Using Satan Against Satan

1. Satan is always there to accuse you:
A. of being unworthy,
B. unable to withstand his temptations, or
C. that what you are doing isn’t all that bad.

2. How many times have you tried to quit a bad habit? Swearing? Sarcasm? Lying?
A. Elder who thought he had committed the Unpardonable sin when he was swearing in the mission.
1. Serious, but not like fornication or adultery
2. Destroys self-esteem and causes loss of the Spirit

B. When were you thinking about? 24X7- thinking about not doing it.
1. Walk around Woodward Park-- seemed like the right thing to do
2. Inspiration-- if you are either think about it, or not thinking about it, what are you thinking about? IT

C. Easy to solve once I knew the problem.
1. Have a Plan A, B, C, D, and E
2. Immediately when you discover bad thought playing center stage of your mind,
Use that as a catalyst to remind you to do something positive.
A. Say a prayer
B. Read a chapter from the Book of Mormon
C. Memorize a scripture
D. Sing a song
E. Do some service

D. Satan isn’t stupid-- he just isn’t intelligent.
1. He sees that you are not doing what he tempts you to do,
2. Plus you do something that takes you one step further away from his kingdom

E. He will back off-- Leave you alone? No, just tries from a different angle.

3. missionary experience in the islands with near girls-- memorize a scripture to avoid temptations.

4. Problems get less intense, further between, not as long lasting, until you have overcome.
A. Once you take on your biggest Goliath, the others are more fun to tackle Until you can take on several at a time. Make perfecting yourself a game-- not an unpleasant burden!

---Obtained from Randy Bott, BYU Religion Professor