Justice, Mercy, and Law

Craig Frogley in Meridian Magazine 26 Nov 2018

...

So, justice stems from God’s nature and hence is unchangeable. Therefore, there are some things God can’t change or do.[xxi] Hence His warnings to us sometimes sound harsh and unloving. Mortality’s crises and injustices cause some to conclude that either He is not all powerful or not loving. But, in light of the realities of eternity and His nature, there is no leeway to this part of justice even though He is the epitome of love and kindness. Given the need for us to be capable of living in His presence and our independent agency and fallen natures, we need help.

Mercy

We need time and some kind of system, without this fatal consequence, that would allow us to learn from our mistakes and mortal nature, then change and become capable to live at that celestial level of law/light; a system of prescriptive law. The system must also allow the reception and aggregation of light unto a fulness[xxii] so that we could eventually live in His presence. This is His work and glory motivated by His love for us, His children.

Alma calls this system, “a probationary time” or “preparatory state” or “plan of redemption” or “the plan of mercy.”[xxiii] The vast majority of times the word mercy as found in the Old Testament, is translated from one of two Hebrew words: checed = spousal love, or raham = parental love. Both of these two most profound kinds of love are tough-love resulting in growth through prescriptive law. Alma notes that without law, we cannot progress since neither justice nor mercy could have an effect.[xxiv] These prescriptive laws within this plan and as part of this state, are enacted by two things, according to Alma:

1. Man’s repentance while in the probationary state[xxv]
2. And an atonement by God[xxvi]

So, in order for God to not become a sponsor of sin, as He would if He just allowed it, man must change or repent in order to receive forgiveness. And, there had to be a plan for this system that allowed sinning without immediate and fatal consequence like those from the descriptive laws outside the system. God had to “take upon himself” or “kaphar”[xxvii] (cover) our sins from the descriptive consequences of His nature, during a temporary time that would allow for repentance. Then, we would need something so enticing and moving to motivate us to both deny ourselves of the appetite-rewards of physical matter and to repent, once we discovered by our own experience to “prize the good.”[xxviii] Therefore, “God himself”[xxix] came among men to atone (kaphar) for our sins and “bring about the bowels of mercy;”[xxx] both His and ours.

...