To Answer for Himself

Festus had a problem.

As the newly installed governor of Judea, he had inherited a prisoner with no clear accusations against him. His predecessor, Felix, had heard all the allegations against Paul and found nothing particularly credible, but still kept him in custody for the previous two years to appease Jewish leaders. (See Acts 24:27.)

Three days after taking office, Festus traveled to Jerusalem, where many people including the high priest insisted that Paul had committed serious crimes and must be punished. Some of them returned with Festus to Caesarea, where Paul was being held, and participated in a formal judicial session where they “laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove” (Acts 25:7). When Paul was given an opportunity to speak, he said simply, “Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Cæsar, have I offended any thing at all” (Acts 25:8). Shortly after, Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen to have Caesar hear his case. Festus agreed to send Paul to Rome. (See Acts 25:11-12.)

Festus explained his quandary to King Agrippa, who had come to visit. Local leaders see Paul as a criminal who deserves to die, he said. But he had explained to them that under Roman law, the accused has the right “to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him” (Acts 25:16). When they came to court, he couldn’t understand their accusations. Now, because of Paul’s formal appeal, he was obligated to send Paul to Rome, but he said, “I have no certain thing to write… it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him” (Acts 25:26-27).

It does seem fair that if you’re going to send a prisoner to the leader of the Roman Empire, you ought to at least be able to articulate clearly what he is accused of! It also seems clear that when a person is accused of something, they should have a right to respond to the allegations. Festus understood these principles of fairness, but he found himself in a difficult situation because, like Felix, he was “willing to do the Jews a pleasure” (Acts 25:9).

How do you respond when you hear something negative about someone? Do you immediately assume the worst? Can you withhold judgment until you understand the situation better? Do you give the individual the opportunity to explain themselves?

Joseph Smith said the following to a group of church leaders:

I will now covenant with you before God, that I will not listen to or credit any derogatory report against any of you, nor condemn you upon any testimony beneath the heavens, short of that testimony which is infallible, until I can see you face to face, and know of a surety; and I do place unremitted confidence in your word, for I believe you to be men of truth.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, “Chapter 34: The Power of Forgiving“

When we truly love one another, we avoid thinking and speaking negatively about each other.

The apostle Paul and the prophet Mormon both provided a list of attributes of a person who has charity. President Russell M. Nelson recently paraphrased part of this list. Here are those passages, side by side:

Paul 1 Corinthians 13:4-7	Mormon Moroni 7:45	President Nelson “Peacemakers Needed“
Charity suffereth long, and is kind;	Charity suffereth long, and is kind,	Those blessed with this supernal gift are long-suffering and kind.
charity envieth not;	and envieth not,	They do not envy others
charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up;	and is not puffed up,	and are not caught up in their own importance
Doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked,	is not easily provoked,	They are not easily provoked
thinketh no evil;	thinketh no evil,	and do not think evil of others.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;	and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth,
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.	beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

President Nelson provided the following counsel:

“If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” that we can say about another person—whether to his face or behind her back—that should be our standard of communication.

“Peacemakers Needed,” General Conference, April 2023

Today, I will give people the benefit of the doubt. I will focus on the positive as I talk to others and about others. I will give people the opportunity to explain themselves rather than jump to conclusions based on limited information.