Continuing from (Deception) Elder Neil L. Anderson (of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), teaches in his book ‘The Divine Gift of Forgiveness’ why it is dangerous to listen to the adversary’s. . .
Appeal to Delay Repentance. . .
An additional distortion of the adversary directed toward the person desiring to repent is his deceitful appeal to postpone or delay repentance. President Henry B. Eyring said, ” That temptation to delay comes from the enemy, Lucifer. He knows that we can never be truly happy unless we have hope in this life and then realization in the next, of eternal life. It is the greatest of all the gifts of God. . . . And so Satan temps with procrastination throughout our days of probation. Any choice to delay repentance gives him the chance to steal happiness from one of the spirit children of our Heavenly Father.”13
In C. S. Lewis’s book The Screwtape Letters, the devil’s minion, Uncle Screwtape, instructs his nephew, Wormwood, a less experienced tempter, how to keep the mortal who is beginning to consider repentance from continuing along this righteous path. “It remains to consider how we can retrieve this disaster. The great thing is to prevent his doing anything. As long as he does not convert it into action, it does not matter how much he thinks about this new repentance. Let the little brute wallow in it. . . .Let him do anything but act. No amount of piety in his imagination and affections will harm us if we can keep it out of his will. As one of the humans has said, active habits are strengthened by repetition but passive ones are weakened. The more often he feels about acting, the less he will be able to ever act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.”14(see below)
Peter described the tempter in a striking metaphor: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”15
The Adversary’s Influence is Nothing Compared to the Power of God
I have thought of Peter’s comparing Lucifer to a roaring lion. A roaring lion in the zoo is dangerous, but only if we put ourselves inside the cage with him. Without our willingness, the power of the adversary is very limited.
If we are pursuing a righteous course, we need not be overly concerned with the adversary’s influence. Nephi explained that he hath no power over the hearts of [those that] dwell in righteousness.”16 He has no power o use against us unless we permit it. The Apostle James taught, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”17 ~ Elder Neil L. Anderson, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019) 117-18
14. C.S Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: Scribner, 1996), 60-61
