1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
According to Joseph Smith, the stem of Jesse in these verses is Christ, and the rod is one of His servants (D&C 113:1-2). A defining characteristic of the Savior (and by extension of his servants) is that they do not judge based solely on what they see and hear. Their judgment is righteous judgment (Matthew 7:1, see first footnote), because it accounts for factors beyond our natural senses.
When the prophet Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse to choose a new king for Israel, God taught him an important truth: “Look not on his countenance,” He said, “for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
Today I will remember that my senses give me a very limited perception of the people around me. I will strive to see others as God sees them by recognizing that there is much more to them than what I see with my eyes and hear with my ears.
Book of Mormon Study Notes 