One Major Issue That Separates The Gospel of Jesus Christ From The World...

... is forgiveness, and letting the Lord judge.

I find this article, and frankly the whole story, disappointing.

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090512/ap_on_re_eu/eu_demjanjuk

The Jews still live somewhat under the Law of Moses, which calls for 'an eye for an eye'. As such, they are still trying to exact revenge against this man for war crimes that occurred 66 years ago.

There are some key issues about this story/issue that get my attention:

1) We as Latter-Day Saints accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our final judge. We realize that many, if not most, of the evils in this world will go unpunished until He, the final judge of all, will exact justice from each of us.

2) These war crimes occurred when Mr. Demjanjuk was a young man of 23 years old. He was a junior member of the SS, and he was only a guard, not a commanding officer. He was under the control, the brainwashing, and pressure, of Adolf Hitler. He probably also feared for his own life should he waiver in his allegiance to his own nation of Germany. I find it hard to believe that his actions were those of a murderer as much as they were of an obedient servant of his nation.

3) Mr. Demjanjuk has lived a peaceful, productive life since the end of World War II, having retired as an auto worker in Ohio. He poses no threat to anyone.

If the Jews are so bent on revenge for something that happened so long ago, will it make them feel satisfied to punish an 89-year-old handicapped man for simply being a guard? My opinion is that it weakens the Jewish people and diminishes their stature as victims, deserving of respect. Now they are the ones who are acting out of malice, whereas Mr. Demjanjuk probably never did act out of such malice, only out of obedience.

Thank God for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which teaches us to forgive, and let Him be our judge for crimes gone unpunished. But let us also thank Him for providing a way that we would not have to suffer for some of our crimes if we would repent and turn to Him. What a blessing it would be to so many people if they could turn away from their lust for revenge and embrace forgiveness through the Atonement of Christ.