts, values, and doctrines to sort through to find out who we are and what we believe. At times, the world will try to present ideas to you that are "hand-down", no doubt-about-it, black and white, wrong in your mind--wrong according to your values or prescribed religion. There are other times that the world teaches ideas that seem much more sensitive and complex--ideas that resonate with your desire to achieve justice and mercy, but that still don't meld completely with your values and religion. These ideas that seem to be full of gray--that have so many caveats and special circumstances and exceptions--are what this blog is about. As part of becoming my own person and understanding who I am, I feel I must come to know how to understand the many "gray" ideas of the world because they cannot be ignored just because I am a religious person. There are many social issues present in our culture that are unprecedented in their concept and in the open discussion surrounding them, now that the internet enables ideas to become widespread instantly. If we are living in the world where these issues stand, supported by other humans with desires for justice and mercy and needs to be understood, then we must grapple with these ideas until we find ways to maintain our values and be kind and loving to those who may be different or have different values, because they are still children of God. In my mind, "living in the world but not of the world" means that we can accept others for who they are, extend mercy to them without necessarily agreeing with them or following their same lifestyle, and leave the justice to God. Gay marriage, abortion, women's rights in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and modesty are all among the ideas that I must come to understand but still live by God's laws. In all of these complex issues I have a part of me that really wants justice for those struggling with them--I have someone I love, why shouldn't everyone be allowed the same happiness. However, my faith stands strong and God has made it known that marriage should only be between a man and a wife, and God never changes. One idea I have seen in many blogs and articles lately is the idea/hope that one day the church will change its stance on gay marriage or eventually give in and give women the Priesthood. I believe the reference point is the 1978 change in church policy to allow all worthy males to hold the Priesthood. However, that was a policy change--not a change of doctrine or God's laws. I don't believe we can use that hope to discount the words of prophets of God or church leaders, thinking "with enough protesting and discussion, their eyes will finally be opened." I testify that their eyes are open wider than any of ours ever could be. Through communication with the Lord, they know and understand exactly what issues, heartaches, evils, and goodness exist in the world, and I am sure they have felt the emotions and complexity that comes with each. They just know that the justice of God must set a standard to measure our hearts against in order to be fair. Setting the standard of no gay marriage and no Priesthood for women does not mean they do not understand the issue or that they are judging or hateful toward anyone that struggles with these concepts. It just means that the way God designed his plan was for men to marry women and for men and women to have separate roles (both of the grandest responsibility and honor) in this life. When church leaders speak on these difficult and complex issues they are not saying that you are a sinner if you understand both sides of any of these challenging concepts. They are not even saying that you are a sinner if you are attracted to someone of the same gender or if you really feel a desire to have the Priesthood as a woman. They draw the line at what you do with these ideas. Feeling attracted to a member of the same sex is very different than having sexual relations or impure thoughts with or about that person. Feeling a desire to have recognition and power as a woman is different than openly speaking ill of leaders of the church that have been called by God or rebelling against gospel doctrine. Every person on this Earth has struggles with desires that are against what God has told us is good and right. I think the real issue is what we do with those desires. Do we act on them though God has told us they are not part of His plan? If not, then we have done nothing contrary to His will. Even if you chose to act against the teachings of Christ, church leaders, church members, and God still love you. It is devastating to me when I hear stories of "Christians" acting in the contrary, but we must remember that humans are human and cannot always love as perfectly as God or have the same mercy He has. However, I think this concept of church leaders just being men is sometimes taken a little too far. Yes. Church leaders are men with weaknesses and their own opinions that may not necessarily be gospel doctrine. However, in something like general conference where they have months to prepare their message and speak with the Lord about it and review it with many people, I believe they are speaking for the Lord and we cannot automatically discount something we don't want to hear as "their opinion" rather than doctrine. I do know that God and church leaders alike would have you pray about anything they teach to gain a testimony of it yourself. Truth stands immortal. When we pray to know the truth and how to live it we will feel of the power of truthfulness and feel of the Love of God in knowing that as long as we are doing our best both justice and mercy will prevail in the end. Some people have struggles that are harder than others and some people (like me) may need more mercy than others to fill in the gaps of their many weaknesses. Justice and mercy enable each of us to live in this world of different circumstances, struggles, and desires and come out of it with the same fair benefits--stronger, more humble, and more merciful if that is what we desire. Though we all have different circumstances, struggles and weaknesses, we are all promised the same peace and love through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Living in the world but not of the world means we try to understand the struggles each child of God has without trying to tell God what to do or how to change His plan. It is not our job to judge any person for any struggle they may have, but it is our job to love them and love and follow our leaders as we uphold the values and truths of God's plan.
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