Not only is Satan a great liar, he is also a great imitator and a persuasive preacher. One of the well-worn, golden, proselyting approaches in his gospel is “What do you want?” In other words, he panders to the natural man’s disposition to focus on self. “What’s in it for me?” “What would make me happy?” “What will satisfy my desires? What is MY will?” And then he, Lucifer, promises to supply the desire, IF we will follow him—or, as he put it in the third temptation:
Again, the devil taketh [Jesus] up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.1This self-will began even before the creation2 and soon manifest again after the creation3 and again thereafter in the life of Cain. Thus the natural man has been with us for millennia—each one describing his philosophy in his own way—with examples as follows.
Korihor (circa 64 BC) phrased it about as succinctly as anyone could: And many more such things did [Korihor] say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime.4On the other hand, we read the words of Jesus:
Ayn Rand (1905-1982) put it this way: Man—every man—is an end in himself, not a means to the ends of others; he must live for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself; he must work for his rational self-interest, with the achievement of his own happiness as the highest moral purpose of his life. 5
Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) said it thus: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Also: There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.6
The law of attraction and the prosperity gospel are versions of this same self-focus and self-will.7
» Not my will, but thine, be done. (Not as I will, but as thou wilt.)8Jesus exemplified that the submission of man to God is the key—not vice versa.
» My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.9
» For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.10
» No man can come to me, except he doeth the will of my Father who hath sent me. And this is the will of him who hath sent me, that ye receive the Son; for the Father beareth record of him; and he who receiveth the testimony, and doeth the will of him who sent me, I will raise up in the resurrection of the just.11
SO, if a person like unto Chris Nemelka12 should come among us and say:
Jesus never said “Love God with all your heart, might, mind, and soul.” He said this: “Love yourself with all your heart, might, mind, and soul and your neighbor as yourself.” That’s how it went down;13should it be so hard to figure out which gospel he is preaching? And if he says his many lies are justified—that they have an enlightening purpose—that they are lies to counter lies and to make people think,”14 should we be surprised?
SO, what do we think?
Are we dealing, at core, with the father of lies? And what an ingenious, self-serving justification!—he is not lying to deceive,15 but to awaken people to truth and true symbolism. Is this credible or incredible?
Not without cause did Paul the Apostle talk of “lying wonders”16 and to lament in his day:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 17So let us not seal our fate with “messengers” who preach another gospel than what Christ preached. If we don’t know or believe what we already have, why would God give us more?18
The father of lies is not without great intelligence. He knows (as others have said) that the greatest deception lies between two truths. And it also lies in the propensity of man to prefer the way of the self and self-will.
Going our own way has been the déjà vu lament19 of the ages. So if any should come in the name of Jesus and preach the gospel (“good news!”) of self-will, perhaps it should raise a flag.
In truth, there are so many flags flying in this latter day, they stretch horizon to horizon. And if we don’t pay attention to them we shall be left without excuse.
Joseph Smith (?); John Taylor, Editor: If any man writes to you, or preaches to you, doctrines contrary to the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or the book of Doctrine and Covenants, set him down as an imposter. You need not write to us to know what you are to do with such men; you have the authority with you.—Try them by the principles contained in the acknowledged word of God; if they preach, or teach, or practice contrary to that, disfellowship them; cut them off from among you as useless and dangerous branches, and if they are belonging to any of the quorums in the church, report them to the president of the quorum to which they belong, and if you cannot find that out, if they are members of an official standing, belonging to Nauvoo, report them to us.20---------------------------------/
*This is the first in a FLAG series intended to encourage us in these last days to apply these words of wisdom and warning:
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
(New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21)
For in those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant. (Pearl of Great Price | JS-Matthew 1:22)Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall continue in the Son, and also in the Father. … These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. (New Testament | JST 1 John 2: 24, 26)
Joseph Smith: I preached to the saints, setting forth the evils that existed, and that would exist, by reason of hasty judgment, or decisions upon any subject given by any people, or in judging before they had heard both sides of a question (TPJS. p. 118).
1. New Testament | Matthew 4:8-9 (bold emphasis added).
2. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 76:25-29 ~ And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning! And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision; for we beheld Satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ—Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about.
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1, 3-4 ~ AND I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. … Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be 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 my voice.
