Context
Another Judge
I was a Mormon High Priest in my mid-50s when I first learned Joseph Smith would be my judge. It was a hard doctrine to contemplate. When I did, it caused me to recoil. All my life, until that point, I imagined the Mormon Heavenly Father or Jesus would stand as my judge.
And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil
Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 27:14
And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;
Book of Mormon, Mormon 3:20
Never had I considered the possibility that Joseph Smith to be my judge. Or, that he would be the one to say my works were good or evil!
Conditioned to Believe
Mormon doctrines seem logical when viewed through a Mormon lens. Looking back, as a biblical Christian, I struggled with Mormon doctrines I once accepted. So many uncomfortable ideas piled up, one on the next. As the heap grew, I accepted such doctrines with barely a blink and never a think.
Another Mormon High Priest, a fiend senior to myself, first taught me that Joseph Smith would be my judge. The doctrine was strange and uncomfortable. Even so, it never crossed my mind to investigate. Instead, I followed my programming and accepted it as the truth. I accepted it without a shred of evidence, for or against. That is, if I ignored the Book of Mormon passages quoted above.
Afraid to Test
At that time, I had a fuzzy idea of Mormon basics, but I didn’t know the hard doctrines of the faith. I knew Jesus had an apostle by the name of John, but I knew nothing about him. If I had known John, I would have tested the spirit of this doctrine to see if it was from God (1 John 4:1). I didn’t know Luke wrote Acts and documented the tale of the Bereans (Acts 17:11). If I had known about them, I may have followed these “more noble” followers of Jesus. I would have searched the scriptures. I would have discovered this doctrine spoke of another Jesus, another gospel, and a different salvation (2 Corinthians 11:4)
I made no effort to learn the truth for myself. Instead, I accepted this disconcerting doctrine and marched on like a good little soldier.
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