Justice: in This Life, or the Next?

We seek justice when somebody harms another human. It is natural to want justice. You do not have to forgo justice to have mercy. If somebody steals from a store then can be incarcerated, or the store could simply require payment for the stolen product. It’s simple to do.

If a person rapes another we want justice. Most civilized people expect the offender to pay a price for what they have done. Nobody would expect the rape victim to simply forgive the offender in such a way that there is no justice.  When one harms another they should have some sort of punishment. Some people say that those who manage to escape justice in this life will find justice in the next. If not all the people that escape punishment in this life would completely escape punishment. Let's delve into this thought process. I will look more at the beliefs of Mormonism as that is the specific flavor of Christianity that I know best. It should be noted that while this is specific to Mormonism, the rest of Christianity isn’t much different and is very similar.

Can a person rape a child and escape punishment on earth, even when they have admitted to an ecclesiastical leader? The answer varies between Christian churches. Many teach that in order to repent of this sin they must pay the earthly price for the crime or they cannot be right with God. Others say that this isn't so.  The reason is that removing an abusive father from the situation and putting him in jail is more detrimental to the family as a whole than letting the offender remain in the position to be able to abuse their child. He is trying to change, let him. This would more so be the case if the offender had a position of trust over the child through the church.

The Mormon church's practices this latter scenario whenever possible. The guidebook given to the church leaders tells the leader that if a person comes to them to confess that they have sexually abused another human being to call a specific 800 number. This number is to the law firm that represents the church. The lawyer that answers finds out first what state or country the call is coming from. Then they determine, based on law, if the leader must report this act to legal authorities. Where the law doesn't require it they do not report this to legal authorities. Where the offender lives can determine if they will face legal consequences, earthly justice.

Do you think that this doesn’t actually happen? It does, you just need to find somebody that has gone through it. I’ve been told personally from people that it happened to just how the offender was protected from the law.  Just look for it and you will find that it happens.

I’m going to go off on a tangent. I refuse to call the church by the name it’s president requests that it be called, saying that God is offended when we allow to be used any name other than the name God gave the church. However, any organization that doesn’t put the protection of the child first doesn’t get to demand what it be called.  The church will be referred to as the Mormon church, the LDS church, the church, or anything other than the name they say they must go by.

On another tangent, David Bednar, a general leader of the church, said “One of the greatest indicators of our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others. A thing, an event, or an expression may be offensive, but you and I can choose not to be offended—and to say with Pahoran, “it mattereth not.”.

According to Bednar the god of Mormonism is spiritually immature. Rather than say “it mattereth not”, he is offended when we call the church the Mormon church instead of by it’s given name. I won't give this organization any respect in this regard. Additionally, Yes, the name of the church is negotiable. It changed a few times before God finally felt that the saints needed to have a name different than all the other churches, because after all, they were his church. It took EIGHT YEARS before the current name was given in revelation. Prior to that they were known as The Church of Christ, The Church of the Latter Day Saints, The Church of Jesus Christ, The Church of God, and The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Forward and onward. Let's say that the offender escapes earthly justice. However they are able to repent of this wrong doing, thereby stopping their eternal damnation. They can go to heaven. Not just any heaven, but the Celestial Kingdom, where they will become a god of their own solar system, galaxy, or maybe even universe. They paid no price for having raped a child. Well, I guess they did. They suffered mental anguish over what their action, but through a savior their suffering ended. The child may not be able to recover from it, but the offender can, regardless of the impact on the child.

Let's look at a similar scenario, nearly the same as the above, but the offender doesn't actually repent. The offender dies never having faced any form of earthly justice. Never even felt remorse.  It's OK though, because god's justice will now get him. According to the Mormons if he accepts the fact that Jesus atoned for his sins he will suffer 1000 years. The suffering will be the same as what Jesus suffered. This suffering was so great it caused Jesus, a mortal god, to bleed from every pore, and eventually led to his earthly death. I've experienced bleeding through my pores, all over both of my legs. It hurts, it's painful, excruciatingly so. I don't wish it on anybody.

Well, after the 1000 years of absolute torture and hell, the suffering ends. The offender is now granted a place in heaven. Not as a god in the Celestial Kingdom, but as a servant and, more importantly, as a heavenly glorified being in the Telestial Kingdom. Since he has paid the price for his own sin, regardless of how he feels about his actions, he now has a place in heaven, like the glory of the stars.

Is this wrong? The answer is subjective. Do I have a problem with it? Yes. 1000 years of absolute torture. Torture so bad it killed the son of God in less than a few days, but you must endure said torture for thousands of years. That is justice to the max. The worst part is, once the suffering is over, regardless of how the offender feels (remorse or not) they go to heaven. They can still go to heaven.  They never repented, but they didn't have to because they paid the price themselves. They never changed their mindset. What's to stop it from happening again? Is God going to keep a person from acting on their free will? Is he going to take away their freedom to choose? If not, is he going to force them to not choose according to their mindset? In the end this is the justice you face for raping a child.

Now let's look at thought crime. Did you ever lust after somebody that wasn't your spouse? Did you never act on that? Too bad, you committed adultery, a thought crime, and will be punished the same as a murderer. The short answer is that while you should pay the earthly price for the crime you may not have to.  You can still repent of this horrible act and not suffer any consequences on earth or in an afterlife. You can also only pay a price of suffering and then be forced into slavery. It's really your choice. However, if you were to repent the day you were to die in a car wreck you would be forgiven because you have begun the path to repentance. Mind you, god will forgive he who he will forgive, but it doesn't matter, Jesus paid the price, or you will. The only way to get justice in this life is for humankind to serve the justice.