Applying the Atonement to Immigration

Applying the Atonement to Immigration
Blog 3

As I wrote in my last blog, I believe the Atonement gives us great direction on how we ought to reconcile this no-win situation within the immigration debate. The Lord has saved us from our lost and fallen state, not because we deserve or earn his grace and mercy, but simply because he loves us and we need him to. Likewise, as it relates to immigration, we ought to approach the subject with the type of compassion and mercy we hope the Lord bestows upon us.

Here is an example of where I have applied this principle in my life. My current calling involves teaming up Student or Young Single Adult (YSA) wards and Spanish Language units. The members of the Student/YSA wards come to the Spanish Language unit’s building once a week and help the children and youth with their homework. To get a visual of how this program looks you can go to the following link and scroll to the 16:10 mark. http://www.byutv.org/watch/173-440

On one occasion, I was explaining this program to another member of the Church. This person asked me in a rather disapproving tone, “Do you allow kids to come to these programs who are here illegally?” I explained that it is open to anyone who wants to come, regardless of race, religion, or status. I could sense the disapproval, so rather than just leave it there, I decided to explain my rational, and I said something to this effect:

Here is the way I see it. At some point I will sit with the Lord and give an accounting of my life. When we get to talking about this assignment, if I had excluded undocumented children, He would say something like, “I gave you this assignment to help the children. I gave you the resources, everything you needed to help these children. Why didn’t you help these particular ones? Why were they excluded?”

What could I say besides, “Well, they had broken a law in getting here, so they did not deserve the help“?

Do you know how ridiculous that would sound? If I said that, do you know what He would say to me?

He would say something like, “So I’m clear. You’re saying you did not help them because they had broken a law. How interesting. I saved you because you broke the law. You broke my laws every day, and yet here you are begging for mercy and me to save you.”

That is not a conversation I am going to have! I’d rather error on the side of compassion, forgiveness, and mercy because I know at the end of it all I am going to need a whole lot of each.

Have these children earned or deserve the help they receive? Does the very act of lawbreaking by someone release me from the obligation of serving them? I don’t think so. As a lawbreaker myself, I am going to take the Lord at his word, “Judge not that ye be not judged” (Matt 7:1-2, emphasis added). I’m banking on the day when the Lord will come and “measure to every man according to the measure which he measured to his fellowmen”(D&C 1:10). I think that’s my only hope, to measure out liberally to others. Deciding who is deserving of what is not my job. No sir! I will leave matters of merit to the Lord. My job is clear: to serve. I think the best way is to follow the counsel of Paul in Romans 14:10-13:

10. But why doest thou judge thy brother? Or why doest thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

12. So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.

13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more; but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”

It seems clear to me that I should work hard to clear away stumbling blocks not create them. If I am to follow the Great Exemplar, I must try and do what I think the Lord would do. You know the question we always ask, “What would Jesus do?” Well, I find it difficult to imagine that the Lord would add stumbling blocks or make someone’s life harder, especially one who comes from such difficult circumstances already.

All that being said, I also don’t believe He would be content with the status quo. It is a disaster by any definition. I have my thoughts of what He might encourage us to do in reforming the immigration system but I do not venture to speak for Him. However, I am certain of one thing: love would be the guiding principle, not anger.

As we contemplate this whole immigration mess, what is the overarching feeling in our hearts? Do we feel anger or love? If our blood boils and we feel anger I’d say be careful. We should never make decisions when in such a state. If we feel love for our fellowmen, even the illegal immigrant, and recognize that person as our brother or sister, a child of our Father in Heaven, then chances are we are moving in the right direction.

And what does that mean if we recognize the illegal immigrant as our spiritual brother or sister? This is one of our core beliefs. What does that belief mean in relation to immigration? That is a sticky one. I will explore that in my next blog.

Your comments are always welcome. What are your thoughts about the connection between the Atonement and our current immigration situation?