Satan sends his servants to destroy our faith in Christ. Why is it important for him that we disbelieve in the Savior? When we have faith in the Redeemer, we begin to feel God’s love for us. We begin to see His hand in our lives. Hope and joy replace despair and misery. The devil doesn’t want that. He enjoys when we suffer. He relishes when we are anxious. He delights when we are depressed. Our suffering allows him to forget his own. Because his life is consumed with despair and darkness, it drives him crazy when we are happy and hopeful.
His attempts to have us disobey our Heavenly Father are designed to destroy peace, instill depression, and foment hatred toward God, His Son, and our brothers and sisters. Once we obey him instead of our Heavenly Father, we find that the freedom that he promised us by participating in things we know are wrong and disregarding those that we know are right is actually a chain that he wraps around us to control us. President Russell M Nelson showed how Satan will hit us-
So, what does the adversary do? He attacks us through our appetites. He tempts us to eat things we should not eat, to drink things we should not drink, and to love as we should not love. (“President Russell M. Nelson Speaks to Millennials about Being Happy,” Church News 23 Feb 2018).
As we revolt and attempt to break these chains, we often find them too strong on our own. Believing that we are alone, many of us reluctantly accept our new abode. We forget what it was like to feel love, peace, hope, and happiness. We begin to believe that everything about God is a lie. We disassociate our despair from the very things that we know deep down drag us down. We attribute those feelings to abstractions like “society” to alleviate our discomfort. In all this, Satan believes that he has us, that we are his, and that he has won.
The problem is that the father of lies’ belief is a lie. Our Heavenly Father provided us Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, to destroy the devil’s damning chains and distill in us again a hope for a better world. As we turn to Him, He turns to us. He then snatches us away from forbidden paths that forged our dependence on the devil’s dominion. He lands us squarely on covenant paths that point us to cleave to His power. The dark and dreary clouds that covered our minds and hearts for so long are now quickly cleared through the brightness of the power of the Son. We know again what it is to be free. We know again what it feels to be at peace.
In the premortal life, Lucifer convinced a third of the hosts of heaven that the Father’s plan was too risky. Because many would make choices that would prevent them from being exalted, he proposed an alternative plan that would prevent us from having the freedom to choose while forcing us to obey him. He promised that this would allow him to extend eternal life to everyone. For a “lesser part” of God’s children, this sounded pretty good. After the majority sided with the Father and the Son, the devil and those who followed him revolted against them and lost.
I have often wondered why Heavenly Father cast Satan and his hosts to the earth. Some would say that it is because we needed an opposition so we can exercise agency. Since I don’t believe that our God is the God of a one hit wonder, I don’t believe that this earth is the only one that He has created. Also, knowing what I know about myself and others, I believe we easily create opposition for ourselves without the help of any outside influence. My personal belief is that allowing the devil and his minions to tempt us is not only a demonstration of God’s desire to extend mercy, but also His love of wonderful ironies.
When we purchase a home, the bank that would lend us the money to do so may ask us to place a down payment. This can represent anywhere between nothing to 20% of the asking price. The financial institution reviews various things about our financial life to determine what we will need to pay. If the amount is too high, we may need wait and save some more before buying.
In light of this, I wonder if by allowing the adversary to tempt us, ironically it makes it easier for Heavenly Father to allow us to return to His presence. Throughout the scriptures, the Lord teaches us that He will hold parents, prophets, and even kings partially or wholly responsible for the sins of those they preside over if they either avoid teaching good principles or purposefully teach bad ones. With this in mind, I do not find it difficult to believe that God will have the devil bare some of the burden of our sins because of his role in them.
Does this mean that we can use the excuse that the devil made us do it? No. We can’t. First, God still holds us responsible for the deliberate decisions we make. Second, we can’t undo the consequences from breaking eternal divine law. God being perfectly just must execute the punishment tied to the law. This would prevent us from returning to Him. However, He sent His innocent sinless Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the pains we would experience because of our sins. Having been, in a sense, punished for our sins, He is able, as our Advocate before the Father, to make the case for mercy for us.
