Condemn the sin

In a recent elders quorum meeting in our ward, we were assigned Dallin Oaks’ recent general conference talk “Alive in Christ”, which focuses on being peacemakers and avoiding contention.

At one point during the discussion, the instructor said something along the lines of “We need to love our enemies, but we need to condemn the sin”. The last 3 words were for sure spoken.

The idea of condemning others’ sins does not sit well with me—even the idea of just determining whether someone else is sinning seems odd to me—so I raised my hand. When the instructor called on me, I asked, “Why do we have to condemn the sin when it is not us doing the sinning?”

This initiated a back and forth between me and the instructor, with a few others interjecting their comments. I was starting to feel as though I had a minority view on this topic, even though I think there is more scriptural support for my position than there was for theirs.

The scriptures charge us with bearing one another’s burdens, mourning with others, comforting others (Mosiah 18: 8–9); and to feed others, quench others’ thirst, clothe others, and visit others (Matt. 25:35–45). But there are no charges I am aware of the condemn the sins of others.

In fact, there are warnings for us to avoid judging others altogether; in fact, Jesus even calls people hypocrites when they do judge others (Matt: 7:1–5).

It is Jesus’s role to judge us; not our role to judge one another. The more time we spend judging others means less time for us to judge our own actions, and I said as much in the meeting.