3. Pearl of Great Price | Moses 5:12-13 ~ And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.
4. Book of Mormon | Alma 30:17
5. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand
6. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley
“I:40 This famous statement derives from several historic precedents, including that of François Rabelais in describing the rule of his Abbey of Thélème in Gargantua and Pantagruel: Fait ce que vouldras (Do what thou wilt), which was later used by the Hellfire Club established by Sir Francis Dashwood. It is also similar to the Wiccan proverb: An ye harm none, do what thou wilt; but the oldest known statement of a similar assertion is that of St. Augustine of Hippo: Love, and do what thou wilt.”
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Attraction
8. New Testament | Luke 22:42; Matthew 26:39, 42; Mark 14:36
9. New Testament | John 4:34
10. New Testament | John 6:38
11. New Testament | JST John 6:44
Additional references to God’s will:
New Testament | Mark 8:34 ~ And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
New Testament | Matthew 12:50 ~ For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
New Testament | JST John 5:31 ~ For I can of mine own self do nothing; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent me.
Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 3:25 ~ And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1, 3-4 ~ But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
12. Christopher Marc Nemelka: His website is http://www.marvelousworkandawonder.com/. A site seeking to expose him as an imposter is at http://chrisnemelka.com/
13. At minute 45:50 of Episode 341: Christopher Nemelka (Time: 57:50) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtMcAnwyJQY The host pastor lumps Joseph Smith and Nemelka together in his belief that there can be no other Holy Word outside the Bible. Could that be a form of “limit[ing] the Holy One of Israel” (Old Testament | Psalms 78:41)?
More Nemelka sayings in the same episode: “God is simply a human being’s self-reality. There’s nothing outside of oneself that tells that person what to do, how to think. There’s no influence for good or evil but what is inside oneself. The kingdom of God is right there [within us]. There’s no such being. There’s just me and you and any other advanced beings in solar systems …” (@ 38 min.)
“There’s nobody out there except yourself—no being outside of the human mind.” (@ 39:25 min.)
“Sin is the absence of happiness.” (@ 46:35 min.) Compare New Testament | 1 John 3:4 ~ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
14. Christopher M. Nemelka Biography, Part Two (at minutes 17:40 to 24 plus) ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL3MW2bfhFI . In defending his use of “Lies to counter [other’s] lies,” he adds, “Does the end justify the means? Absolutely. ABSOLUTELY.”
15. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 10:28 ~ “Verily, verily, I say unto you, wo be unto him that lieth to deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for such are not exempt from the justice of God.
16. New Testament | 2 Thessalonians 2:9 ~ Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, …[Nemelka’s website is titled “Marvelous Work and a Wonder.”]
17. New Testament | Galatians 1:6-9
18. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 84:54-59 ~ And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father's kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion. For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.
19. Our own way:
Old Testament | Numbers 15:39 ~ And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
Old Testament | Proverbs 30:12 ~ There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
Old Testament | Isaiah 5:21 ~ Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Old Testament | Isaiah 65:2I ~ I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
Old Testament | Jeremiah 7:24 ~ But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
Old Testament | Jeremiah 8:6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
New Testament | Romans 10:3 ~ For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
New Testament | Philippians 2:21 ~ For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.
Book of Mormon | Mosiah 16:12 ~ Having gone according to their own carnal wills and desires; having never called upon the Lord while the arms of mercy were extended towards them; for the arms of mercy were extended towards them, and they would not; they being warned of their iniquities and yet they would not depart from them; and they were commanded to repent and yet they would not repent.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 6:31 ~ And now behold, he had got great hold upon the hearts of the Nephites; yea, insomuch that they had become exceedingly wicked; yea, the more part of them had turned out of the way of righteousness, and did trample under their feet the commandments of God, and did turn unto their own ways, and did build up unto themselves idols of their gold and their silver.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 7:5 ~ Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money; and moreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the world, and, moreover, that they might the more easily commit adultery, and steal, and kill, and do according to their own wills—
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 1:16 ~ They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 3:4 ~ For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 56:14 ~ Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my people—you have many things to do and to repent of; for behold, your sins have come up unto me, and are not pardoned, because you seek to counsel in your own ways.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 136:19 ~ And if any man shall seek to build up himself, and seeketh not my counsel, he shall have no power, and his folly shall be made manifest.
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith ~ But alas, it is in vain to warn and give precepts, for all men are naturally disposed to walk in their own paths as they are pointed out by their own fingers, and are not willing to consider and walk in the path which is pointed out by another, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, although he should be an unerring director, and the Lord his God sent him (p. 26).
20. To the Elders Abroad, Times and Seasons, vol. 5 (January 1844-January 1, 1845), No. 7. Nauvoo, Illinois, April 1, 1844. Whole No. 91 490-491.
