Twenty years ago the movie “The Truman Show” came out. It was a hit movie staring Jim Carey as Truman Burbank. The story is of a boy, Truman, who is born on a movie set and becomes the subject of a reality TV show following every moment of his life growing up in a giant TV studio. He doesn’t know that he is living his life in a make-belief world watched by millions of people. All of his family, friends, and even his wife are all make believe, actors hired to play parts. Only Truman doesn’t know that he is living a big deception.
Deception is a part of our lives. From the perspective of the heavens looking down on us, you could almost say that we are all living the life of Truman. Angels see the obvious deceptions and lies that we are immersed in, that surround and blind us every moment of our lives, of which we are oblivious for the most part. Like Truman we are manipulated by people. Deception is used by people to manipulate people to do things they wouldn’t normally do left on their own. We find deception used in every aspect of our lives; it is practiced skillfully in politics, war, media and advertising, business and commerce, diplomacy, schools, food production and processing, prescription drugs and the medical world, and even in religion. I wrote a previous post on deception in politics in Byzantine Rome and how it portents politics in our own day; how corrupt people manipulate the truth for their own purposes and how prevalent it is in our lives. Master deceivers create a desire for whatever they are peddling in people, then give them what they think they want. https://thenorthstarchronicle.com/2018/11/13/chariot-races-politics-and-zion/ In reality, though, we are not only subject to influence by unscrupulous people but are also being played by unseen dark forces.
The invasion of Normandy by the Allies during World War 2, in 1944, was preceded by an elaborate deception to convince the German Army that the Allies were going to land somewhere other than Normandy. This elaborate deception consisted of sending dispatches and secret messages to an army that didn’t exist, conducting whole army-sized exercises with imaginary men, and planting disinformation using double agents. They even had General Patton posted as the commander of the non-existent army because intelligence indicated the Germans believed General Patton would lead the invasion. The deception was so complete that when the Allies began the landing on the beaches of Normandy, the German High Command refused to believe that it was a real invasion, convinced the main invasion was much further north. The Allies were able to secure a beachhead and establish a successful base for the invasion of Europe. Without the deception the allies may not have been successful in their landing at Normandy.
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. ” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War; chapter 18).
“Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War; chapter 3).
Our lives are constantly exposed to deception, exploitation, and conflict from people that we should be able to trust. Most of them are being deceived by not other people, but by unseen dark forces. It is important we understand all this deception is orchestrated behind the scenes by Satan. Paul wrote, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities , against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12). The deceptions perpetrated by people against us originate from and are manipulated by the adversary. He is the father of lies (John 8:44) who orchestrates everything from his self proclaimed perch “upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north” (Isaiah 14:13). The stratagems of engagement and the tactics used by the adversary have a lot in common with the military arts of warfare: surprise, timing, concentration of force, unrelenting attack, exploiting weaknesses, and deception.
The power of the Deceiver to blind and mislead us is so insidious and overpowering that I wonder how anyone can ever know any truth. His power largely originates from his knowledge, and our lack thereof. His power is so overwhelming and daunting that unless you receive some divine protection and obtain light and knowledge you will always be in his power. The thing that I have come to understand is that God intercedes when we ask Him. The Lord recognizes our free will so he will usually not interfere until we ask for His help. One of the reasons we are admonished to always pray is because, like the rudder of a ship or airplane, constant course corrections are required to stay on the path (Alma 34:39).
The thing that makes it all so tragic is that most people don’t really know what they want. People think they know what they want; they may think they want to live righteously, but are distracted either by the need to get through life or get caught up in acquiring the shiny things life has to offer. We cannot serve two masters. Satan also knows how to manipulate your desires and wants, because he has an advantage – he knows how to distract you. And so, as the scripture tells us, Satan leads some “carefully” down the road to hell (2 Nephi 28:21). This is why prayer is so important, because we need the constant help of Heaven to counteract the ever present and unrelenting pressure of the adversary (Alma 34:39). Without constant prayer and guidance we become a rudderless boat cast upon a rough sea with strong currents that will carry us to a place we don’t want to go. And so, we must really want the blessings of heaven in our lives, and we have to display or show our desire constantly through prayer and scripture study to keep our guard up.
The power given to the deceiver by the Father is purposeful in order to induce people to come to the realization they are subject to the power of the devil, who is the personification and source of sin. Once we realize this, it is expected that we throw ourselves on the mercy of the Lord to save us (Romans 11:32). “Throw” seems like a strong word here, but it is apt. In order to get to that place a person has to know what they want and learn to ignore the distractions. Not so easy as some religions might make it out to be. It is not as easy as repeating a few words or performing some ritual cleansings or ordinances, no matter how heartfelt and emotional. The Lord requires your whole heart and mind because no ceremony or recitation has the power to change a persons heart. They can only point a person to Christ, not change a lifetime of habits overnight.
