Fill Our Hearts With Sweet Forgiving
This post was encouraged by an editorial in the campus newspaper today. Regarding the recent conviction of Jennete Killpack, the editors stated: "We cheer, for justice has finally come for Cassandra." I cried. Yes, I cried when I read that, and here's why.
How can we cheer at such devastation? I thought this out really well as I walked home from work today, but by now my thoughts are again scattered, so bear with me. Again, how can we cheer - when men claim for themselves the duty that the Lord has repeatedly declared to be his alone to discharge. Note the following from Mormon 3:15: "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay." We have judged, and we have done so unrighteously. Now, before I mislead anyone and receive a slew of hateful comments about how those guilty of crimes should be subject to punishment, and parents must punish their children, and governments must make countries safe, etc, let me clarify. Yes, indeed, governments, parents, teachers, and others in positions of authority of necessity must at times exact punishment. The purpose of this should be two-fold, however. First, especially in the case of parents and occasionally teachers (and church disciplinary councils), the point of punishment should be to teach or correct. This must be done very carefully in compliance with the following mandate from the Lord: "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;" (D&C 121:41-43). Such punishments should be applicable to the wrongdoing and aimed at prevention rather than "exacting justice". Secondly, governments and other authorities must at times try and punish (or remove from society) certain individuals who pose a threat to the safety of others. Again this is NOT to be done in the name of pure justice. Those determining the punishment must be a judicious as possible but the point I wish to make is that true justice cannot be achieved in this life by men. We simply cannot judge perfectly because we do not see perfectly; this is why we have been repeatedly advised to "judge not." In the referenced case, it is imperative that we prevent innocent children from being abused, but the editors of this opinion and so many others in our society have judged the very person involved. They stepped beyond the bonds of reasonable judgment to protect ourselves and others to degrading talk about one of our Heavenly Father's children. This is inappropriate. Safety must be preserved and children must be taught to be responsible citizens, but judgment and justice belong to God and God alone.
How can we cheer at such a tragedy? I do not imagine the day the Lucifer was cast off forever to become the devil, the father of all lies, was a day of even the remotest rejoicing. This brilliant son of the Eternal Father who had made such horrible choices and wrecked so much havoc among the children of the Father, leading many to eternal misery was punished, and rightly so. In this case, true justice was exacted (as it was so done by God, the True Judge), but it was not a day for cheering. It never has been a day for cheering when a child of God has strayed and must of necessity be cut off. These are days of mourning, introspection, and learning-days to review how we could be better personally and how we can help prevent such future tragedies. For those who cheer at such events, I shed a few extra tears. I rejoice in Christ in the Atonement and the opportunity for change. When such days of punishment lead to a bettering of one's life and a return to the ways of God, that is the time to cheer. "Mercy, with its sister virtues of repentance and forgiveness" is something to cheer about! (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)
The editorial page always contains the obligatory disclaimer that while published by a church school, the paper does not represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thank goodness. It would be a sad day indeed when a church that professes to be lead by a living prophet, seer, and revelator can hear his words so distinctly and then turn so far from his counsel less than two days after it was given. President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke on October 2 in a world-wide conference about the virtue of forgiveness. He said, "I wish today to speak of forgiveness. I think it may be the greatest virtue on earth, and certainly the most needed. There is so much of meanness and abuse, of intolerance and hatred. There is so great a need for repentance and forgiveness. It is the great principle emphasized in all of scripture, both ancient and modern." The Lord declared that it was required of us to forgive ALL men. We are not to be the judge of who deserves our love and forgiveness; that duty belongs to Christ, the "Eternal Judge of both quick and dead", we must extend a helping hand of fellowship, not a cold shoulder, and certainly never hatred or spite.
The editorial claims to cheer because, "justice has come for Cassandra." This is not so. The little girl who was abused and murdered will never receive justice at the hands of men, just as her perpetrators cannot. The courts cannot give her back her life, her childhood, her innocence. There is no justice for Cassandra in this life. Justice, and interestingly enough mercy, can ONLY come in and through Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. He alone has born her griefs and carried her sorrows. He can heal the broken heart and fill the emptiness of despair with peace and hope. He can alone can restore one's innocence. Justice is not the work of man. Only God, who is perfectly just AND perfectly merciful can do what is needed for both perpetrator (often a victim in werf's own right) and victim. It is only when one holds both these qualities in perfect balance that either can be exacted perfectly.
In sum, in response to the thoughtless editorial and as a representation of my beliefs on the subject of justice, let it never be thought that I do not think Jenette Killpack or any other individual convicted of a crime should avoid conviction and punishment. And I am far from perfect at reserving personal judgment for the Lord. (Indeed, I have often had a great urge to march into the prison and cause serious pain to the man who created such devastation in the life of one I love very dearly. Yet I realize that these impulses, if acted upon, would be sorrow to my soul and cause me to distance myself from the Lord, as it would be a sin for me to carry them out.) It is necessary for hardened criminals to be locked up, away from others whom they could hurt. But vengeance belongs to the Lord. Avoid judging a person, and please, please, do not cheer for such a tragedy.
