We live in a
world that has been turned upside down and inside out, a world where good is
considered evil and evil is considered good.
We cannot trust our President to be honest with us, and we cannot trust
many of our political leaders. They are
daily deceiving us with lies, half-truths, and false information; they are
slowly destroying our God-given agency and rights.
Moroni,
an ancient American prophet, explained that evil – including lies and deceit –
comes from Satan and good comes from God.
“Wherefore, all things which are
good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil
is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him, and inviteth and enticeth to
sin, and to do that which is evil continually.
“But behold, that
which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every
thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve
him, is inspired of God.
“Wherefore, take
heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of
God, or that which is good and of god to be of the devil” (Book of Mormon –
Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Moroni 7:12-14).
A
special agent for the FBI investigated organized crime groups transporting
illegal drugs into the United States. He
and another agent approached an apartment where they believed a known drug
dealer was distributing cocaine. He
shared the following experience with a friend:
“We knocked on the door of the drug
dealer. The suspect opened the door, and
upon seeing us, tried to block our view.
But it was too late; we could see the cocaine on his table.
“A man and a woman who were at
the table immediately began removing the cocaine. We had to prevent them from destroying the
evidence, so I quickly pushed the drug suspect who was blocking the door to the
side. As I pushed him, my eyes met
his. Strangely, he did not appear angry
or afraid. He was smiling at me.
“His eyes and disarming smile
gave me the impression that he was harmless, so I quickly left him and started
to move toward the table. The suspect
was now behind me. At that instant, I
had the distinct, powerful impression come into my mind: `Beware of the evil behind the smiling eyes.’
“I immediately turned back
toward the suspect. His hand was in his
large front pocket. Instinctively I
grabbed his hand and pulled it from his pocket.
Only then did I see, clutched in his hand, the semiautomatic pistol
ready to fire. A flurry of activity
followed, and I disarmed the man” (Personal correspondence of Elder Neil L.
Andersen, March 7, 2005).
The FBI agent had judged evil to
be okay and nearly lost his life. The
drug dealer was convicted of murder in another case and boasted that he would
have killed this FBI agent had he not turned around at that very moment. The agent said that he had a “distinct,
powerful impression” come into his mind, warning him to “beware of the evil
behind the smiling eyes.” I believe that
the agent received this warning from the Holy Ghost.
Moroni
continued his instructions with these words:
“For behold, my brethren, it is
given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge
is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from
the dark night.
“For behold, the
Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil;
wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to
do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and
gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
“But whatsoever
thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and
serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil;
for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good,
no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto
him” (Moroni
7:15-17).
The
war between good and evil started in our pre-earth life, and it continues on
earth today. We know of the war in
heaven because of the writings of John the Beloved who told us of a “great
dragon” who fought against God. The name
of this “dragon” was Lucifer (now known as Satan or the devil), a son of the
morning, who convinced a third part of all the hosts of heaven to follow
him. “And there was war in heaven:
Michael [Adam] and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
“And prevailed
not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
“And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world, and his angels were cast out with him [to the earth]
(Revelation 12:4-9).
Elder Andersen shared some of
his thoughts about being aware of “the evil behind the smiling eyes” and how we
can discern between good and evil. “The
power of the Savior and the power of the devil are not truly comparable. [See Pearl
of Great Price, Moses 1:1-22.] On
this planet, however, evil has been allowed a position of influence to give us
the chance to choose between good and evil.
The scripture says: `God gave
unto man that he should act for himself.
[And] man could not act for himself … [unless] he was enticed by … one
or the other” [Book of Mormon, 2
Nephi 2:16].
“The
choice between good and evil is at the very heart of our experience on
earth. In the final review of our lives,
it will not really matter if we were rich or poor, if we were athletic or not,
if we had friends or were often forgotten.
“We
can work, study, laugh and have fun, dance, sing, and enjoy many different experiences.
