(Essay on deception by SMSmith, posted in installments, from last to first; #6 of 7. © 2002)
This deceptive pattern spans them all. When Satan cajoled Eve in the garden, through the mouth of the serpent, the undercurrent of his persuasion was deeply accusatory—not only that God had lied, but that it was done in covetous regard for knowledge (Moses 4:10- 11). To this day, every voice of the adversary has employed false accusation against God and his people. Every antichrist has recycled the accusations of a Sherem (Jacob 7) or a Korihor (Alma 30), who but recycled from accusers before them. It is a ploy that has deceived countless numbers through the ages, causing them to "turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth!" (2 Ne. 28:16).
But this is not just the ploy of antichrists. It is the ploy also of those who become so attached to positions, agendas, plans, patronage, or secrecy that they endeavor to destroy all opposition and to elude every exposure. This is the ploy used to marginalize or silence whistleblowers and to disparage those who speak out in defense of moral issues. It is often the device of revenge and bitterness. It is sometimes employed even in good causes when advocates lose their way through adopting the adversary's way (D&C 10:28). This relentless assault upon every good thing will persist until, as John the Revelator writes, "the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night" (Rev. 12:10).
The adversary also delights in confusion—the confusion that keeps men and women halting between two opinions (1 Kgs 18:21). Halting because of fear ("What will become of me?") or because of blindness caused by the philosophies, traditions, or honors of men. Satan feeds the fear that keeps one silent in the face of corruption and wrongdoing; and the fear that keeps one from fully trusting in God's promises. He nurses the blindness of those who wrest the scriptures (D&C 10:63; 2 Pet. 3:16) and of those who look to the stars of the world rather than to the Son for their doctrine. But we have been warned: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Col. 2:8).
In the words of President Hinckley: "We have nothing to fear when we walk by the light of eternal truth. But we had better be discerning. Sophistry has a way of masking itself as truth. Half truths are used to mislead under the representation that they are whole truths. Innuendo is often used by enemies of this work as representing truth. Theories and hypotheses are often set forth as if they were confirmed truth. Statements taken out of context of time or circumstance or the written word are often given as truth, when as a matter of fact such procedure may be the very essence of falsehood" ("God Hath Not Given Us the Spirit of Fear," Ensign, Oct. 1984, 4).
In pursuit of confusion, the adversary fosters compromising entanglements. The Lord cautioned the early latter-day church against such entanglements, counseling trust in His way and means, "That through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world;" (D&C 78:14).
A form of entanglement and perhaps the most cunning device of the adversary is to mingle virtue and vice, subtly building tolerance for that which is evil until many fall into either confusion or complacency. Either will do in the adversary's agenda. President Spencer W. Kimball warned that Lucifer "will use his logic to confuse and his rationalizations to destroy. He will shade meanings, open doors an inch at a time, and lead from purest white through all the shades of gray to the darkest black" ("President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality," Ensign, Nov. 1980, 94).
How often in literature and entertainment do we find good stories mingled with the "normalcy" of profanity, immodesty, immorality, and graphic violence?9 How often do anti-heroes take center stage, glorying and being glorified in sin? How often are touted good works employed to filter lifestyles of transgression?10 And though the wheat and tares are allowed to grow together until the harvest (Matt. 13:30; D&C 86:7), yet if the wheat wraps or entwines itself in tares, how long can it retain its identity as wheat? How long can one halt between two opinions? And how long before lukewarm becomes cold? (Rev. 3:15-16).
But the Lord has not left us in confusion about good and evil. Amongst his parting words in the Book of Mormon, Moroni wrote: "For behold, … it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. And now, … seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully;" (Moro 7:15-19, emphasis added); "that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil" (Moro. 7:14).
To know, then, with a perfect knowledge that something is of God, we ask: Does it invite to do good? Does it persuade to believe in Christ? To know the reverse, we ask: Does it persuade men to do evil? Does it induce men to believe not in Christ, to deny him and to serve not God? To repeat Moroni's words, "the way to judge is as plain … as the daylight is from the dark night." (Moro. 7:15). We ask the questions, we answer with integrity, and then we choose—the way of life or the way death (2 Ne. 2:27; 10:23).
----------
9 Gordon B. Hinckley, "Stand True and Faithful," Ensign, May 1996, 92: "We cannot afford to be tainted by moral sin. We live in a world where temptation is constantly being thrown at us, particularly at you young people. It is on television. It is in magazines. It is in books. It is on videos which are readily available. Stay away from these things. They will only hurt you." Joseph B. Wirthlin, "The Priesthood of God," Ensign, Nov. 1988, 36: "Satan has made the television and film media among his most effective tools to destroy minds and souls."
10 This seems a ploy that Satan recommended to Cain (Moses 5:18-23).