After we have decided to repent and live the life of a Christian, how do we discern that deception is being practiced on us? First, we have to understand that deception exists in every aspect of our lives, perpetrated upon us to make us perceive the world in a certain way. From the time we are small children we are fed a constant flow of misinformation about how the world works. It is to the advantage of the adversary to get you to perceive the world in a false light so that he can manipulate you. It is impossible to see through this deception without divine help. You will not discern the deceptions unless you believe something is not quite right and you become a seeker of truth.
One of the great powers that Satan has is the ability to impersonate our conscious thoughts. Where the Holy Spirit will always speak truth to us, Satan will whisper things that are enticing to our ego’s or to our natural desires. He will speak to our pride or our desire to accumulate things. People receive communication from the spirit world, from both good and bad sources, and not even realize it, thinking it is their own reasoning mind working out the problems and challenges of living. Unlike the Holy Spirit, Satan’s tactic is to disguise his communication so that it seems like our own thoughts. To learn how to recognize deception you must become an efficient prayer practitioner. I could give you some tips, but the best way is to spend a lot of time on your knees and ask for guidance.
Some people have an innate or, as Immanuel Kant would put it, an “a priori” knowledge that things are not quite right with their perception of the world . There has to be more to life than eeking out a living, trying to make ends meet and accumulating stuff. There has to be a purpose to all of the vicissitudes of life, doesn’t there? Truman, in our movie, senses something is not quite right with the way the world works. He discerns that there is some deception taking place, but he can’t put a finger on it. He begins to look for the gaps, the inconsistencies, and he searches for explanations. Things are just not quite right. And thus begins the great adventure of finding a way through the haze. But unlike Truman, the vast majority of people are content. They are not keen to look behind the curtain or ask the important questions; they accept the status quo – that the world is exactly what it seems. Most would probably take the blue pill. Actually, most would not even approach the situation where they might be offered the red or the blue pill. Either they are not comfortable with challenging accepted views, even if it means they will uncover truth by doing so or they are just plain lazy. They don’t want to rock the boat; too much trouble. But our purpose in life is to rock the boat!
Why does the Lord allow this seemingly insurmountable deception to be perpetrated against everyone? Why can’t it be easier? Why does it have to be so hard? The Lord allows Satan this great power in order to wring a desire out of us to pursue truth. Through this incredible adversity he is giving us an opportunity to determine what we really want. Do we want to continue in the same mode of existence, content with the way we perceive the way the world works, or do we want to pursue truth no matter where it takes us? The Lord wants us to focus on Him, and by exercising our intentions to follow Christ, in spite of a tremendous effort on our part to swim upstream against adversity, it is the perfect way to develop faith in Him.
One of the great powers that Satan is given is his advanced knowledge. He is able to deceive people because he remembers everything, and we remember virtually nothing. Another advantage he has is he knows how to tempt us; he knows what motivates us and he knows our proclivities and weak points. Although every person is different in what motivates and drives them, His method of temptation is generally tailored to where we are in our spiritual maturity.
At a basic level, we are easily entreated to satisfy the physical needs. The urge for self protection, self promotion, and the comforts we crave, either psychological or physical, are primary motivators. Satan uses selfish self interest to tempt and deceive by promising something that is impossible to obtain- salvation through personal indulgence. People who are tempted by self interest may have altruistic desires and believe in charity, but rationalization can move them to acts of worldly self interest, many times at the expense of inflicting pain or suffering on others.
The Religious
Being religious can include belonging to any philosophy that a person clings that governs their moral behavior. It could be a church, a political ideology, saving the planet, saving animals, or anything that gives a soul a sense of higher purpose. People that have acquired religion or something equivalent recognize a need for peace in their lives and desire for God’s approval. Even some atheists create a form of religion that seeks for some sort of individual salvation. Religious people are troubled about the next life beyond the veil, but in the vast majority of people their religion only counterfeits a truly spiritual life.
Religious people acquire a world view that tends to place a religious lens on everything they see or experience. Like a polarized lens their view is restricted and completely filtered by dogma. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) wrote: “The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion…draws all things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects and despises.” Religious people tend to become doctrinal bigots, and it is very difficult to sway them from their ideology. They have invested so much time and effort in their religion and their view has become so entrenched and comfortable to them that it would be earth shattering to change their views. They are also filled with fear that if they strayed from the party line, they would be condemned. They are convinced that they hold the key to the mystery of life. Satan is able to use that to create an army of zealots who will fight any light and truth revealed from heaven they do not agree with. He will also convince people of a religious inclination that they are better than other people (Alma 31).
