Item Detail
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28624
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0
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0
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English
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Does Justice rob Mercy? Retribution, Punishment, and Loving Our Enemies
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Dialogue : A Journal of Mormon Thought
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Winter 2003
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36
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no.3
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1-26
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I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED THE PARABLES and teachings of Jesus about forgiveness and mercy, and I have pondered their meaning for many years. We could say that in these parables, parables such as the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep, and the Laborers in the Vineyard, mercy and forgiveness are given pre-eminence over justice. One would think that we would simply rejoice in the message of God's love, mercy, and forgiveness that these parables present. But they trouble us. When the parable of the Prodigal Son is discussed in a Mormon Sunday School class, the Older Brother is invariably brought up as the better son, the preferred son. The Younger Brother is forgiven and loved, it is conceded, but the Older Brother has the higher place in the Kingdom of God, it is argued. For most Mormons, justice and obedience are more important than mercy and forgiveness. The Older Brother was obedient. Yes, he should have forgiven his brother, but didn't the Father tell him, "All that I have is thine?" Most Mormons I have heard on the subject interpret this to mean that the Older Brother will inherit the highest kingdom of heaven while the Younger Brother will take a lower place. So in this interpretation of the Prodigal Son, mercy is inferior to justice.