Alma 12:3 And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out–
If we can understand Satan, he is not our friend. His intentions are to purely destroy us. He tells constant lies. There is no filter, he will use anything he can to deceive us. Remember we are here on earth because we chose Christ in the pre-mortal life. We fought valiantly next to Christ, and assisted in casting Satan into outer darkness forever. Satan is full of rage and revenge all centered at destroying God’s Plan, which includes annihilating God’s army through persuasion to covert them to his side. This persuasion has nothing to do with him wanting to be our friend, it is simply to remove us from his path. Once he has captured us, we are on our own. He is not one to come and rescue his forces, he is a selfish spirit; the epitome of evil. At the root of his attacks are the family, individual worth, and the gospel.
D&C 50:3 Satan hath sought to deceive you, that he might overthrow you.
I have never personally trapped something, but my neighbor traps raccoons. The purpose for setting the traps to catch the coons is to get rid of them because they destroy what my neighbor has worked hard to build. They destroy his garden, yard work, and even tear at the house. The traps are set in a way to lure the coons through deceit. What looks like an easy free meal is really the end of their life. Once they give into the tempting aroma of the food left to trap them, they find themselves engulfed in a wired cage, unable to escape. Once trapped, those easy, free meals are no more. The trapper doesn’t have any good intentions for the raccoon. His only intention is to shoot the coon and get rid of them forever. This is how Satan works with us. We are just a nuisance in his carefully planned plot, he desires nothing but spiritual death for us. He lures us in with promises of ease, pleasure, and freedom. Once we take the bait, he traps us with his awful chains. Once promised pleasures become our new prisons as we find ourselves addicted, and lacking in the light of Christ that we once followed.
Alma 12:6 And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity.
Lucky for us, we have a Redeemer, who has paid our debts and purchased our freedom. Satan has no power over Christ, and once we learn to remove him from our lives through repentance and obedience, we find true lasting joy and the light of Christ returns. Through the process of following Christ we are able to dispense those lies that once lured us into the trap, and we find that true freedom lies within the safety of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has given us all the protection we need to stay clear of Satan’s traps.
Helaman 5:9 O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.
It’s rather ironic really, for one of the main lies that Satan tells is that Christ is restricting us, and that we don’t have any choice or freedom. When in reality, Christ’s plan from the beginning was that he would give us all the safety equipment we would need to return home safely, but ultimately we have the choice. It is God’s Plan. Through that choice we are able to build our own strength and ultimately we become Satan-resistant. Christ’s way doesn’t restrict us at all because it keeps our minds, hearts and souls free from fear, addictions, and guilt. All tools that Satan uses to trap us. Christ’s redeeming power gives us the power that we need to follow him and return home safely.
Moroni 7:33 If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.
Here’s my favorite story of how the Savior is always there waiting to assist and save us when all seems lost. Told by Jeffrey R. Holland in his conference talk “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet”. “Without safety ropes, harnesses, or climbing gear of any kind, two brothers–Jimmy, age 14, and John, age 19 (though those aren’t their real names)–attempted to scale a sheer canyon wall in Snow Canyon State Park in my native southern Utah. Near the top of their laborious climb, they discovered that a protruding ledge denied them their final few feet of ascent. They could not get over it, but neither could they now retreat from it. They were stranded. After careful maneuvering, John found enough footing to boost his younger brother to safety on top of the ledge. But there was no way to lift himself. The more he strained to find finger or foot leverage, the more his muscles began to cramp. Panic started to sweep over him, and he began to fear for his life.
Unable to hold on much longer, John decided his only option was to try to jump vertically in an effort to grab the top of the overhanging ledge. If successful, he might, by his considerable arm strength, pull himself to safety.
In his own words, he said:
“Prior to my jump I told Jimmy to go search for a tree branch strong enough to extend down to me, although I knew there was nothing of the kind on this rocky summit. It was only a desperate ruse. If my jump failed, the least I could do was make certain my little brother did not see me falling to my death.
“Giving him enough time to be out of sight, I said my last prayer–that I wanted my family to know I loved them and that Jimmy could make it home safely on his own–then I leapt. There was enough adrenaline in my spring that the jump extended my arms above the ledge almost to my elbows. But as I slapped my hands down on the surface, I felt nothing but loose sand on flat stone. I can still remember the gritty sensation of hanging there with nothing to hold on to–no lip, no ridge, nothing to grab or grasp. I felt my fingers begin to recede slowly over the sandy surface. I knew my life was over.
“But then suddenly, like a lightning strike in a summer storm, two hands shot out from somewhere above the edge of the cliff, grabbing my wrists with a strength and determination that belied their size. My faithful little brother had not gone looking for any fictitious tree branch. Guessing exactly what I was planning to do, he had never moved an inch. He had simply waited–silently, almost breathlessly–knowing full well I would be foolish enough to try to make that jump. When I did, he grabbed me, held me, and refused to let me fall. Those strong brotherly arms saved my life that day as I dangled helplessly above what would surely have been certain death.”
Here is the video to this story:https://www.lds.org/youth/video/where-justice-love-mercy-meet?lang=eng
-Sherri Jorgensen
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