Satan Never Really Wanted to Make Us All "Good"

One of the prime examples of scripture taken out of context to score political points against any progressive idea (and of course, the evils of communist domination - pretty much the same thing for a lot of people) is the one about Satan robbing us of agency to force us all to be good, falsely interpreted as you can't do "good" with government.

And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me— Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. Moses 4:1-4.

A little background might be helpful for my non-Mormon readers. It is a unique doctrine through scripture and teachings presented by the Prophet Joseph Smith that all humans on earth are spirit children of God and that we lived with Him in a premortal state. Two plans were presented as summarized above, but also referenced in other, more traditional scripture (Isaiah 14:12-17). The plan chosen was that of Christ that He would sacrifice Himself submitting to the will of the Father for the benefit of all God's children to be resurrected and able to repent of their sins through this great Atonement. Lucifer rebelled and there was war in heaven with all of us [humankind] on the winning side choosing the plan of God and his Son who came to earth as the Savior, Jesus Christ.

The two parts of Satan's "plan" seem to be constantly linked -- "redeem all mankind" and "destroy the agency of man." This is interpreted as forcing us all to be good to return to heaven. That plan was not chosen. And don't forget who Satan is -- you know, "the father of all lies." His principle motivation was "to lead [us] captive at his will." The tricky part with ol' Scratch, is that he tells a a part of the truth, just enough to keep us going, but then twists it to his purposes attempting to fool us in the process.

Satan's sin was pride and disobedience to the Father. His technique was to control, or have dominion over, all of God's children, including the First-born in the Spirit and the only born in the flesh, Jesus Christ. And I get the idea that included even God the Father Himself. I think that Satan, well, Lucifer at the time, was not interested in saving but controlling. Therefore, his plan was a ruse, a lie, hence he is the father of all lies. Maybe he was surprised that he didn't fool the Father and the Son. But his motivation was pride and control, not to force us to be "good."

I believe men and women have agency and when we choose to sin, we become subject to Satan - the Adversary or Destroyer, and we lose our agency. We have the ability to exercise agency at any given moment of our lives beyond the age of accountability (8 years old). It doesn't matter what cultural, political, or economic situation we find ourselves. We are constantly either choosing evil or good, to follow Satan or Christ - sometimes without even a solid concept of who they really are. See 2 Nephi 2:25-27.

This has nothing to do with politics or economics. The abuses of Capitalism or a true free market based on individual interest will enslave us just as well as communist dictatorship. And Satan rules both. If you don't believe that, think of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and later, the US - the conditions of Welsh coal miners and the children in sweatshops. Think of sweatshops today in some countries that produce our clothes.

Blessedly, we live in a land of government of, by, and for the People. We have a lot of work to do in that regard. Here's early LDS Scripture with regard to those responsibilities and opportunities:

We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. D&C 134:1.

Sounds to me like government is a good thing giving us an opportunity to work together "for the benefit of man" and "for the good and safety of society." It doesn't sound like the devil's plan if we are to be accountable for how we function in doing good for each other through representative government in support of "the general welfare." On the other hand, I might question those who believe government is the problem and who seek to obstruct its functions or to vilify their political opponents as agents of evil. That sounds more like the way the adversary operates. Fortunately, good conquers evil in the end as it did in the beginning.

"The Fall of Lucifer" by Paul Gustave Doré