Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (deceased) shared from his book, “Finding Peace, Happiness and Joy:”
Never play games with the commandments of the Lord. When you trust Him fully, He is able to bless you richly. He knows what is best for you. Sometimes a clever person can deceive a human being, but none of us can do that with the Lord. Trust Him. Live so that He can trust you. He then will guide and bless you more abundantly. I am confident that the Lord expects each of us to do the right things. He expects us to be pillars of strength in His kingdom.
What of the mind-over-matter example? I explained it was to illustrate deceit. Does that remind you of so many things you see in the world around you? One who follows the pattern of deceit tries to appear to have influence and capabilities that he does not possess. Satan is the epitome. He has absolutely no power over a determined, righteous individual because the Lord protects that person. Be assured that if Satan were to have such capacity he would use it. God constantly protects our moral agency and thus assures that Lucifer can have no such power. Satan can gain influence over a normally righteous individual only when that person yields to temptation or allows fear to overcome faith.
The devil has great influence in this world by leading individuals to make the wrong choices. He is the father of lies. Nothing he tempts you to do will have a beneficial outcome—absolutely nothing.1 The hook may be baited by seemingly attractive promises and outcomes, but he is the master of deceit and his agents are powerfully effective in his cause. I have come to know that Satan is a real personage with devoted, capable assistants. However as a servant of Jesus Christ, I bear solemn witness that as you trust the Lord, are obedient to His commandments, and follow the directions of the Spirit, Satan cannot have any power over you.
The heavenly light that sheds forth from God has power to overcome the darkness of unwholesome influences around you. That is as certain as the power of brilliant light to disperse the darkness in a room. How can you get the brilliant light of the Lord into your life more abundantly? By prayerfully and consistently making the right choices and fulfilling them. ~Elder Richard G. Scott, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2007), 99-100
