There’s an old saying that if you want to beat the enemy you must think like the enemy. Let’s consider for a moment, the role of Satan, also known as Lucifer, the devil, son of the morning, just to list a few of his names. The Bible says that he was cast out of heaven for rebellion. Lucifer and those who followed him fought against Michael and his followers (Rev 12:7–10).
We know there was a war in heaven, but why? What could be so important that it would cause a division among those who were there—a division so great that a war broke out and one-third of those who resided there were cast out?
Verse 10 suggests that it had something to do with Jesus Christ and his atonement and power, of our salvation and obtaining the kingdom of God. The whole story is not mentioned in the Bible, but Latter-Day Saints believe through modern revelation that we existed as spirits in a pre-mortal life before we were born. There are many references in the Bible that also suggest this, but that topic will be discussed in another post.
God is all-knowing and all-wise. He doesn’t just do things for no reason or purpose—He has an eternal plan (1 Peter 1:18–21, 1 Cor 15:22). We are His children and we are a part of His plan as is Jesus Christ, who was foreordained with his mission before the world was created. We believe there was a Great Council in Heaven where two plans were presented. The earth was created for a purpose—to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18) and when man was formed in the flesh, his physical body became the tabernacle for his spirit (1 Cor 3:16). The earth was created so we would have the opportunity to learn things by our own experience (kind of like when we send our own kids off to college). We would be able to make choices regarding our own lives, to learn, grow and progress from our mistakes and in the end, we would return back to our Father in Heaven if we chose to follow Christ’s plan.
Lucifer wanted to force everyone to keep the commandments and he would make sure that not a single soul would be lost, but in return, he wanted all of God’s glory and power and wanted to place himself above God. With his plan, we would be made to obey the laws and commandments, whether we wanted to or not, and basically we would be as slaves. Imagine the whole world being under Hitler’s command … the situation would be much like that. There would be little room to grow and learn, or to enjoy living as we do now.
Jesus, on the other hand, offered a plan where we would have a choice and be able to decide for ourselves whether or not we would keep and obey our Father’s laws and commandments. He gave us the choice of our own free agency and knew that many of us would screw things up because we would no longer have the memory of our premortal life as spirits. He offered to come down and teach us himself, and even offered his own life as a sacrifice for our sins if we would repent, and follow his counsel and guidance in keeping the commandments of God. He would be our example to show us the way.
The choice was left up to us, and those who live righteously and obey God’s laws will one day return back to Him and be rewarded. Those who choose not to obey but live according to their own will and desires will later pay the consequences because they chose the temporal things of this world over the spiritual blessings of God. And for all that Jesus offered, he did it out of pure love, asking nothing in return and giving all the praise and glory to God. One had an ulterior motive and offered to help as long as he had something to gain in the end. The other had a pure heart and offered his help with unconditional love, asking for nothing in return.
Those of us who were, now, and will later be upon the earth were the two-thirds of the spirits who sided with Jesus. The other third chose Lucifer’s plan and they rebelled against God. They were cast out into the earth to tempt mankind and became enemies of God and of everything that is good. The same war that they waged in heaven is continuing in battle here upon the earth—the battle between good and evil. Since these spirits lost the opportunity to gain mortal bodies, they cannot experience the things that we can. They are forever in eternal misery and they seek to destroy the happiness and eternal life and salvation of ALL men so that everyone will be as miserable as them.
Satan and his angels do this in many ways, even in ways that we are unaware of. One of the most deceitful and most devasting ways is when he appears as an angel of light, and many are deceived in this manner.
Let’s think about this for a minute … if you were Satan, how would you destroy the salvation of every living soul? If you haven’t heard Paul Harvey’s 1965 speech “If I Were the Devil,” I would encourage you to give it a listen—it may sound hauntingly familiar as you recognize most of these things happening today. You can find several versions of it on YouTube (some of the visuals are better than others). I would suggest watching several of them. I will include the link at the end of this post.
Let’s go back to that phrase, “to beat the enemy you have to think like the enemy.” What would be your first line of attack, the thing that you would go after before anything else? If your mission was to destroy eternal life and salvation, wouldn’t you first attack the very source of it itself? That would be the gospel … the pure and true doctrines of Christ and all that he taught, the ordinances, the power and authority, the work and example of the life he led, to attack God and Jesus Christ themselves and all that they stand for.
Let’s take a look at how Satan deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. He very cleverly mixed some truth with lies, making for a very tempting and convincing point to bait Eve with. The truth was that in eating the fruit, her and Adam’s eyes would be opened, and they would know good from evil, implying that they, knowing this, would be able to make choices. The lies were that they would be as the gods (which they weren’t, they were still just mortal beings) and that they would not die (Genesis 3:4–5). By mixing some truth with his lies, he made it seem that there would be no harm in trying the fruit to see for themselves. He is a master at twisting words around to make evil things seem good and good things seem evil.
He’s been using this same tactic on people ever since. So how would he use this ploy in thwarting God’s eternal plan? If you’ve listened to Paul Harvey’s speech, you will see that the most direct line of attack would be upon the source of our redemption itself—the teachings of Christ and his servants, the whispering of lies in the ears of men, corrupting the churches, the doctrines and ordinances until there’s only a fragment of truth left, and the essential parts that are necessary for our salvation have been left out without anyone realizing it. He does this by using the same tactics he used on Eve … by mixing truth with lies, by saying all we have to do is believe and our actions don’t matter, that there’s no need to keep the commandments, live how we want and be happy. Religion is what we make it, not what God tells us.
Go back and really study the history of Christianity with an open heart and mind, and see all the changes that have been made to the doctrines, to the ordinances, to the Bible itself, and ask yourself if there’s just even the slightest possibility that these things could be true. Are they, in fact, fulfilling the following prophecies?
Isaiah 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Acts 20:29–30 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Galatians 1:6–7 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.
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: …
Timothy 4:3–4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Many Christian scholars have written about these changes in doctrines, ordinances, teachings, beliefs, and so forth. This did not originate with, nor is it entirely just a Mormon doctrine … it is recorded history. The true gospel had already become perverted back in the time of the apostles, and they were warning the saints to beware of these other Christian sects that were breaking off from the true church that was set up by Christ and his apostles.
Satan has been cleverly deceiving everyone with a mixture of truth and lies ever since, having everyone believe something different and giving us a variety of different religions to choose from as if we were shopping from a grocery store. He has lead us to believe that we are all saved no matter what we do as long as we believe in Christ. That is a far cry from what the Savior taught in his Sermon on the Mount.
Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, the Son of the Morning, the master Angel of Light, and the master Deceiver of all … he knows his work so well that he often goes undetected by the world. Rather than accepting these changes that have been handed down to us for generations as something that has been tampered with and could possibly contain errors—we, like the ancient Jews before us, embrace the traditions of our fathers.
Satan is no dummy. He knows exactly where to attack, how to attack, and how to whisper and influence the minds of men without them realizing what he is doing.
God, however, is even smarter. He knew all of this beforehand, just as He knew that Judas would betray the Savior. He had several backup plans in place to protect His work. Just something to think about.
Links to other resources:
Paul Harvey’s Speech “If I Were the Devil” Recommend watching several versions.
Plan of Salvation — Scriptures, Visual Chart
