Some of what I write below, I've said before. Some of what I write below is additional food for thought.
What does it mean when someone is under Satan's influence or being lead by Satan?
If I were to walk in the door of all the local Christian churches, sit down and tell the pastor about myself and be completely honest with him or her, I would be willing to bet they would say I'm not being influenced by Satan.
For me, if someone is being influenced by Satan, it means they are immoral. Immoral, to me, means:
- committing murder; attempting to commit murder; war-mongering; genocide
- stealing, robbing, tax-evading, swindling, bilking
- cheating on a spouse; wrecking families; committing adultery
- being abusive; physically, sexually or psychologically
- lying, not being honest or truthful; intending to deceive; cheating
- embracing, supporting or giving cover to any behavior above, when you are in a position to stop or prevent it, within reason
- embracing vice; being corrupt, foolish, selfish, prideful, slothful, licentious or acting cowardly
- lacking any virtue; such as justice, wisdom, courage or temperance
I'm not perfect, but I don't have any habits of any of the above. We all may have lied or have dabbled in vices at some point, but for me, none of those vices have turned into a habit and therefore is not part of my character. I don't think I'm being influenced by Satan. In fact, my striving has always been, and continues to be to:
- support life; mine, my family, those who benefit from my charitable contributions and taxes
- live honestly, in work and personal life; try to be transparent as reason permits
- being faithful to my wife and children; I've never physically abused them and I have tried to parent productively, without emotionally abusing them ... anyone can ask them how I've done and I won't be fearful of the answer
- I try to ensure justice is pursued where I can influence it; if someone has committed a crime or done something morally wrong, I try to help them or if needed, report it to the police/authorities
- I strive to live a life of virtue every day; I'm not 100% successful all the time, but I am striving to be more just, more wise, more courageous and more temperate
I think it should go without saying, but I will make it explicit. I do not worship Satan. I do not participate in black magic, voodoo, Satanic rituals or anything of that kind.
Now, to a member of the Church, what they mean when they tell me I'm being influenced by Satan, is that I won't believe or say that Joseph Smith was called of God or that the Mormon church is the one true church on the earth today and all other religions are an abomination before God or that the current prophets, seers and revelators of the Mormon church are the only men who speak for God on the earth today. Because of that "thought crime" people believe and verbally say I'm being influenced by Satan.
What confounds me, though, is that there is plenty of evidence Joseph often stepped into immoral behavior as listed above. Some members will try to ignore it or rationalize it. This is moral relativism. It wasn't moral in 1835, it isn't moral in 2019. If we are going to give Brother Joseph a break, then I would suggest to anyone who thinks I'm being influenced by Satan, to give me a break too. If Joseph passes the judgement bar, I think I will too.
Also, at the heart of this issue, for me, is trust. I believed my leaders and teachers. I trusted them to tell me the truth. I believed my leaders and teachers when they said the peep stone was an anti-Mormon fabrication designed to make us lose our faith. I believed them when they said that Joseph practicing polygamy was false and an anti-Mormon lie or that he made up the Book of Abraham. I believed them when they said it was God who cursed wicked people with black skin.
When I later learned the truth, I realized my leaders and teachers, either wittingly or unwittingly, didn't tell me the truth. That hurts and I lost trust in them. How can I have faith in leaders where there is no trust?
In my search to understand why people are saying my family and I are under the influence of Satan, I came across this conference talk by James Faust: The Great Imitator. One passage stood out to me. I share this passage to those who think or say I'm following Satan.
Let us not become so intense in our zeal to do good by winning arguments or by our pure intention in disputing doctrine that we go beyond good sense and manners, thereby promoting contention, or say and do imprudent things, invoke cynicism, or ridicule with flippancy. In this manner, our good motives become so misdirected that we lose friends and, even more serious, we come under the influence of the devil. I recently heard in a special place, “Your criticism may be worse than the conduct you are trying to correct.”
