Neal A. Maxwell
"At first the wicked are lost because they ignore the commandments. At a later stage, we sense that they seem almost to celebrate their alienation and to insist on playing out the decadent drama to the depths. Perhaps theirs is in some strange way, a descending search for the bottom, which, when finally touched, might somehow provide them with some modicum of upward momentum.
"When societies veer toward violence, the violence becomes self-reinforcing: they may seek at first to punish others because they hated them; but later they hate others all the more because they have punished them. Gross guilt feeds upon itself so crudely and so publicly at times. Excess begets excess.
"The anger written of in these episodes is as addictive as alcohol.
"We also see the chilling scene of evil at the end of its journey, when Satan 'had full power over the hearts of the people.' (Ether 15:19.) No wonder another prophet said of Satan that he does not finally support his own. (Alma 30:60.) The adversary is the ultimate loner and a loser; he is no brother, and those who follow him will finally be deserted by him." (Ensign, Aug. 1978, "Three Jaredites: Contrasting Contemporaries")