“Why Beholdest Thou the Mote That Is in Thy Brother’s Eye, But Considerest Not the Beam That Is in Thine Own Eye?”
Matthew 7:1–5
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
President Thomas S. Monson said:
“Are we making judgments when we don’t have all the facts? What do we see when we look at others? What judgments do we make about them?
“Said the Savior, ‘Judge not’ [Matthew 7:1]. He continued, ‘Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?’ [Matthew 7:3]. Or, to paraphrase, why beholdest thou what you think is dirty laundry at your neighbor’s house but considerest not the soiled window in your own house?
“None of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to be so. And yet for some reason, despite our own imperfections, we have a tendency to point out those of others. We make judgments concerning their actions or inactions.
“There is really no way we can know the heart, the intentions, or the circumstances of someone who might say or do something we find reason to criticize. Thus the commandment: ‘Judge not.’”
(“Charity Never Faileth,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 122.)
