We can learn a lot from the pride of Satan and Cain. (Genesis 3-4, Moses 4-5)

Moses 4:1-2

“And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.” We learn a lot about Satan in this verse. We know he was “from the beginning.” I’m sure Satan was one of the most influential of God’s spirit children - or he wouldn’t be able to convince 1/3 of the spirits to follow him rather than God.

We learn that Satan volunteers: “here am I, send me, I will be thy son…” To me, Satan is interested in attaining the position of God’s “son.” It’s clear that he doesn’t consider himself currently God’s son but that he will assume the role. Inherent in what he’s saying is that he isn’t being authentic but is character acting.

Conversely, Christ approaches this from the complete different direction. “But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.” Christ doesn’t suggest that he “will be” God’s son but simply addresses God with “Father.” Jesus knew that he couldn’t simply usurp God’s honor and glory by following God’s plan. Jesus, from the beginning, has always been subordinate to God.

Satan promises that he would “redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost.” Satan wanted equality of outcome. He wanted every single soul to be saved - regardless of choices. In fact, we know that Satan literally wanted to destroy our agency. Whether he wanted to remove our ability to choose or simply remove the consequences of our choices, I’m not sure. Agency was built into our existence from the beginning. We’ve been able to make choices ever since we were “intelligences.” I’m not sure how he would just remove that ability that is so foundational in us being organized into spirits in the first place.

Why was Satan interested in any of this? Clearly, he wanted God’s honor. How Satan could be a leader in the spirit world and be so stupid is confusing. Sure he would know that honor isn’t something that is given from the top down but it’s something that comes from the bottom up. We honor God because of what he has done for us. We honor him because of his consistency and his desire for our welfare. We honor him because of the choices that he has made. I don’t understand how Satan thought he could receive God’s honor like God was giving him a crown or something.

Moses 4:3-4

“Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.” Lucifer becomes Satan. God did not create Lucifer to become Satan. Satan become Satan through choice. Satan had choices just like you or I or Christ himself had.

Pride is Satan’s first and great sin. He thought his plan was better. He was offended that Christ was chosen above him. He felt he deserved something. His offering was rejected and he didn’t like it. He allowed those feelings of pride to lead to rebellion. This is the greatest danger of allowing pride to grow within us. Pride can easily lead to rebellion. Pride opens the door for us to feel superior - to others and even God himself. How many of us have blamed God for something or questioned him or his timing? How many have thought that we know better and have been a little bothered that life’s not going the way that we think it should.

Consider those that you know that have left the church. How much apostasy has come from pride? How many have left because of offense? How many have left because they just want to do what they want and feel a great sense of relief without the pressure of expectations? How many have referred to this church as “high-demand?” How many have read something critical of early church leaders and have worshipped their own logic rather than having faith in the Lord’s prophets? Pride isn’t the only reason why people leave the church but most problems can be directly tied to pride.

Genesis 3:1

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” First, this verse describes Satan as being subtle. This is obviously true. Satan is not overt. Satan works in small degrees. Satan tempts you slightly beyond your comfort level. Never have I been tempted to murder or rob a bank. I have been tempted to criticize or not be honest when someone charges me a lower price than they should have. Often, our next temptation will be a slight degree beyond what we have done in the past. This is the subtle-ness of Satan.

In fact, he doesn’t outright tempt Even with partaking of the fruit. Rather, he asks Eve if God really asked her not to eat of any of the trees. Instead of starting with a clear temptation, he first gets Eve to question what God said. He doesn’t want to clearly state the restriction and then tempt - he wants Eve to question it herself. A simple question is a lot less overt than an argument.

Genesis 3:3-5

Satan does directly contradict what God said. He doesn’t argue against what Eve is saying but, rather, what God is saying. In doing so, he is standing on her side of the argument. He’s posing as an ally with her against the tyrannical Father. “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

He suggests a different outcome - one that is more appealing than appalling. He turns it upside down. There isn’t a negative consequence to eating the fruit - but a positive. In his temptation, he accuses God of not giving her the full story. He says, “For God doth know…” He’s framing the conversation as if him and Eve are on one side and God is on the other. He’s suggesting that God is withholding vital information. It’s very devious. And subtle.

