This week's spiritual thought comes from our weekly reading of D&C 10. Though this is Latter-day scripture, what I'm talking about today applies to all Christians (and also to atheists and agnostics if you think of Satan as an allegory).
D&C 10 spends a big chunk of time describing how Satan works to ensnare us -- in particular, verses 20-27. Here's a summary:
- He stirs people up to iniquity against that which is good.
- He corrupts their hearts.
- He teaches them to love darkness rather than light.
- He hopes to lead their souls to destruction.
- He stirs them to anger.
- He flatters them as he leads them, dragging their souls down to hell.
- He teaches that it's okay to lie in order to catch another person in a lie, but ultimately he hopes to catch them in their own snare.
- He goes up and down, to and fro, seeking to destroy our souls.
The thing about evil is that none of us wake up one morning and decide, "I think I want to be evil." Rather, becoming evil is a slow process, often obtained through degrees.
It's so easy when we're at carte blanche to look at sin and say, "I would never do that. I see that sin as clear as day, and I know how to avoid it." But then as time passes, we may be tempted to do such a small and innocent thing that resembles the full sin, and catch ourselves saying, "I'm okay. I know where to draw the line." And little by little that line moves to permit more temptation, and before we know it, we're committing the full sin.
And when that times comes, do you think we look back and say, "Crap ... I fell for that stupid sin"? Perhaps from personal experience or from watching others, I see something else strange happen. We end up rather saying something like, "This isn't so bad. This isn't a sin. Whoever said this was is being a Puritan. They shouldn't tell me what I should be doing. I hate that people ever told me not to do this."
So, even though we come to committing that sin, we've successfully rationalized ourselves to thinking it's all okay. We end up turning against those who had been warning us. In other words -- we call the bad "good," and we call the good "bad." We end up loving our darkened state and despise the light.
And the most annoying part ... it becomes very difficult to realize that we're in the wrong. If we think we're right, how could we possibly be wrong? We end up lying to ourselves to make ourselves feel better. And often when others try to point out our errors, we end up respond with anger and vile.
A brief pause -- as I've probably left any atheist readers behind with all this Satan talk, but I think what I've talking about transcends religion as well. We all have a conscious and a sense of "good" and "evil." So, consider this a nod to you non-religious guys. If someone is acting in a way that is not good for society, you can consider this the same as being "evil." And we know from many different interviews with mass murderers and/or tyrants, that they are all unified with the idea that what they're doing is just. They're chosen, or they're justified because they're punishing bad people, and all kinds of nonsensical attempts of rationalization.
Coming back to the Satan idea ... how can you tell if you've fallen into one of his traps? Remember -- his goal is to destroy our souls. He's not going to let us know that we're trapped until it's too late. However, if you take a good, strong, honest look at yourself, you may be able to see certain signs.
Are you constantly angry? Do you bite people's heads off every time someone challenges you? Does it seem like everyone's against you? Or they don't understand? Can you look back and see a change in your view on life -- has what you once considered to be a sin become something that is no longer a sin? Can you do without that "used-to-be-a-sin thing"? Does everything seem to be falling apart around you? Do you see hope for your future?
Some self-reflection could be a good thing to catch any traps you may have fallen into. And the good news is that if you identify any such traps, it's not too late to take steps to get out of the traps. You can still help Satan to fail in his attempt to destroy your soul. I do this, myself, every now and then, just to make sure I'm still on the right path. Seems like a healthy thing to do.
I hope you all are doing well, and keep working hard. Break those chains and be free.
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