How can we cheer at such devastation? I thought this out really well as I walked home from work today, but by now my thoughts are again scattered, so bear with me. Again, how can we cheer - when men claim for themselves the duty that the Lord has repeatedly declared to be his alone to discharge. Note the following from Mormon 3:15: "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay." We have judged, and we have done so unrighteously. Now, before I mislead anyone and receive a slew of hateful comments about how those guilty of crimes should be subject to punishment, and parents must punish their children, and governments must make countries safe, etc, let me clarify. Yes, indeed, governments, parents, teachers, and others in positions of authority of necessity must at times exact punishment. The purpose of this should be two-fold, however. First, especially in the case of parents and occasionally teachers (and church disciplinary councils), the point of punishment should be to teach or correct. This must be done very carefully in compliance with the following mandate from the Lord: "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;" (D&C 121:41-43). Such punishments should be applicable to the wrongdoing and aimed at prevention rather than "exacting justice". Secondly, governments and other authorities must at times try and punish (or remove from society) certain individuals who pose a threat to the safety of others. Again this is NOT to be done in the name of pure justice. Those determining the punishment must be a judicious as possible but the point I wish to make is that true justice cannot be achieved in this life by men. We simply cannot judge perfectly because we do not see perfectly; this is why we have been repeatedly advised to "judge not." In the referenced case, it is imperative that we prevent innocent children from being abused, but the editors of this opinion and so many others in our society have judged the very person involved. They stepped beyond the bonds of reasonable judgment to protect ourselves and others to degrading talk about one of our Heavenly Father's children. This is inappropriate. Safety must be preserved and children must be taught to be responsible citizens, but judgment and justice belong to God and God alone.
How can we cheer at such a tragedy? I do not imagine the day the Lucifer was cast off forever to become the devil, the father of all lies, was a day of even the remotest rejoicing. This brilliant son of the Eternal Father who had made such horrible choices and wrecked so much havoc among the children of the Father, leading many to eternal misery was punished, and rightly so. In this case, true justice was exacted (as it was so done by God, the True Judge), but it was not a day for cheering. It never has been a day for cheering when a child of God has strayed and must of necessity be cut off. These are days of mourning, introspection, and learning-days to review how we could be better personally and how we can help prevent such future tragedies. For those who cheer at such events, I shed a few extra tears. I rejoice in Christ in the Atonement and the opportunity for change. When such days of punishment lead to a bettering of one's life and a return to the ways of God, that is the time to cheer. "Mercy, with its sister virtues of repentance and forgiveness" is something to cheer about! (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)
The editorial page always contains the obligatory disclaimer that while published by a church school, the paper does not represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thank goodness. It would be a sad day indeed when a church that professes to be lead by a living prophet, seer, and revelator can hear his words so distinctly and then turn so far from his counsel less than two days after it was given. President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke on October 2 in a world-wide conference about the virtue of forgiveness. He said, "I wish today to speak of forgiveness. I think it may be the greatest virtue on earth, and certainly the most needed. There is so much of meanness and abuse, of intolerance and hatred. There is so great a need for repentance and forgiveness. It is the great principle emphasized in all of scripture, both ancient and modern." The Lord declared that it was required of us to forgive ALL men. We are not to be the judge of who deserves our love and forgiveness; that duty belongs to Christ, the "Eternal Judge of both quick and dead", we must extend a helping hand of fellowship, not a cold shoulder, and certainly never hatred or spite.
The editorial claims to cheer because, "justice has come for Cassandra." This is not so. The little girl who was abused and murdered will never receive justice at the hands of men, just as her perpetrators cannot. The courts cannot give her back her life, her childhood, her innocence. There is no justice for Cassandra in this life. Justice, and interestingly enough mercy, can ONLY come in and through Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. He alone has born her griefs and carried her sorrows. He can heal the broken heart and fill the emptiness of despair with peace and hope. He can alone can restore one's innocence. Justice is not the work of man. Only God, who is perfectly just AND perfectly merciful can do what is needed for both perpetrator (often a victim in werf's own right) and victim. It is only when one holds both these qualities in perfect balance that either can be exacted perfectly.
In sum, in response to the thoughtless editorial and as a representation of my beliefs on the subject of justice, let it never be thought that I do not think Jenette Killpack or any other individual convicted of a crime should avoid conviction and punishment. And I am far from perfect at reserving personal judgment for the Lord. (Indeed, I have often had a great urge to march into the prison and cause serious pain to the man who created such devastation in the life of one I love very dearly. Yet I realize that these impulses, if acted upon, would be sorrow to my soul and cause me to distance myself from the Lord, as it would be a sin for me to carry them out.) It is necessary for hardened criminals to be locked up, away from others whom they could hurt. But vengeance belongs to the Lord. Avoid judging a person, and please, please, do not cheer for such a tragedy.
posted by Chicken Dust at 5:53 PM
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