Mortality requires basic decisions of a moral and spiritual character, in which individuals are free to choose for themselves yet are accountable to God for their choices. In turn, God will render a perfect and just decision to determine blessings or punishments. Christ has been given the responsibility for judgment. Judgment is an expression of the love of God for his children and is exercised mercifully.
Mercy takes into account the variety and differing circumstances of human life.
For instance, many of God's expectations are relative to the opportunity that individuals have had to know the gospel. The principle of judgment was operative in the premortal estate, is continuously operative during mortal life, and will continue in the spirit world and beyond, through resurrection and final judgment. Judgment during mortality is a continuous process to assess people's worthiness to participate in the saving ordinances of the gospel and to serve in the Church. This is done by means of interviews with local Church leaders. In LDS doctrine, individual destiny after the final judgment is not limited to either heaven or hell.