Judge Not: Dirty Windows

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

In the above video, the woman's husband was able to help stop the judgement, but the only way he was able to do that was by looking not through the window at the other lady's laundry, but AT the window.
I know that we can gain guidance through the Spirit. And maybe the Spirit of God will tell us to go and get guidance from others, such as this woman's husband.

This is a beautiful story of a prophet not knowing the facts and not judging:
“A young mother on an overnight flight with a two-year-old daughter was stranded by bad weather in Chicago airport without food or clean clothing for the child and without money. She was … pregnant and threatened with miscarriage, so she was under doctor’s instructions not to carry the child unless it was essential. Hour after hour she stood in one line after another, trying to get a flight to Michigan. The terminal was noisy, full of tired, frustrated, grumpy passengers, and she heard critical references to her crying child and to her sliding her child along the floor with her foot as the line moved forward. No one offered to help with the soaked, hungry, exhausted child.

“Then, the woman later reported, ‘someone came towards us and with a kindly smile said, “Is there something I could do to help you?” With a grateful sigh I accepted his offer. He lifted my sobbing little daughter from the cold floor and lovingly held her to him while he patted her gently on the back. He asked if she could chew a piece of gum. When she was settled down, he carried her with him and said something kindly to the others in the line ahead of me, about how I needed their help. They seemed to agree and then he went up to the ticket counter [at the front of the line] and made arrangements with the clerk for me to be put on a flight leaving shortly. He walked with us to a bench, where we chatted a moment, until he was assured that I would be fine. He went on his way. About a week later I saw a picture of Apostle Spencer W. Kimball and recognized him as the stranger in the airport.’”2
Several years later, President Kimball received a letter that read, in part:
“Dear President Kimball:
“I am a student at Brigham Young University. I have just returned from my mission in Munich, West Germany. I had a lovely mission and learned much. …
“I was sitting in priesthood meeting last week, when a story was told of a loving service which you performed some twenty-one years ago in the Chicago airport. The story told of how you met a young pregnant mother with a … screaming child, in … distress, waiting in a long line for her tickets. She was threatening miscarriage and therefore couldn’t lift her child to comfort her. She had experienced four previous miscarriages, which gave added reason for the doctor’s orders not to bend or lift.
“You comforted the crying child and explained the dilemma to the other passengers in line. This act of love took the strain and tension off my mother. I was born a few months later in Flint, Michigan.
“I just want to thank you for your love. Thank you for your example!”

Judge Not: Diversity

Old Friends (values.com)

Love truly spans all boundaries. I love how diverse this world is. Heavenly Father could have created us all the same. Made up a mold, and put each of us through it. Dumped the same knowledge and experiences into our minds.
But instead, He chose to make us all different. He chose to allow cultures and languages to develop. He chose to have different skin colors, hair colors, and eye colors.

One of my favorite children's books is "The Sandwich Swap." A typical American girl makes friends with an American-Indian girl. They have lots of fun together, until one day at lunch when they each notice that the other girl has a weird looking sandwich. Unwilling to see past that little difference, they stop being friends and eventually lead the whole school in a huge food fight.
In the aftermath of the food fight, the girls look at what happened when they weren't able to accept the other's unique differences. You'll have to read the book to learn the rest. :D

Sadly, this has happened with adults as well as children. ISIS, the KKK, the Nazi-Holocaust are all examples of terrible actions stemming from an unwillingness to see past differences.

One of the biggest lessons both my dad and uncle have taught me is this:

Everyone is a child of God; Judge not.

I know that that is true. We are all God's children. He loves each of us the way we are, and desires that we progress to become even better. But it is not our job to govern that progression. He knows our weaknesses and our neighbors' weaknesses. He can take the judgement from our hearts and help us to see each other has His children. I have felt His love for His children a few times in my life and it filled my soul with light and joy. 

