In ancient times, Abraham received revelation from God that his posterity would be more numerous than the sands of the sea and more plentiful than the stars in the heavens (Genesis 22:17; Abraham 3:14; Doctrine and Covenants 132:30). After receiving those promises, Abraham was blessed with Isaac. Then he was later commanded to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:2). I can only imagine what Abraham may have thought in that time. Conflicted between following the commandments he had received from the Lord and the love of his only son? What purpose could sacrificing him to the God who had gifted him serve?
A saying my offspring may remember me for after I’m gone is “To know is to do.” This has been my response at times when my wife or I reminds one of our kids of something she needs to do, and she says, “I know!”
When a task needs doing, knowing that fact doesn’t equate to completion of the task.
Jesus fills many roles in the plan of salvation. One of these is Judge. Teaching about the Savior in Joppa, the apostle Peter said, “And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead” (Acts 10:42).
Add the Lord Himself in a revelation to Joseph Smith in 1836, “I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts” (Doctrine and Covenants 137:9).
Because our works are perpetually imperfect, the first statement that we’ll all be judged by them is perhaps made tolerable by the corollary: with our desires weighed in the balance.
Of course, this is a blade that cuts both ways. If my works weren’t up to the Lord’s stated standards (His commandments), but I fully desired to do His will, my desires will work in your favor. However, if I desired to experiment with living outside the boundaries of the commandments and even commit crimes but was afraid to because of possible consequences, that may be weighed against me even though I may have been technically not doing much that’s wrong.
For someone trying to please God, the qualifier that desires are factored in is a welcome addition. While we usually look at the ideal of justice as our enemy, in this sense it’s our friend. The Savior will take all things into account that affected our decisions.
In the Parable of the Camp Inspector, the camper named Morris deliberately chose to fail his inspection. He desired to participate in the next activity, but his greater desire was to take the morning off and not clean his bunk. Then he learned of another camper, Owen, whose bunk wasn’t clean for the inspection but got to participate in the activity. That’s not fair! rings the familiar refrain. However, the inspector, who of course represents our Judge, Jesus Christ, took all things into account. Owen would have cleaned his bunk had he not experienced extenuating circumstances. So was she not in reality acting fairly, and in return was judged unfairly by an ignorant bystander for her exercise of judgment?
In this respect, I would say that the adage “Justice is blind” is inaccurate. True justice sees everything and takes it all into account.
I love the teaching that Jesus will judge me on the basis of my desires—probably because I’m not that great when it comes to execution. I experience insecurity. I doubt myself. I question whether something I undertake with righteous intent will make a difference to anyone. But as I desire to do good for Him who will provide my escape from sin and death, He will honor what’s in my heart and add it to the balances.
Many of the parables I’ve written over the last three years were based on something I was thinking about or that was going on in my life. The Parable of the Doctor Visit came out of an important principle that the Holy Ghost taught me when I was going through a difficult period.
Miss Neuenkirche welcomed her new set of third-grade students with a smile. She had high hopes for the class—while it wouldn’t be easy for all of them to get good grades, she felt confident she could help them all get there.
She quickly discovered how far from easy it would be.
The Weekly Parable 