When speaking about the Council of Fifty in Nauvoo, which had members who were not members of the church, In the council men were not consulted about their religious opinions, no matter what they were. “We act upon the broad and liberal principle that all men have equal rights and ought to be respected,” he said. “Every man has a privilege in this organization of choosing for himself voluntarily his God and what he please for religion.”
Our “lens” of fairness is ultimately shaped, though, not by the complexities of our current cultural and political situation, but by our understanding of our relationship to Heavenly Father who “loves all of his children equally,” and who has commanded us to “love one another, as I have loved you.” It is this relationship that makes it possible, as Elder Rasband counsels us, to be “unyielding in right and truth yet still reach out in kindness.”
Above and beyond the challenge of fairness in a complex and indeed threatening social, political and cultural environment, there is, President Uchtdorf reminds us, “the first and great commandment” to love God and our fellowman. And this love is inseparable from obedience to God’s commandments: “it is those who obey the commandments who truly love God.” It is not the word “love,” or a mere feeling called “love” that fulfills the great commandment. Rather, “true conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ and its values and principles will be witnessed by our actions in our daily lives.”
Love finally asks much more of us than justice or fairness; it asks us not only to respect and negotiate rights but to regard other human beings as our brothers and sisters with the potential to become like Heavenly Father and live with him eternally. Whereas fairness addresses the complexities of our mortal situation, love is the bond of a celestial eternity.
Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are the ultimate Givers. The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel. We begin to think that we deserve grace and are owed blessings. We are more prone to look around, identify inequities, and feel aggrieved—even offended—by the unfairness we perceive. While the unfairness can range from trivial to gut-wrenching, when we are distant from God, even small inequities loom large. We feel that God has an obligation to fix things—and fix them right now!
“In one of the Savior’s final lessons to His disciples,” Pres. Uchtdorf teaches, “he spoke to them of the final Judgment. The wicked and the righteous would be separated. The good would inherit eternal life; the wicked would be delivered to eternal punishment.” In being “fair” to those who reject the very distinction between righteousness and wickedness, we must never forget the reality of eternal consequences. Love must not be defined by the political complexities of “fairness;” rather, true fairness must be understood in the light of the only true love.