Atonement, Merits, and Immigration

The Atonement, Merits, and Immigration
Blog 2
As I discussed in my first blog, the immigration issue creates a dilemma for us as Latter-day Saints, a seemingly no-win situation. On the one hand, we are commanded to love and serve our fellowmen while, on the other, we are commanded to honor and obey the laws of the land.

Where in the scriptures, our own Church history, or other inspired writings from prophets old and new can we find similar dilemmas? How have other people handled being between the proverbial rock and a hard place? Can we find examples that can give us direction in moving forward through these seemingly no-win situations?

I’m guessing there are several, but, the first and greatest dilemma that comes to mind is the one that faces all of us as children of God. In D&C 1:31 the Lord says, “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” Various Book of Mormon prophets teach us that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God. Now reconcile that with Paul’s teachings in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Ouch! Now, that is a dilemma. These scriptures set up the great paradox of this world—we are commanded to be perfectly righteous, but we are unable to be perfectly righteous. However, unless we are perfectly righteous, we can’t return to Heavenly Father. Nothing unclean gets back into Father’s presence, and we are all unclean. It would appear that we are all in the same stew. We are all equally lost, and even “after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23, emphasis added) are in need of the mercy and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, the purpose of this blog is not to go into the intricacies of the Atonement. The point in bringing it up here is to look at the merits of those clamoring for the Lord’s mercy. As I understand the scriptures, our Savior offered Himself as an Atonement purely out of love for us, not because we deserved it or earned it. To quote Stephen Robinson in his wonderful book Believing Christ, “Mercy isn’t mercy if we deserve it, so grace isn’t grace if we earn it” (p. 90). When we really understand the Atonement, we understand that we earn nothing and deserve nothing. When this mortal veil is drawn back, I don’t think we would like what we saw if we got what we actually earned or deserved.

Now, how does this tie into immigration? Many of those who come here illegally flee from desperate circumstances such as poverty, crime, and a lack of opportunity. Certainly, on the surface, we would think that someone in such circumstances merits our help and service. Yet, if that individual broke our country’s laws getting here, are we abetting lawbreaking if we assist them; have they earned or deserve that help? These are fair questions.

So are we obliged to extend mercy to the poor immigrant that came to our country illegally because they have earned it or deserve it? Clearly, they have not earned it, and, I guess, deserving it is debatable. But earning it or deserving it, in my mind, is not the point. The point is they need it, just like we all need the Lord’s mercy not because we earn it or deserve it. I don’t think I would be able to stand at the last day and beg for mercy if I wasn’t willing at every step to extend it to my fellowmen.

Now I would like to be very clear here. I am not advocating leaving immigration problems unchecked. However, I believe if we begin the process of reforming our immigration system having love, compassion, and mercy as our guide, then surely whatever fixes we come up with will have a better chance of meeting the Lord’s approval, which is the only approval we should care about.

In my next blog I will share a personal story of how I’ve applied this principle in my own life while carrying out my current calling. In the meantime, how have you handled this dilemma? Or do you have examples from the scriptures or modern-day prophets that suggest how to deal with this issue?