Essential Takeaway: Distance is good.
I loved the talk Deceive Me Not by Elder Stephenson. He starts talking about his son trying to make their black lab a Dalmatian by painting it. The son was living a his own reality that was not the truth. Altering reality is one way Satan deceives us. One way we can protect ourselves against deception by Satan is recognizing who we really are and who he really is. Elder Stephenson uses the story of Moses learning that is really a son of God. God calls him over and over, “my son.” Do we actually realize how powerful that is? We are children of God! We are HIS. We have some of Him in each of us. Satan tries to get Moses to worship him after Moses has learned of his connection to God and has seen the majesty of God. I love this quote from Elder Stephenson: “Moses said: You cannot deceive me, for I know who I am. I was created in the image of God. You don’t have His light and glory. So why should I worship you or fall prey to your deception? Now pay attention to how Moses further responds. He declares, “Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not!”
The next time Satan tries to get you to respond in an angry way, or say something unkind, tell him “Get thee hence!” Maybe Satan is telling you that you aren’t capable, or no one likes you. “Get thee hence!” The last few days I have been feeling like I can’t do anything right and I’m messing up everything I attempt. “Get thee hence!” Elder Stephenson gives us this invitation: “I invite you to respond the same way when you feel influenced by temptation. Command the enemy of your soul by saying: “Go away! You have no glory. Do not tempt or lie to me! For I know I am a child of God. And I will always call upon my God for His help.” Get some distance from Satan…. you need your space.
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