He requires a down payment from us to do so. He seeks faith, repentance and obedience from us. Through His prophets and Apostles, local priesthood leaders, and the scriptures, He tells us generally what that payment looks like. Through the Holy Ghost, He prompts us to what specifically we must do. If we have followed what the Savior has prescribed for us, He will then request mercy from the Father not only because of His role in suffering for us, but also because of the devil’s role in our bad choices.
In speaking to his sons, Helaman taught—
The Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins.
And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.
And now, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:10-12)
The countless Korihors in our lives who try to take away our freedom to have faith in Christ will always fail if we stay close to Him. You see if Satan can blind us from seeing how the Savior can save us, he can then enslave us. Yet, we are never alone. Each and every one of us is surrounded and supported by those seen and unseen servants sent from the presence of God by Him to open our eyes and soften our hearts to Him. When we then see with the eye of faith in Him and repent of our sins, we destroy the devil’s influence in us.
The king of Syria finding that his armies’ failed attempts to destroy Israel was due to Elisha, the prophet of God, telling the king of Israel what to do and where to go, sought to capture him. In the darkness of the night, he sent “horses, …chariots, and a great host” to surround the city Elijah was in.
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? (2 Kings 6:15)
Elijah knowing that nothing is impossible with His Master said to his servant—
Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha (v. 16-18).
Paul, in his zeal to God, ignorantly did “many things contrary to the name of Jesus” (Acts 26:9). In speaking of his former life and in his efforts to eradicate the Christian heretics from among his people, Paul, who went by Saul, said that, he was “exceedingly mad against them, [he] persecuted them even unto strange cities” and “persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women” (Acts 26:11, 22:4). He obtained authority to punish those in Damascus. As he traveled there, he described what happened to him—
At midday, …I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me (Acts 26:14-16, 18).
After he experienced that divine vision, he was struck physically blind. His travel companions led him by the hand to Damascus. Not eating and drinking for three days, he prayed to God for help (Acts 9:8-9, 11). While Saul pled for healing, his Heavenly Father sent the Savior to someone who could provide it.
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized (Acts 9:12-18)
Later, in his letters to the Roman Saints, he spoke about the Savior’s love. He said—
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35, 37-39).
In a ward that I attended and served in, I learned of a young man who had made some poor choices that led to restrictions of his church membership. He would not look anyone in the eye as he participated in our weekly worship meetings. Rather, he would come and leave without speaking to anyone.
After making good choices that allowed his priesthood leader to remove those restrictions, he experienced something miraculous that I witnessed. The brightness of his soul now shone so clearly through his eyes and in his countenance. I could see the joy and peace that God promised us in him. Since people naturally gravitate toward the light when they see it, members of the ward who didn’t know this good man before, now wanted to be around him. He became a beloved member of our ward who lovingly ministered to others.
President Nelson stated—
One of the most important things you need to learn in life is to know who you really are.
When you begin to catch even a glimpse of how your Heavenly Father sees you and what He is counting on you to do for Him, your life will never be the same (ibid).
A beautiful poem cements in our minds God’s impact in changing our lives and establishing our faith—
’Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile:
“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar”; then, “Two!” “Only two?
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three—” But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone!” said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not quite understand
What changed its worth.” Swift came the reply:
“The touch of a master’s hand.”
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine,
A game—and he travels on.
He’s “going” once, and “going” twice,
He’s “going” and almost “gone.”
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.
(Myra Brooks Welch, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” The Gospel Messenger, Brethren Press, 26 Feb. 1921.)
Moroni taught us—
And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad. (Ether 12:19)
My hope and prayer are that we will see with the eye of faith the love that our Heavenly Father and His Son have for us. When we do we will know that They have prepared every needful thing for our happiness and exaltation. With that knowledge, we will exclaim as Abraham did, “Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee” (Abraham 2:12).