"Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying and craftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men only but thou hast lied unto God; for behold, he knows all thy thoughts, and thou seest that thy thoughts are made known unto us by his Spirit;
And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out—
Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all."
Alma 12:3-5
Some good reminders here. Zeezrom was preaching against Christ, and was caught in his lies. Even though in the end he admitted that he believed, he was led astray by the devil, who convinced him that, basically, his lies didn't matter. He justified it to himself in order to accomplish other goals that he believed in, such as believing erroneously that the church was corrupt and trying to deceive people, etc. A verse in D&C 10:25 explains a similar deception by Satan: "And thus he flattereth them, and telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him."
I think sometimes we fall for Satan's deceptions. We think that lying is okay in order to accomplish some goal or another, or think that it is justified if we know that another party is lying already... that somehow responding to a lie with a lie makes it okay. But it doesn't. God asks us to be honest, and to care for others, not to work to deceive them. Not just for them, but for us too. The more we lie, the more we have to lie to cover up previous deceptions. Even if we don't get caught outright in our lies by others, we are already caught in our own web. Dishonesty drives away the spirit, and our dishonest actions can destroy trust and our personal and professional relationships.
Today, let's work on our honesty. Let's not lie, even when it seems justified in the moment. It's a difficult thing sometimes in our society, where we're surrounded by lies and justifications. However, let's work to not be part of that trend. God will help us if we are struggling to do the right thing. Above all, let's be honest with ourselves and with God. He knows already, but unless we are open about it with him, he can't help us to improve.
And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out—
Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all."
Alma 12:3-5
Some good reminders here. Zeezrom was preaching against Christ, and was caught in his lies. Even though in the end he admitted that he believed, he was led astray by the devil, who convinced him that, basically, his lies didn't matter. He justified it to himself in order to accomplish other goals that he believed in, such as believing erroneously that the church was corrupt and trying to deceive people, etc. A verse in D&C 10:25 explains a similar deception by Satan: "And thus he flattereth them, and telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him."
I think sometimes we fall for Satan's deceptions. We think that lying is okay in order to accomplish some goal or another, or think that it is justified if we know that another party is lying already... that somehow responding to a lie with a lie makes it okay. But it doesn't. God asks us to be honest, and to care for others, not to work to deceive them. Not just for them, but for us too. The more we lie, the more we have to lie to cover up previous deceptions. Even if we don't get caught outright in our lies by others, we are already caught in our own web. Dishonesty drives away the spirit, and our dishonest actions can destroy trust and our personal and professional relationships.
Today, let's work on our honesty. Let's not lie, even when it seems justified in the moment. It's a difficult thing sometimes in our society, where we're surrounded by lies and justifications. However, let's work to not be part of that trend. God will help us if we are struggling to do the right thing. Above all, let's be honest with ourselves and with God. He knows already, but unless we are open about it with him, he can't help us to improve.
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