And beguiling. Satan is truly beguiling her by convincing her that God is not speaking the truth, God is withholding information, and there’s actually a positive consequence to eating rather than negative. Satan is framing this interaction from the perspective of him being her ally rather than her opponent.

Genesis 3:6

This is where we see some serious rationalization. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Eve starts thinking about the positives of eating the fruit:

1. Good for food.

2. Pleasant to the eyes.

3. Desired to make one wise.

These are three really good reasons to make this choice. I don’t blame her for being beguiled. Some say that Eve knew all about this choice and what was to come and how she selflessly made this choice for us. I used to say that. The more I learn about the events of the garden, I now take her at her word that she was beguiled by Satan into doing something that she was told not to do.

Was she beguiled by facts that were true? Partly. Satan, as usual, mixed his lies with truth. The fruit would make her wise and let her know good and evil. That was true. Did Eve fully grasp what Satan was saying, possibly - maybe not fully.

Obviously, she gave the fruit to Adam and Adam ate. Before, Adam had rejected Satan’s temptation. What changed between when Satan tempted him and Eve gave him? The difference was that Eve had already partaken. This made it necessary for him to also eat.

I personally believe that Adam understood that he and Eve needed to remain together. He knew that they would not be able to replenish the earth as separated people. I think he saw a hierarchy of commandments and chose to put replenishing the earth above not partaking of the forbidden fruit. Later, he rejoiced in his decision. In Moses 5 we read, “Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.”

Eve also was glad. “And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.” Sidenote: I think the wording here is interesting. Eve says that, without their transgression “we never SHOULD have had seed.” That’s different than saying that they COULDN’T have had seed…

Genesis 3:7

“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” Adam and Eve attempted to fix what they had done on their own. They made themselves aprons. They were fixing the problem rather than looking toward the Lord for help. This provides a good example for us about what NOT to do. When we make mistakes or find ourselves in trouble, our first thought shouldn’t be about how we can fix things independent of any heavenly help. We should look to God for help rather than think we have to be on our own.

We also learn that Adam and Eve hid themselves. They were ashamed. Their instinct was to hide. I think many of us have that same instinct. When we do something wrong, we feel like we are no longer worthy to be in the presence of God at church or in prayer. This isn’t good. We shouldn’t allow sin to separate us from God. But we often do. It’s human nature I guess since this behavior was there from the beginning. When we are weak, the worst thing we can do is turn our back on God. Instead, we must turn towards him and ask for his help.

Genesis 3:12-13

“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” It’s interesting that both Adam and Eve attempt to justify slightly their decision. Eve points to the serpent. Adam points to Eve. I think it’s in our natures to be blame avoidant. We all want to be the hero of our story and our brains are very good at figuring out how, when things go wrong, who else is there to blame. We should be mindful that this is part of human nature and the natural man and we should work at not being like this.

Having said that, both of them did say, “…and I did eat.” They do ultimately take responsibility for their decision. They weren’t forced to do what they did. It was their choice to make and they do show some accountability for their choices.

Genesis 3:15

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.“ In the temple ceremony, we see how upset Satan was at this. He didn’t like the enmity being placed between him and the seed of the woman. Why is that? What is the significance of this enmity?

I think that Satan didn’t necessarily understand his role as antagonist. I think that he believed that his existence and the existence of people would be more mixed. He may have been thinking that there would not be such a stark line between him and those who chose to follow God’s plan.

In the creation story, we read a lot about how God “separated” and “divided” and “gathered.” Part of having agency is having a choice between one or the other. There must be a distinct separation between righteousness and wickedness. I think Satan didn’t want that separation. When God says that he will “put enmity between him and the children of Adam and Eve,” he’s realizing that there is a distinct division.

There is a separation. There is a battle. There is a dividing line. It’s after this enmity is placed that Lucifer’s name is changed to Satan. This division is more significant than we realize it. Satan realizes it immediately that he is now and antagonist in this story where he thought he was perhaps the hero.

Genesis 3:17

“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”  The ground was cursed for Adam’s sake. When we do something for the sake of something else, we usually mean that it is for the BENEFIT of that other thing. So, the ground was cursed for the benefit of Adams. Why is it a blessing for Adam that the ground was cursed?

