More on Helping Each Other Obey Promptings

Continued From: Personal Revelation - Supporting One Another


And yet, is it not true that Satan has the power to disguise himself and send us false promptings, masquerading as an “angel of light?” (2 Nephi 9:9) Yes. Satan may prey on our emotions, particularly when they run high, and attempt to misdirect us. What a blessing, then, that Father has given instructions on how to discern between the still small voice of the Comforter and the devil in angel’s clothing. There is a passage in Moroni 7 that illuminates this beautifully. Please, if you are facing an important decision and are unsure of your ability to discern His answer, read verses 12-19 of this wonderful chapter. In it we are told that everything that inspires us to do good is of God, and everything that entices toward evil is of the devil. God will not urge us to anything that is not in keeping with the revealed gospel, and Satan will not encourage us to do anything that is.

Furthermore, we are instructed to take care in our judgments. We stand to lose just as much from failing to heed a prompting from the Lord as we do from heeding one from Satan. If we fail to follow Father’s guidance when He speaks to us, He will soon stop, and the Spirit will send no more promptings. Like a muscle that atrophies, our ability to hear Him will shrink and wither. But if we hearken and obey promptly, that spiritual muscle becomes robust, the voice of the Lord ever louder in our ears, our hearts, our minds. We may move forward with peace and utter confidence that just as He will send us promptings He will provide us the means of verifying that they come from Him.

“Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.” (Moroni 7:14-15) Once again, the promise that we may know of a surety by whom we are led. President Harold B. Lee expanded on the source of promptings in an article from February 1980’s Liahona, “Revelation and You” : “We get our answers from the source of the power we tend to obey. If we are following the ways of the devil, we will get answers from the devil. If we are keeping the commandments of God, we will get our answer from God.” If we are living righteously, and especially if we are actively seeking the Lord’s will and guidance, we are assured that we might know “with a perfect knowledge” that “it is by me that ye are led.”

Oh yes, Satan may at times fool even the “very elect,” and frequently these false promptings take the form of convincing a good person to cast doubt on true guidance a sister or brother in Zion has received. Just think, Enos wrestled with the Spirit to receive his answers. (Enos 1) In order to obtain clear guidance from Father, we frequently must strive and search, reasoning in our minds, seeking in the scriptures, fasting and praying. If it takes this much effort for my friend to receive personal revelation from the Lord regarding a problem she faces, what is the likelihood that I, after giving approximately .56 seconds’ consideration to her quandary, will receive instaneous inspiration from God about the course of action she should take? Is it not far more likely that with a predisposition on my part toward skepticism, perhaps even criticism of her unconventional tendencies, Satan might give me just enough of a nudge to make me feel very wise and correct in telling her she is misguided and urging her to doubt the promptings?

We do have an obligation to offer an outside perspective when a friend is deep in the mire of some personal trial, and part of offering loving insight may be asking (gently) if she is certain of the answers to her prayers. Providing a sounding board, helping with the “reasoning out” process, pro-ing and con-ning a bit may be an invaluable aid to her, assuming we do this with a properly placed heart. But, it is one of the loneliest feelings on earth to step out in faith, acting on hard-earned promptings from our Father, only to face criticism and derision from our fellow-saints. I regret that I have ever been so careless with a sister or brother’s spirit. It is not given for us to know the Lord’s will for our peers. I would hate to learn that I’d allowed myself to be manipulated by the Evil One and persuaded someone in a fragile state to take a path other than the one Heavenly Father had provided. As silly as she looks out in her yard hammering away at that ark, if I know her to be a faithful daughter of God, who seeks His guidance and does her best to follow His commandments, the best thing I can do is give her the benefit of the doubt and ask, sister, do you need any more nails? I pray we may all be and find such friends.


May we always know the daylight from the dark night, and always know the one by whom we are led!