“Judge Righteous Judgment”
Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 7:1–3
1 Now these are the words which Jesus taught his disciples that they should say unto the people.
2 Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment.
3 For with what judgment ye shall judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:
“This is not a prohibition against sitting in judgment either on one’s fellowmen or upon principles of right and wrong, for the Saints are commanded to do these very things. The sense and meaning of our Lord’s utterance is, ‘Condemn not, that ye be not condemned.’ It is, ‘Judge wisely and righteously, so that ye may be judged in like manner.’
“Judgment is one of the attributes of godliness which the Saints are commanded to seek. ‘Take heed,’ Mormon taught, ‘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. 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. For behold, the Spirit 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. . . . And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged’ [Moroni 7:14–18; italics added].
“In the day of judgment, ‘the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man’ (D&C 1:10).”
(Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:245–46.)