I think it’s obvious that, for us to grow, we must be faced with struggle. That’s a big reason we left the presence of Heavenly Parents - to struggle on our own. Without the ground being cursed and making it so we only survive through work is a blessing. If we all lived in the garden of Eden and just relaxed and ate fruit - we this mortal experience wouldn’t provide the vast variety of affliction and trials that we needed to build our character and become strengthened with endurance and empathy.

Moses 4:22

“Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” I have witnessed women who desires are to their husbands. I’ve seen women remain loyal to horrible men who mistreat them horribly - even beat them so bad that they have to go to the hospital. Women love and nurture so much that they are often inseparable from the husbands even when abuse is happening. Women have natural empathy and understanding and can see the best in their husbands even when that “best” hasn’t shown up for years.

For whatever reason, this was part of the consequence of partaking of the forbidden fruit. As someone who is on the receiving end of this undying loyalty - I am grateful that women are built this way. Often, at the end of the day, I review my thoughtfulness and appreciation that I’ve shown Marci. Sometimes my skin crawls that I wasn’t listening carefully or didn’t show appreciation or was just plain thoughtless. However, Marci loves me anyway. Sometimes I apologize for my behavior and she didn’t even recognize that I had been thoughtless. Her love for me definitely covers a multitude of my sins.

I suspect that most of us husbands can say the same thing. With relationships, we are definitely not as refined and well-developed as our wives. We do have other gifts that make the partnership work but I do think that the burden of maintaining a wonderful relationship often is carried by the wives.

Genesis 4:5

“And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” The Lord had commanded that sacrifices should be blood sacrifices. In Moses 5:5, we read, “And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.” Cain knew that God had commanded that first kings of flocks should be offered.

Did Adam question this commandment? In Moses, we read, “And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.” I love Adam’s obedience. He didn’t know the reason why. He didn’t attempt to logically figure out why this commandment was given. He just trusted God. It made no sense why they should kill off the firstlings of the flock. God didn’t bother to explain it to Adam. Did that matter? Nope. Adam just obeyed. An angel did finally explain it. “And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.” By the way, from the VERY beginning, Jesus was talked about and worshipped and anticipated.

Compare Adam's obedience to his son Cain. Cain was the tiller of the ground. He had clear access to fruit of the ground. He brought what he wanted, not what God had asked for. When his offering was rejected, he was wroth. He could have handled it differently. He could have been humble and obedient. He could have been teachable. He could have repented and done it another way. It was his choice to respond with pride and offense rather than productively.

“And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?” The Lord gives Cain a chance to consider why he CHOSE to react this way. He wants Cain to think about it. The Lord continued, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” Cain could have simply repented and returned again into God’s good grace. If he just chose well, his offering - and himself -  would be accepted.

The Lord also warns him that “sin lieth at the door.” The Lord warns that “sin” desired Cain. Cain could rule over sin or sin could rule him. Cain had agency to choose. Satan had no control over Cain that Cain didn’t voluntarily give him..

Moses 5:12-13

Adam and Eve were taught by God himself. I have to assume they were good parents. “And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.” As a result of their faithfulness, none of their children fell away from the true gospel………no that actually didn’t happen.

“And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.” Satan demonstrates one of his key strategies by attempting to mimic God himself. Satan attempts to erase the enmity that exists. He doesn’t want to appear as if he’s our enemy. He doesn’t want us to think we’re in a battle. If Satan could convince him that he was the same as Jesus, that really confuses things.

Why would they believe Satan rather than God? Why would they love Satan more than God? Because its easier in this fallen world. We all have natural-man tendencies and pressures and temptations. It’s much easier and, initially, more pleasurable to do so. If we don’t know better, the choice between a fun slide downward and a hard uphill climb seems to get decided without even thinking. Frictionless is much easier than friction. To succumb to the many temptations of this world is frictionless and matches our mortal urges and tendencies. In this world, it will ALWAYS be easier to influence someone to do wickedness than righteousness.

Moses 5:15

“And as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned; and the words went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree; wherefore they must be fulfilled.” If we remain teachable and repentant, our desires will allow us to be saved. We will continue to progress as long as we remain willing to. Christ’s atonement allows all of us to be saved - but God WILL NOT FORCE us to accept salvation. We all have agency and will ALWAYS have agency. To think that God will force us to accept Jesus because of his grace is a weird, incorrect doctrine.

