The Book of Mormon: Chapter Thirty-Seven: Helamen 16:12-25

12And there was but little alteration in the affairs of the people, save it were the people began to be more hardened in iniquity, and do more and more of that which was contrary to the commandments of God, in the eighty and ninth year of the reign of the judges.

13But it came to pass in the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges, there were great signs given unto the people, and wonders; and the words of the prophets began to be fulfilled.

14And angels did appear unto men, wise men, and did declare unto them glad tidings of great joy; thus in this year the scriptures began to be fulfilled.

Satan is evil: totally and always. He ever seeks to defeat the gospel plan and ‘destroy the souls of men.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 10:27.) . . .

It’s no surprise that the vision of who God and Jesus Christ really are, becomes blurry as conceptions of Him fade into the background of secularist thought. The adversary is real, and his tactic works from both ends of the belief spectrum: If he blurs the reality of God as a glorified personal Father, and then denies the reality of Satan as one who creates that distortion to keep us from sensing our divine identity, he accomplishes his goal of dwarfing our sense of purpose and our hope of an inconceivably glorious destiny.

A nationwide survey of adults’ spiritual beliefs suggests that Americans who consider themselves to be Christian have a diverse set of beliefs – but many of those beliefs are contradictory or, at least, inconsistent.

Views on Spiritual Beings

The Barna survey asked questions about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Satan, and demons.

All 1,871 self-described Christians were asked about their perception of God. In total, three-quarters (78%) said he is the “all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe who rules the world today.” The remaining one-quarter chose other descriptions of God – depictions that are not consistent with biblical teaching (e.g., everyone is god, god refers to the realization of human potential, etc.).

For the other survey items a four-point opinion scale was used to measure people’s reactions to statements about each spiritual entity.

Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with the statement: one-quarter (26%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan (Barna).

Mormon Beliefs: Satan is Real

Mormons believe in the reality of Satan. He is real spirit personage who gave up his right to come to earth because of an overwhelming craving to be the king of kings–the one worshipped on the throne. He sought to overthrow the Savior and the Father in a council before birth, in a pre-earth life. In the words of one Mormon leader (apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ):

Satan is irrevocably committed to countering and overcoming the influence of the Spirit of Christ upon men (Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, Apr. 1971, p. 24; or Ensign, June 1971, p. 36).