Justice, Love, and Mercy

God is justice. He is perfectly just. He will never transgress a commandment. He will never excuse sin. He will never wink at a single violation. Nobody ever is let off, not one. He must be just. He will be just. All have gone astray. None are sinless. Everyone is cast out. Each must suffer the consequences of his own guilt. The law does not allow anyone to take it for you; you must pay the price. Nobody gets a pass -- ever -- not one single case. He will stand in judgment of all, and nobody escapes His all-seeing eye. Nothing anyone has done is secret, but all will be brought to light. We are doomed by Him, God, the greatest of all, the Creator of all things. He gave us agency, and then when we make bad choices, He must condemn us to incur the penalty of the broken law. God is perfectly just. “...Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.” (Alma 42:13) There is no way out. 

Over the millennia there have been many who have puzzled over how God could be both just and merciful. How can He forgive sins without robbing justice? 

And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.

Alma 42:15

God made a perfect plan of justice that allows mercy. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) He sent His Son to save the world from the requirements of His laws. The Father is justice, Jesus is mercy. Jesus paid the price for all sin. He is the only One who did not sin, who did not transgress any law. He was the only One who remained innocent. Yet He suffered the pains of a damned soul... “—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all...” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:15-16) 

Justice is a scale that must balance. One side requires that the perpetrator of a crime pay the penalty of the law, the other is the recompense of an injured party. For justice to be complete, all parties must agree that the scales balance perfectly. The punishment for the criminal must fit the crime, and on the other hand, the judge cannot ask the injured party to simply forgive the perpetrator. That would make mercy rob justice. The injured party has a right to payment but may forgive the debt if he wants. The point is that each party is satisfied. 

Jesus innocently suffered the pains of a damned soul. That is not just; it is the only debt ever incurred by perfect justice. Nobody else is sinless: “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalms 14:3) Only the Lord, Jesus Christ, was truly sinless. It is also essential to note that He did not bring suffering on Himself. He said in the Garden of Gethsemane, “...Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42) If you cause your own suffering, then you owe yourself justice. But in this case, the Father asked the Son to suffer, and He willingly obeyed, just as Abraham placed his promised son on the altar, and Isaac submitted. Because of this, the Father owes a debt to the Son. This is the other side of justice: an injured party has a right to just recompense. He is entitled to demand payment. God must be just, so Jesus can ask for recompense of the suffering He willingly bore at the request of the Father. But, what do you give to someone who has everything, who has created worlds and has all power? The answer is found in His love -- mercy. He asks for us to be forgiven. He pleads our cause before the Judge:

Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified; Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.

Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5

 This, I believe, is the most relevant scripture in the entire canon, explaining how mercy does not rob justice (see Alma 42:25), and how the atonement works for man; the reconciliation of justice and mercy through love. Paradoxically, my Advocate does not actually say anything about me. He does not justify my iniquity. He does not even tell the Father that I have repented and that I am now ready to enter the Kingdom. "Pleading [my] cause" is Him pleading for Himself. 

In a court of law, if I have murdered someone, and my lawyer comes before the judge and says, “I’m a great guy and I have suffered pain, so you should let this man go free,” that is not just. However, the pleading of Jesus is not merely that He’s innocent, but that He suffered innocently by the will of the Judge, and deserves recompense for His suffering. It’s only just. On his own, He will return to heaven a Hero, having kept all the commandments of the Father; but He would be the only One. He is pleading justice for Himself by allowing those who believe on His name to come with Him. He loves them, and wants them to be with Him in the kingdom of God. This is His payment for innocent suffering. God, the Father, being just, grants His petition. Isaiah explains how this balances the scales, to the Lord’s satisfaction: 

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53:11

He is satisfied that all those who love Him will be with Him in heaven. Mercy for us is justice for Him. Justice allows Christ's recompense; Christ's love chooses you as that recompense, which is mercy. 

The stated condition for allowing His brethren into the kingdom is that they “believe on His name.” Those who believe in Him repent of their sins. We receive His mercy on the condition of repentance. It makes sense why repentance is necessary. If you do not come to Christ and repent of your sins, then you are not worthy to enter into the kingdom, being unclean. Thus, the Son cannot recommend you to the Father. “Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance...” (Alma 42:13) Our repentance is to turn away from the things of the world, and turn to God, seeking Him. God loves each one of His children, and pleads with them to repent. And for those who refuse, heaven does not rejoice in their condemnation. God weeps over those who do not repent and must suffer for their own sins. 

But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?

