But
remember that all my judgments are not given unto men; and as the words have
gone forth out of my mouth even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first
shall be last, and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have
created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit. (D&C
29:30)
That bit about “all my
judgments are not given unto men” is intriguing. He’s given a lot of guidance
on the things people will be judged on, and He wants us to know that stuff so
we can prepare ourselves with repentance and/or avoid those sins.
But along with judgment
that punishes, He can also give judgment that takes mercy. So this suggests to
me that Jesus intends to take mercy in ways He has not told us. Aside from the
principles of mercy on conditions of repentance and mercy for those who never
heard of Christ or the gospel, and mercy on those not old enough to be
accountable for their sins, we don’t know all the ways he can exercise mercy.
It could be He gives us
a hint of another way He will have mercy in this verse—the last will be first
and the first shall be last in all things. This is a reference to the parable
of the workers hired in the market place at the 3rd, 6th,
and evening hours, who were all mercifully given the same wages in the reverse
order in which they were hired. Having the last be first is a mercy of love
intended to show the last hired that they were not forgotten, when they might
be perpetually afraid that they would be.
In any event, the Lord’s
mercy is a surprising thing. Any of us who have experienced it can testify to
that. I know I can. So I guess it makes sense that He reserves the right to use
it and not tell us everything about how He can use it.
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