reality

Recently, my uncle debated the reality of Satan. Wow! He is real with very real but counterfeit power in opposition to good. This is better known as evil. Satan, the devil, is an enemy to God and man. His goal is to ensure the misery of God's greatest creation, mankind.His power lies in his ability to tempt the sons and daughters of God after they attain the age of accountability. He does not have the ability to take free agency or force someone into sin. People accept his temptations and surrender their free agency--listing to obey. Obeying Christ gives us the strength to resist Satan. But we must take the first step. We must open the door by exercising the will to choose rightly and seek Jesus' help or grace. Christ will give us His spirit and power, which is sometimes called grace. We are free to choose which master we want to follow.

" And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other. And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God. And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil... And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit" 2 Nephi 2:15-18, 28

The devil does not want us to believe he exists, because it is easier to trick us into rationalizing his whisperings. He is miserable. When we follow him, we will eventually become miserable. Teaching youth, I sometimes make this point. When a person starts drinking or doing drugs, they seem to be so full of fun and cheer. But when was the last time you saw a cheerful drunk or drug addict. What do these sins do to their physical appearance. Let's compare. Can you see light shining from the eyes of someone covered in tattoos and facial piercings, with missing teeth, that carries a case of beer from the grocery? How about the young mother that adores her children?

"And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth." 1 Nephi 22:26

"And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved. And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body? I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth? Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you? Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God? I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances? I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil? I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins. And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?" Alma 5:13-22