(Essay by SMSmith, posted in 7 installments. © 2002)
One of the most persistent warnings in scripture is that we “be not deceived.”1
Deception has been, from the beginning, the chief device of the adversary in his war to destroy the agency of man (Moses 4:3). He began with a plan of redemption without risk. When his self-exalting proposal was rejected, he rebelled against God. As a result he was cast down, “And he became Satan, yea even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto [God’s] voice” (Moses 4:4; emphasis added). In his rebellion, he lost his passion to “redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost” (Moses 4:1), and became obsessed with destroying the world (Moses 4:6) and the souls of men (D&C 10:27; 1 Pet. 5:8). The very agency he had once discounted became his greatest boon as his agenda refocused from compelling obedience2 to captivating free souls through sin and disobedience (2 Ne. 2:27).
Thus began the long saga of mankind’s battle with deception. In this last dispensation we can expect that the agenda of deceit will be intensified and will be our most frequent, perilous challenge. We can expect that all deceptions will be aimed at enticing men and women to choose captivity and death, and that Satan’s greatest efforts will be aimed at destroying the family.3 We can expect that his enticements will be profoundly subtle, appealing to the rational mind, and often dressed up, “even as an angel of light.” We can also expect that the Father’s plan, embraced by the Son, will have anticipated every deception and have given instruction sufficient for every eventuality.
As we examine a few scriptural accounts of the adversary’s deceptive ploys, we can “liken them unto” our own latter-day experience and be forewarned and armed. And though, in examination, these deceptions are separated out, yet in practice, they overlap and entwine, even as the chains that bind.
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1 “There is a difference between being deceived and making a mistake. When you are deceived, you think you are right when you are wrong; so you are less likely to make a correction and get back on course. You go on living and doing things that are wrong, but you think they are right.” (Glenn L. Pearson and Reid E. Bankhead, Building Faith With the Book of Mormon, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1986), pp. 116-117).
2 Traditionally we have understood that Lucifer’s premortal plan was one of force as opposed to the self-discipline permitted by moral agency. But his plan may have also encompassed other means to compromise or deny agency, e.g., when no law is given (Alma 42:16-23; see also Daniel H. Ludlow, “Moral Free Agency,” New Era, Nov. 1976, 44-50).
3 See Spencer W. Kimball, “Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” Ensign, Nov. 1978, at 105: “It is against the home and family life that Satan has aimed his greatest efforts to destroy.” See also, Victor L. Brown, “Our Youth: Modern Sons of Helaman,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, 108: “I believe Satan’s ultimate goal is to destroy the family, because if he would destroy the family, he will not just have won the battle; he will have won the war.”
