Each person is acting out their perception of God. Action results from belief about the best way to act under certain circumstances. God is at least the sum of all the best; each believes He would do the same in their shoes.
We feel joy when our “spirit and element [are] inseparably connected”(D&C 93: 33), even if our body is united with our spirit around mistaken principles (Rev. 3: 15-16). Paul was prepared for ardent Apostleship by his painstaking persecution of the Church (Acts 9: 1-6). President Taylor is quoted as saying “stay with your convictions, stay right with them”, to a junior clearly in the wrong (link).
We don’t need to worry about putting someone else’s thoughts or actions into “righteous” or “wicked” categories: part of that depends on their heart (Moro. 7: 6-8, Deut. 15: 10), and only the Lord can judge that.
The Lord wants people to be better, and everyone has room for growth. Encouraging people to live as they believe is calling on them to repent. Congruent living makes true principles clear and promotes falsehood’s abandonment (John 7: 17).
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