“That Ye Do Not Judge That Which Is Evil to Be of God or That Which Is Good and of God to Be of the Devil”

Brant Gardner

Here is the constant dilemma of man-the-agent. We see the enticings, but often we do not judge them well. When man elects to follow the enticings of Satan, he is rarely saying to himself, “I think I will be evil.” Rather, the enticing truly is enticing. It really does appear to be something desireable. Often it is a truly desireable short term benefit that belies the long term loss of the blessings of God. For this reason, Mormon warns us to be sure that we do “not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.” The problem is that while the two polar opposites do exist, from our vantage point in the middle, we often do not see clearly the ultimate end of our actions. The enticings of Satan might seem easy, or fun, or profitable, while God frequently calls us to hard action, to work and to sacrifice. Not seeing the ultimate end, we easily mistake the short term enticings.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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