Moses 7:37

He wants every soul to come with Him. His love knows no bounds. He has paid the price of redemption. He has prepared the way for all to be saved. He sent His only begotten Son into the world to pay the price of sin, allowing all to return to Him if they would repent. This is indeed “where justice, love, and mercy meet in harmony divine.” (How Great The Wisdom and the Love, Hymns 195, Eliza R. Snow)

Power is Purpose

We think life is about getting what we want. We work, pray, strive, suffer, and spend our time in search of what we want. Our wants, needs, and desires drive us to act on our own behalf. 

• Hope is the possibility of getting what we want. 
• Joy is getting what we want. 
• Faith is the substance and evidence that we can get what we want. 
• Peace and rest is having what we want. 

But this way of living has no foundation. It is the "great and spacious building" Lehi saw, standing "as it were in the air" (1 Nephi 8:26). We get what we want and only want more. Fulfilled desires bring fleeting joys, and it's never enough. The desires themselves are not the problem; it is good to want love, peace, joy, happiness, and even power. The problem is believing we can fill those needs with the things of the world. An infinite need cannot be filled with a finite object. That is the way of the natural man (Mosiah 3:19), and building on it is building on sand (Matthew 7:26–27).

A Firm Foundation

By nature, we seek to fill our own needs, and we try to fill them with the things of the world. Repentance is turning away from that and turning toward God. This is the "mighty change" of heart the scriptures describe (Alma 5:14; Mosiah 5:2). Our desires don't disappear; they change direction. Instead of seeking what we want, we begin to seek what God wants.

This change is how we discover who we really are. The purpose of life is to discover who we are in eternity: children of God, able to grow up to become like our Father. Part of that discovery is learning how much of His power we can be trusted to hold. We cannot learn this on our own. It happens only as we follow Jesus Christ, which is why the reason for being here on earth now is to accept Him.

“And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters. And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.” (Mosiah 5:7-9)

I am a child of God

I have a purpose. A child grows up to become like his father. I can grow up to become like God through Jesus Christ. I can have the creative and directive power of God. I can receive honor and glory beyond what I can understand at this point in life. As well might a baby at his mother’s breast understand his potential to become a man. The purpose of life is to discover who I am, where I fit in the body of Christ, and how much power I am able to wield. God will not give power beyond what I am able to bear because that would become self-destructive. 

I am given power in a limited world where Christ can heal all wounds. This life is a proving ground, a probation, a place where we have limited power to act, constructively or destructively. We have bombs that can destroy the earth, and we call that power, but we don't even control ourselves. We can hurt people, even kill them, but that is a temporary thing. In the world we are on probation to see what we will do with the limited power that is available to us. 

“...it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:39)

Few will have eternal life and exaltation, to have the power of God, with all power and authority to act in any capacity. Everyone else, “almost all men,” will have some sort of limitation on their ability to act. We are given all the power we can be trusted with, as determined by how we handle it on earth. 

The Will to Power

A philosopher named Spinoza who lived in Amsterdam in the 1600’s posited that life was about increase and growth. Two hundred years later Nietzsche, who is famous for the saying, “God is dead,” believed that life was “the will to power.” Spinoza and Nietzsche both understood that life is about increasing, growing, and continuing. We all have “the will to power” but are seeking to use this power to get what we want, going in the wrong direction. The real direction is opposite, meekness. To be meek is to have power, but not use it for your own wants. A meek person carefully takes the ant that just bit him and puts it back in the colony. Nietzsche thought meekness and humility were a betrayal of the will to power; I believe meekness is its fulfillment. 

The real “will to power” is to become “...as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father,” (Mosiah 3:19) which brings a full and complete ability to act -- real power! This is because the power to direct the work of others can be exercised “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.” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-42) They freely give their “heart, might, mind, and strength” to such a one. 

• Hope is the possibility of Eternal Life and Exaltation -- to have the power of God. (see Moroni 7:41)
• Joy is to bring others into Eternal Life. (see D&C 18:15-16)
• Faith is the belief and evidence of becoming perfect in Christ (see Moroni 10:32). 
• Peace and rest is knowing that I am in the hands of a loving, all-powerful God. (see John 14:26-27)

Our purpose is power. We will, in the process of life, discover who we are in relation to God, and how much power we are willing and able to have. The power to do what I want, to use my own brains and brawn, is limited. Real power is the ability to bring others together to accomplish a goal. God has said that His power is His honor (see D&C 29:36) meaning the obedience that others give to Him to accomplish His ends. Honor is power others give freely out of obedience. God's word is His power. He speaks and everything obeys. That is real power, and that is what we can receive to a greater or lesser degree, depending on our faithfulness, humility, meekness, and love. This is our purpose; it is who we are or what we can become.