When you act badly, you may think you are bad, when in truth you are usually mistaken. Someone may believe and even know that Jesus is the Christ and still deny Him not once but three times because of the mistaken belief that he would be better off appeasing the crowd. Someone may believe it is wrong to lie and yet lie on occasion, wrongly believing he will be better off if the truth is not known. Someone may believe in God and that pornography is wrong and yet still click on a site wrongly believing that he will be happier if he does or he can’t help but not click or it isn’t hurting anyone else and it is not that bad. Most of us act based on our beliefs, especially what we believe to be in our self-interest. People say, “You should be true to your beliefs.” While that is true, you cannot be better than what you know. Hear, all ye brethren, this grand key: knowledge is the power of God unto salvation. Knowledge is necessary to life and godliness. . . Truth enables us to see clearly because it is the “knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.” 5 Knowledge is crucial to avoid deception, to discern between truth and error, and to see clearly and chart a course through the hazards of our day. And all of that and much more is disseminated instantaneously throughout the world by electronic media. Never has there been more information, misinformation, and disinformation more goods, gadgets, and games and more options, places to go, and things to see and do to occupy time and attention away from what is most important.
Others are deceived by false spirits.Īt the far end of the spectrum we come to an entire universe of distractions. There are some who, without authority, lay claim to visions, dreams, and visitations to right the ship, guide us to a higher path, or prepare the Church for the end of the world. There are others who also claim to believe in the Restoration but are disillusioned with doctrine that conflicts with the shifting attitudes of our day. Next we see those who believe in the Restoration but claim the Church is deficient and has gone astray. At one end we meet those who attack the Restoration, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. There are many who deceive, and the spectrum of deception is broad.
Paul said, “We see through a glass, darkly.” 3 Similarly, one of the most prominent features of the vision of the tree of life is a “great mist of darkness they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.” 4 The Broad Spectrum of Deception I am not sure of all that is implied by the qualification “if possible, they shall deceive the very elect,” but I think it means, at least, that everyone will be challenged in our day. When the Lord described the signs of His coming and the end of the world, when He described our day, He mentioned many things, including wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and many other signs, including this one:įor in those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant. The question is, Will you and I stand? Will you stand forever, or will you go away? And if you go, where will you go? Deception Is a Sign of Our Time
The kingdom of God is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. The prophet Daniel said that in the last days I wrote other talks more entertaining, with more stories-more engaging than this one-but each time I wrote a new talk, I was directed back to this one.
I would like to share with you some of the thoughts I recorded that day, and although what I wrote was for my benefit, I hope it will help you as well. Reading that material always left me with a feeling of gloom, and one day that sense of darkness inspired me to write a partial response to all such antagonistic claims. Since that assignment changed, I have not returned to wallow in that mire again. There may not be anything out there of that nature I haven’t read. As part of an assignment I had as a General Authority a few years ago, I needed to read through a great deal of material antagonistic to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the events of the Restoration.
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