JDJanuary 30, 2015

Thank you, as always, for an excellent article! I've been agonizing over this very topic as I raise my teen daughters and deal with issues such as modesty, music, dating and other standards we try to follow in the For the Strength of Youth booklet. It is a fine line to balance between not judging with pride or malice and instructing. Especially when you consider we have no idea the background of the other person's choices: why they do and say the things they do, what is REALLY going on in their home or life. I think it's so important to teach our children to LOVE... No matter what! Or as President Uchtdorf so beautifully instructed us: "This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it! It’s that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all brothers and sisters. I don’t know exactly how to articulate this point of not judging others with sufficient eloquence, passion, and persuasion to make it stick. I can quote scripture, I can try to expound doctrine, and I will even quote a bumper sticker I recently saw. It was attached to the back of a car whose driver appeared to be a little rough around the edges, but the words on the sticker taught an insightful lesson. It read, “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.”