And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil—for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency; And they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels; And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell. And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet— (Doctrine and Covenants Section 29:36-39; bold emphasis added)Have you ever wondered what “the pitch” was that turned a third part of the hosts of heaven toward the opposition? Was it a mix of truth and lies? Did it contain more truth than lies? Was that the great persuasion—the truths so pervasive and apparent that the lies became lost in translation? Or was the truth so mocked, exaggerated, contorted and disparaged that good appeared evil and evil good? Perhaps it was a mix of both approaches.
If you want to experience a disturbing déjà vu of those pre-mortal times when the adversary pitched his case, you might consider John Galt’s lengthy radio address1 (begins p. 767) from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.
The alarming (though perhaps expected and déjà vu) thing is how persuasive2 the pitch still remains in this world—our second estate.3
How persuaded are you?
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1. A digital PDF version of this speech can be found at pp. 767-814 http://www.mises.ch/library/Rand_AtlasShrugged.pdf . Galt’s devotee Francisco d’Anconia also gave a speech on money at pp. 313-316 (PDF) that could perhaps be considered a mortal addendum to the pre-mortal pitch. [The 35th Anniversary hard copy Plume Book version (© 1992) has 1168 pages; the PDF has 891.]
2. “In 1991, a survey conducted for the Library of Congress and the Book-of-the-Month Club asked club members what the most influential book in the respondent’s life was. Rand’s Atlas Shrugged was the second most popular choice, after the Bible.” [from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand under “Popular Interest” subheading.)
3. (Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 3:26-28) And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him [bold emphasis added].
(New Testament Jude 1:6) And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
