Judgment: God's Final Day of Judgment

"And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ," (Mormon 3:22.)

The final judgment is a part of God's Plan of Salvation, but what is it and how can we prepare for it? Continue reading to find the answers to these questions and more, including how to judge others and how to judge between good and evil.

What is God's Final Judgment?: After we die and are resurrected we will come before God, the Eternal Father, to be judged. Through Jesus Christ, God will judge every single person who has ever lived on the earth (see Mortality) and will determine the worth of each individual. God's final judgment is based upon our acceptance of Christ as our Savior and our obedience to his commandments. Each of us will receive a degree of eternal glory which will determine where we will exist after this life. (See "Heaven and Hell" below.)

"Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment. Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever," (1 Nephi 10:20-21.)

Preparing for Our Day of Judgment: "Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful guilt in perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God Almighty—but I know my guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath obtained me, that I am a prey to his awful misery," 2 Nephi 9:46.)

We must prepare ourselves for the final judgment of God by having faith in Jesus, repenting, being baptized, and enduring to the end.

Judging Others: Christ commanded us not to judge others, as stated in Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." But modern day revelation (through the Joseph Smith Translation) has clarified judging others as follows:

"Now these are the words which Jesus taught his disciples that they should say unto the people. Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged: but judge righteous judgment," (JST Matt. 7: 1-2.)

This doctrine to only judge in righteousness was given in the book of Leviticus, "in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour," (Leviticus 19: 15) and the prophet, Alma, from the Book of Mormon, also taught it:

"Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.

"For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all," (Alma 41: 14-15.)

The Latter-day apostle, Dallin H. Oaks, wrote a wonderful article, "'Judge Not' and Judging," which really clarifies the difference between intermediate and final judgments.

Judging Good from Evil: Judging between good and evil can sometimes be difficult, especially when a choice is not clearly one or the other. Learning to judge between the two is a huge part of life- it's part of the process. We can learn, through the choices we make, the experiences we have, and the joys and sorrows we feel, but the Lord has given each of us a gift to help us to judge righteously: his Spirit. The Holy Ghost can "show unto you all things what ye should do," (2 Nephi 32:5.)

Heaven and Hell: As Latter-day Saints, our belief of heaven and hell is quite different from that of general Christianity. We believe there are three degrees of heaven, called kingdoms or glories. As for a hell we believe in a placed called Outer Darkness. Read the last article in the Plan of Salvation, Three Kingdoms of Glory, to learn more about our beliefs of Heaven and Hell.

After reading about God’s Final Day of Judgment what do you believe? Share your answer in this Poll: Do You Believe in a Final Judgment?

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