Religious people can also be tempted by riches and power in a uniquely diabolical manner. Satan will use the compliments of obtaining riches and power as proof of God’s favor. At the beginning they seek money and power in order to help others, but it will become a trap to them. The religious will sometimes follow prophets and pastors who preach prosperity to them. The deception goes something like this: “If you keep God’s commandments he will bless you with prosperity because he wants you to be happy and wealthy. Then you can shine for the rest of the world to see and be recognized as His people.” They believe that if they are wealthy they have nothing to fear- “all is well”. This is the prosperity gospel and it has gained a strong foothold in many churches in America, including the LDS church. This is especially enticing to religious people because of their need to justify their belief that they are “chosen” or “elect”.
There is a unique type of temptation that exists in the LDS Church: envy of priesthood holders having authority. By envy I mean that men in lower echelons of priesthood aspire to be Bishops, Stake Presidents, and General Authorities because of the prestige that accompanies those positions. God holds men in high regard that are called to those exalted positions. That is because of the belief that it is God Himself that appoints these leaders. It doesn’t hurt, either, that church members give these authorities rock star status. Most in the church don’t realize that this is a form of “priestcrafts” and idolatry, which Alma declared would lead to utter destruction (Alma 1:12).
Covenant Holders
Covenant people of Christ that have accepted the Doctrine of Christ have a unique temptation that they are subject to. A Fundamental Christian who has repeated the sinners prayer and felt they have been “saved” can be included as well as many who belong to various religions not caught up in the religious pitfalls discussed above. They may even have had their baptism of fire and “second comforter” experience with Christ. What motivates them, what temptations would be effective against them?
If People have not received the baptism of fire or audience with Christ, but have an expectation that they will receive because of assurances by the Holy Spirit, they become susceptible to impatience and pride. They believe they are on the “path”. Their impatience manifests in part because they believe they are worthy, so they may take matters into their own hands and try to manipulate God into giving them what they want. If they can demonstrate to God they are righteous and full of good works, then they believe heaven has to take notice of them. A lot of this thinking may not be evident, even to the person experiencing these thoughts, but lays embedded in the subconscious and motivates their behavior. The psychology of a person in this frame of mind becomes fertile ground for being deceived. A person pleading and begging for God to manifest spiritual experiences and miracles will be ripe for receiving spirit communication from any source. The dark and dreary wilderness of Lehi’s dream was full of people wandering around because they were tired of waiting for the word of God. Many of them left the path looking for a shortcut.
A person who reaches this level of spiritual maturity has experienced some or many of the gifts of the spirit. If a person is not careful, this can lead a person to believe they are better than others who have not experienced spiritual gifts, or anyone else for that matter. Pride in this case leads to judgement. People will agree or disagree with others in the fellowship or the church based on whether they think the others are worthy of their support. I have also seen where people will disagree and fight the majority simply because they were not involved in developing the policy or the idea. There is a natural tendency for a person to believe that because they are “favored” of the Lord, their opinions should be accepted by everyone else.
Another category are people who have received revelation, or believe they have received revelation. They have heard the spirit tell them things that are not common knowledge. This is a good thing if it comes from the right source and is handled with discretion. But pride will sometimes take hold of that person who then takes it upon himself/herself to correct everyone else. This is a great temptation for those who are in this category of spiritual development.
Unlike the Holy Spirit, Satan’s tactic is to disguise his communication so that it seems like our own thoughts. He will even counterfeit the voice of the Holy Spirit, which if you are not fluent (I really emphasize “fluent”) in the language of the Holy Spirit, is difficult to discern as coming from the wrong source. Even the most advanced spiritual people are deceived this way. Unless you develop the ability to discern between the two ways, you will always be subject to the power of Satan.
Unfortunately we will never reach the point where we are no longer susceptible to deception and temptation. Because the power of the Adversary to deceive us is so great, no matter at what level of spirituality we are, we must protect ourselves. We must seek to have the ability to discern the spirits.
- Oh! What a racket, what a cacophony of voices!
- Confusion, sleight of hand, innuendo,
- Chest pounding, supposition, accusation
- And confounding logic.
- How is a soul to know truth at all?
- Ha! There is no truth in the world,
- Only creation.
- There is no world, only imagination, thought, emotion;
- Faith.
- What is real?
- Love is…
- Fear is…
- Mustard is…