Justice and Mercy Aren’t Enemies—They’re Married
I was standing in the Conference Center at Temple Square, a place I’d previously only ever seen on a TV screen. This past summer, I finally got to walk its halls in person—an experience that felt like stepping into a storybook. I’m not an art guy, but one painting in the Conference Center art gallery grabbed my attention immediately and hasn’t let go since. It’s called Mercy Claimeth All Which Is Her Own by Jonathan Linton, and it’s become a lens for me to rethink how divine Justice and Mercy really work together.
The scene is striking: a man kneels under a tree, his head looking upward in surprise. I think he looks like a young Chris Pine. Before him stands a man representing Justice, cloaked in red, holding a chalice full of radiant light. Next to Justice is a woman—Mercy—draped in blue, her hand outstretched as if to lift the man up. The tree reminds me of the tree of life in Lehi's vision, and the railing at its base suggests the iron rod. Mercy wears the gentle blue robe I’ve often seen in Christian paintings depicting the Savior's mortal ministry; Justice wears a crimson robe we know our Lord will wear when He comes again to judge the world.
What hit me first was Justice. I expected his face to be stern and cold, with a furrowed brow and maybe a blindfold. I expected him to stand with a brandished sword, ready to execute the unworthy. But no. His face is calm, and he looks down on the man without the slightest hint of anger. Justice carries a sword, but he doesn’t wield it threateningly; he holds it back in his left hand, away from the man. His right hand offers the light to the man, showing his desire for the man to receive it—if he will accept it. That light, to me, is the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the fruit of the tree of life, glowing with promise.
Then there’s Mercy. She’s not shielding the penitent man from Justice like a mother protecting a child from a bully. She’s kneeling beside him, her posture mirroring his humility, her hand facilitating his approach to Justice, helping him stand worthily in Justice’s presence and receive the glorious blessing of the fruit of life.
Together, Justice and Mercy feel less like opponents and more like partners—stationed at the tree of life, working together to bring us home. Justice offers the fruit that Mercy cannot. And Mercy qualifies us for that fruit in a way Justice cannot.
I think Justice gets a bad rap nowadays. Too often, we see God's justice the way the famous Jonathan Edwards described it:
The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince.
We're not Calvinists, but sometimes I think we adopt that Calvinist thinking. We imagine God's Justice as a harsh, unyielding tyrant who’d toss us into the abyss if Mercy didn’t swoop in to save the day from that monster. "Mercy good and nice, Justice mean and vicious."
But that’s not what the scriptures teach. Alma 42 doesn’t say Mercy fights or defeats Justice—it says Mercy satisfies Justice. Mercy and Justice are as vital to spiritual life, in equal measure, as masculinity and femininity are to physical life. The thought that came to me when I saw the painting was, "Justice and Mercy aren’t enemies—they’re married!"
It’s a beautiful, thought-provoking painting. I’m grateful for talented Latter-day Saint artists like Jonathan Linton who infuse such depth into their work, allowing the Holy Ghost to speak to us through their art.
Here are a few scriptures to ponder:
Alma 41:14:
Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.
Alma 42:13-15:
Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.
And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.
And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.
P.S. I reached out to Jonathan Linton in preparation for writing this post. He adds even more depth to this piece than just what I focused on:
A personification of the relationship between God’s mercy and justice for humanity; inspired by the 42nd chapter of Alma in the Book of Mormon. The kneeling man approaches Mercy in an attitude of penitence hoping to progress in his journey. Justice, who knows of the man’s failings, does not demand punishment since the payment he requires has been paid through Christ’s atonement. The atonement is symbolized by the chalice filled with light. The light is itself a symbol of purity, truth and power, while the chalice reminds the viewer of the ordinance of the sacrament—where saving covenants between God and humble and contrite individuals are renewed. The vast horizon reminds the viewer of the infinite possibilities that await all who penitently call upon God’s mercy and follow the path of happiness as laid out by Christ through His prophets.