Those who are unwilling to repent and continually improve are, by definition, damned. Their progress stops. Again, God will not force someone to progress. If you voluntarily cease to progress by refusing to continually repent, you are officially damned. Not damned to hell but damned to remain at the level of faithfulness that you are when you decided to stop progressing.

Moses 5:16

Cain demonstrates his pride early on. “But behold, Cain hearkened not, saying: Who is the Lord that I should know him?” He clearly is placing himself on a level above the Lord. If I was to say, who is John that I should know him - that’s definitely me saying that John is beneath me and not worth my time to even know him. We hear this same insubordination from Pharoah when he said, “who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go.” The people of Ammonihah said something similar to Alma and Amulek. “And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?” This is all a shade of the pride that Satan displayed in the beginning.

Moses 5:18, 21

I’m going to jump back to the account in Moses about Cain’s offering. “And she again conceived and bare his brother Abel. And Abel hearkened unto the voice of the Lord. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.” For whatever reason, Cain loved Satan more than God. Why did he? It’s probably a result of a thousand bad choices of following Satan’s frictionless direction.

I think it’s interesting that Satan “commands” Cain to “make an offering unto the Lord.” Why would Satan want Cain to make any type of offering? Satan obviously knew that it would be rejected. This is another example of Satan’s subtlety. He could just tempt Cain to NOT give an offering and that would be a bad thing. But, how much worse is it for Cain to do something that he believes is justified and have it not be accepted? How much more offense is potentially there when Cain is rejected. The damage done is much greater than if Cain just simply skipped an offering. It illustrates Satan’s subtlety and his ability to think a few steps ahead. We should not underestimate the intelligence of our adversary.

As expected, the Lord didn’t accept Cain’s offering. “But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” This all transpired exactly how Satan knew it would.

The question is, how much does it happen now? How many times does Satan set someone up to be offended? How many times does Satan whisper to someone, “say this and see how they respond.” How many go into a Bishop’s or Stake President’s office ready to feel “wroth?” How many gospel questions are inspired by Satan? Satan doesn’t have to tempt us to leave the church. He simply needs to get us to do something that may lead to our future offense and we’ll leave the church as a reflex.

When the Lord outlines the situation and how Cain can “be accepted.” He is warned that Satan “desireth to have thee.” He is taught that he can resist sin or that sin can rule over him. Cain was offended at this instruction and warning. If he just would have been submissive and teachable and repentant, it would have ended very differently for him. Instead, “Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord.” It’s uncomfortable for people who are following Satan to be around people who are “walking in holiness.” The separation is necessary for Satan to work. He needs that space.

Cain didn't listen to the Lord. He lost the capactiy to understand. He likely couldn't hear the Lord. He ignored the Lord. It's important to know that this is a result of Cain's agency - not the Lord withdrawing.

Moses 5:38

When Cain is faced with the consequences of his actions, he complains. “And Cain said unto the Lord: Satan tempted me because of my brother’s flocks. And I was wroth also; for his offering thou didst accept and not mine; my punishment is greater than I can bear.”

Cain is blame avoidant:

• He blames Satan.

• He blames Abel and his flocks.

• He blames his emotions.

• He blames God for not accepting his offering.

• He blames the punishment itself that it’s more than he can bear.

This is how it always it with those who are closed off from the promptings of the Spirit. They can not ever accept the truth of their own mistakes and weakness. They cannot understand spiritual principles. The Lord himself could write it all out on a chalkboard and connect all of the dots and Cain would still be unable to process correct principles. Those who love and practice sin have put themselves in a position where they cannot understand spiritual, gospel doctrine. It’s very frustrating to have these types of interactions.

The story of Cain is so applicable to so many situations today. I hate to compare some people I know to Cain and even Satan but we have to see the similarities in their stories and be able to connect to today’s events that are happening around us. Marci and I have spoken to several people who want to offer what they want to offer - regardless of what the Lord has asked. It is an act of pride and rebellion that can certainly lead to offense and fallen countenances. Beware reader of a future time when you might want to offer what you want rather than what is asked for. It doesn’t end well.