These are a wonderful part of life, but they are not central to why we
are here. The opportunity to choose good
over evil is precisely why we are here.”
Lehi,
a prophet in ancient America, taught his children, “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are
given them which are expedient unto man.
And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great
Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the
captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be
miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27).
We
all want to choose good, but we are often deceived by “smiling eyes.” Moroni said, “Take heed … that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God”
(Moroni 7:14).
Jesus
Christ told the Nephites, “Ye must watch
and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you”
(3
Nephi 18:18).
Early members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were told by revelation through the Prophet
Joseph Smith, “And also Satan hath sought
to deceive you, that he might overthrow you” (Doctrine and Covenants 50:3).
From these scriptures we know
that Satan is real and will do everything in his power to deceive us in order
to overthrow us. We are to be careful
about distinguishing between good and evil, and we must pray always in order to
stay out of Satan’s grasp.
Elder Andersen said that we can
discern the evil behind something that doesn’t appear evil by listening to the
counsel of wise people (parents, older siblings, etc.), the living prophet, and
the Holy Ghost and by having our own testimony of the Savior.
“First, talk to your
parents…. We fathers … along with your
mothers, have a deep interest in your choosing the right.
“Next, follow the prophet. These 15 men we sustain as prophets, seers,
and revelators are given divine power to see what we sometimes do not see….
“Very importantly, let the Holy
Ghost be your guide. The Lord has
promised us that as we live righteously, the still, small voice will come into
our mind and into our heart….
“The gift of the Holy Ghost is a
spiritual gift. It is sensitive and will
not be associated with unworthiness. You
cannot offend or ignore it one day and expect it to strengthen you the next
day. But as you heed its promptings and
remain righteous, it will grow stronger within you. The Holy Ghost warned my friend of physical
danger; the Holy Ghost will also warn you of spiritual danger.
“Finally, gain your own
testimony of the Savior. Pray
passionately. Read the Book of Mormon
when no one is watching. Take time alone
to think about who Jesus really is and how His life and sacrifice are important
to you.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke to a large
group of young men and women and gave them counsel about how they could discern
between good and evil. He told them to
1) Be grateful: “The habit of saying
thank you is the mark of an educated man or woman.”
2)
Be smart: “You are moving into the most
competitive age the world has ever known.
All around you is competition. You need all the education you can get. Sacrifice a car; sacrifice anything that is
needed to be sacrificed to qualify yourselves to do the work of the world. That world will in large measure pay you what
it thinks you are worth, and your worth will increase as you gain education and
proficiency in your chosen field.”
3) Be clean:
“We live in a world that is
filled with filth and sleaze, a world that reeks of evil. It is all around us. It is on the television screen. It is at the movies. It is in the popular literature. It is on the Internet. You can’t afford to watch it, my dear
friends. You cannot afford to let that
filthy poison touch you. Stay away from
it. Avoid it….”
4)
Be true: “Be true to your own
convictions. You know what is right, and
you know what is wrong. You know when
you are doing the proper thing. You know
when you are giving strength to the right cause. Be loyal.
Be faithful. Be true….”
5)
Be humble: “There is no place for
arrogance in our lives. There is no
place for conceit. There is no place for
egotism. We have a great work to
do. We have things to accomplish.…”
6)
Be prayerful. “You cannot do it alone…
get on your knees and speak with the Lord.
You know that He is the source of all wisdom. You need His help, and you know that you need
His help. You cannot do it alone. You will come to realize that and recognize
that more and more as the years pass. So
live that in good conscience you can speak with the Lord. Get on your knees and thank Him for His
goodness to you and express to Him the righteous desires of your hearts. The miracle of it all is that He hears. He responds.
He answers – not always as we might wish He would answer, but there is
no question in my mind that He answers.”
I know that we will be blessed
to see “the evil behind the smiling eyes” as we follow the counsel of wise
associates, prophets, apostles, and the Holy Ghost. I know that a testimony of the Savior is
valuable in discerning between good and evil.
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