I know that if you pray to feel His love for others, you will be able to feel that love and understand what He wants you to do.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies

One of the most inspiring stories in the Book of Mormon is the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies--also known as the people of Ammon.
These people were Lamanites who had separated themselves from the other Lamanites because they had been converted and now believed in God. The other Lamanites were angry with the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They probably felt betrayed and confused by the change in their friends and former brothers-in-arms. The Lamanites prepared to go to war against the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.
When the Anti-Nephi-Lehies heard about the preparations, they were naturally scared. The king and the prophet counseled together and with God to decide what to do. They felt inspired that they should not fight against the Lamanites.
In fact, they gathered together all of the people and challenged them to make a covenant with God: that they would never raise a weapon against anyone ever again. As a symbol of that covenant, every single person took their weapons and threw them into a pit, burying them where they couldn't be reached.
When the Lamanites were ready, they came and attacked the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. As they'd agreed, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies didn't fight back. Instead they knelt down and prayed to Heavenly Father.

22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay (1,005) of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.
23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—
24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbearfrom slaying them; and there were many whose hearts hadswollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.
25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.
26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved. (Alma 24)

 When I read through this story last, I had a few cool thoughts I'd like to share.
I wondered why, when Heavenly Father had saved so many people who placed their trust in Him, He chose not to save the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Then I remembered that only a generation after these people came the 2,000 Stripling Warriors (read that story here). These young men were protected by the mighty power of God... and maybe by 1,005 angels as well.
The example of faith that their uncles, fathers, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandparents, cousins, and many others who died for their covenants must have also been a powerful force for the young men.

Finally, I thought of the question in "The War Room" (amazing movie, you should watch it). "Do I just let him walk all over me?"
The Anti-Nephi-Lehies not only were walked over, they were killed.

For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also—counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ—requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when those sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God.   ~Joseph Smith

Although many of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were killed, many more people were converted. And through the scriptures we can know that those who were killed were taken up to heaven.

This story has come to mean much more to me. To me it is now a story of how a large group of people, unified in faith, can find new life through conversion and through the resurrection.

A Careful Boy I want to Be

I recently heard a story about, "Please." In the story, one boy is extremely rude while his older brother is extremely polite. What ends up changing the younger brother's attitude is the example his older brother set. When the younger brother sees how polite his older brother is, he thinks "Hmm... I wonder what it would be like to be like that?" And then he changes.
The examples we set for our families are so important.
I love this poem:

A careful boy I want to be;

a little brother follows me.

I do not dare to go astray

for fear he'll go the self-same way

I cannot once escape his eyes;

what e'er he see me do, he tries.

Like me he says he's going to be-

that little brother following me.

He thinks that I am good and fine;

believes in every word of mine.

The bad in me he must not see-

that little brother following me.

I must remember as I go

through summer's sun and winter's snow

I'm building for the years to be

that little brother following me.

Finally, Elder Gene Cook from the Quorum of the Seventy shared the story of his brother's example:

When I was a boy, my family wasn’t very active in the Church. When my older brother, Ron, was turning 12, a man in the ward convinced him to become a deacon. ...When Ron was about 17 and I was about 12, his teacher told him that he needed to gain a testimony of his own. He said to me, “I intend to find out for myself if the Church is true. I’m going to pay any price to know for myself.”
Over the next few weeks, I watched him. I’d find him on his knees praying. I’d see him reading the Book of Mormon. I was amazed at how diligent he was.
... Later ..., Ron told me,  “...I now know for myself that the Church is true. ...Because of what has been happening to me in reading the Book of Mormon. I’ve got my testimony by reading and praying over every page. I know all that we’ve been taught in the Church is correct, and I am going on a mission.” I’d never heard Ron say that before. It was evident to me, even as a young boy, that he had really been impacted by something.
After Ron left me alone, I thought to myself, “If the Lord would tell my brother, then I’ll bet the Lord would tell me.” So I did what my brother did, reading and praying over every page of the Book of Mormon. Because I was still young, I didn’t understand a lot of the words, but it wasn’t long before I began to feel the Lord speak to me in my heart, telling me it was true. I read the whole book through and ended up with a strong testimony even at age 12. That really helped me through my youth and in preparation for a mission.
I have always been thankful for my good brother, who loved me enough to show me by example how to gain a testimony.

Heavenly Father has told us to "let your light so shine before men." I know that as we fearlessly and boldly testify of the truths we've learned to our family and friends they will be strengthened, and our example can lead them closer to Christ.