"The devil has sought to lay a cunning plan”
by James Perry
At various points in human history Satan, also known as the Devil, has sought to thwart the work of the Lord. One of the earliest efforts was when Satan tempted Cain to murder his brother, Abel. The incitement was an attempt to disrupt mankind and to spawn wickedness amongst ancient humans, but it failed (Genesis 4; Moses 5). Later Satan sought to corrupt the inhabitants of the earth to the point that they would be destroyed. However, through Noah’s righteousness humanity was preserved from complete destruction and Satan’s machinations were frustrated (Genesis 6-9). Such incidents also occurred during the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ. After His baptism and while fasting in the desert Jesus was tempted to worship Satan, which He refused to do (Matthew 4). Satan’s endeavours have continued over the subsequent hundreds and thousands of years and persist to this day.
A New Beginning
by Brant Gardner
Section 10 is a new beginning for Joseph Smith. The loss of almost everything that had been translated created a crisis. Doctrine and Covenants 10:2 describes the aftermath of the loss: “And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your mind became darkened.” After what must have been a spiritual feast during the translation, the loss became much more that just the words that were written. The gift itself was lost. The ability to respond to the divine light was lost to darkness. Joseph lived under that weighty cloud for nearly three months.
- Translation of the Book of Mormon
- The lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript
- Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages
- Response to MormonThink page “The Lost 116 Pages of the Book of Mormon”
- Was Joseph Smith afraid to reproduce the text of the lost 116 pages of Book of Mormon manuscript because he could not do so?
- Interpreter Foundation
- Book of Mormon Central
- BYU Studies
- Don Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon’s Missing Stories (Greg Kofford Books, 2019)
- Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Knopf, 2005)
- Joseph Fielding McConkie and Craig J Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration (Deseret Book, 2000)
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