General Conference April 2005 - Pages 43 - 48

Elder Neil L. Anderson talked of - Beware of the Evil behind the Smiling Eyes. The title is about his lead-in story, but the topic was really about evil and good.

"Let's begin with what we know. Good comes from God; evil comes from the devil. They are not, however, equal forces that are fighting each other in the universe. At the head of all that is good is the Christ—He who is the Only Begotten of the Father, who created our world and numerous others. Our Redeemer is a resurrected and perfect being. I know He lives."

"The devil, on the other hand, "persuadeth men to do evil." "He [has] fallen from heaven, . . . [has] become miserable forever," and now works "that all men might be miserable like unto himself." He is a liar and a loser.

"The power of the Savior and the power of the devil are not truly comparable. On this planet, however, evil has been allowed a position of influence to give us the chance to choose between good and evil. The scripture says: "God gave unto man that he should act for himself. [And] man could not act for himself . . . [unless] he was enticed by . . . one or the other."

"The choice between good and evil is at the very heart of our experience on earth."

"Take heed . . . that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God."

"Ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you."

"Satan hath sought to deceive you, that he might overthrow you."

"The message is: Beware of the evil behind the smiling eyes!"

Mormon taught -

"For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him." (Book of Mormon Moroni 7:16 - 17)

All Satans followers seek to destroy the souls of man. I can't help but remember a re-told experience of Elder David W. Patton -

"It was in the evening, just twilight, when Brother Patten rode up to my father's house, alighted from his mule and came into the house. The family immediately observed that his countenance was quite changed. My mother having first noticed his changed appearance said: "Brother Patten, are you sick?" He replied that he was not, but had just met with a very remarkable personage who had represented himself as being Cain, who murdered his brother, Abel. He went on to tell the circumstances as near as I can recall in the following language:

"As I was riding along the road on my mule I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me. He walked along-beside me for about two miles. His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle. He wore no clothing, but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark. I asked him where he dwelt and he replied that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth and traveled to and fro. He said he was a very miserable creature, that he had earnestly sought death during his sojourn upon the earth, but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men. About the time he expressed himself thus, I rebuked him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood, and commanded him to go hence, and he immediately departed out of my sight. When he left me I found myself near your house." (Life of David W. Patten, the First Apostolic Martyr, Lycurgus A. Wilson)

Whether this story has been substantiated or not, the point is Satan, his angels, and the sons of Perdition pesuade men to do evil and seek to make them miserable like themselves.