HOW DID
SATAN PRESENT HIS PLAN FOR MORTALITY?
_______________________________________________
(Something
I've been thinking about for years, but just started putting in writing. I
welcome your thoughts.)
________________________________________________
Here's
a glimpse of how I believe Satan’s Plan for Mortality would have been presented.
What it would have looked like in reality
would have been completely different! The presentation was no more than an
attractive and well-planned façade, intentionally meant to deceive and lure
Heavenly Father’s children away from Him.
But
first, I want to try to attempt to put the presentation of Satan’s plan into context...
After
reading it, I’m hoping that you can see why a third part of Heavenly Father's
children could have been deceived and saw Satan’s Plan as a very attractive
plan.
Also,
it’s helpful to remember that a third part of the hosts of heaven most likely represents
a third part of ALL of the population of ALL of the worlds created by the
Savior. We are told by Moses that the Savior created ‘worlds without number’.
These worlds, maybe millions or billions, were created to be inhabited by
Heavenly Father's children – so that they could experience mortality, gain a
physical body, be tested and have the opportunity of being exalted into a
Kingdom of Eternal Glory. All of which for the express purpose of fulfilling
our foremost and fondest desire of becoming more like our Heavenly Parents. Our
Heavenly Father, and our Savior loved us so much that they wanted to make that possibility
a reality!
But
the point is, that there were billions upon billions of our spirit brothers and
sisters that although deceived, saw merit in Lucifer's plan and willingly
followed him. What's unthinkably sad is that they most likely thought that WE were the ones who were deceived for
choosing to follow Heavenly Father's plan!
Life
is hard (please see my poem ‘Life is Supposed to be Hard’), but I'm glad we chose
Father’s Plan, and I'm forever grateful that our Eldest Brother did exactly
what He promised to do in the Plan. Because of that, this mortality, however
difficult it may be for us, can culminate in the realization of our foremost
and fondest dreams of becoming like our Heavenly Parents. With Heavenly Father's
Plan, and the Savior fulfilling His role in the Plan, dreams really can come
true!
So, with that premise, here's a
glimpse of how I think Satan's plan for mortality would have been presented in the
council in heaven…
·
No flat tires, no dead batteries - in
flashlights or cars.
·
No tow trucks, your car never runs out of gas.
·
No stop signs or red lights
·
Never a late plane or train or bus, everything
is always on time.
·
No disobedient children, no runaways.
·
No bounced checks, no over-the-limit credit
cards, no bill collectors.
·
No failure, no accountability, no
criticism.
·
No pets ever die prematurely - not even
goldfish.
·
No abusive parents, no annoying neighbors, no
weeds in the yard.
·
No "No Trespassing" signs, no unhappy
campers.
·
No stock market crashes, no economic downturns -
- in fact there are no bad investments.
·
No holes in your socks, your tee shirts, or your
Levi's, and your shoes never wear out.
·
No unhappiness, no toiling or strife.
·
No gossip or back-stabbing.
·
Nothing but straight A's on every assignment, on
every test, and in every class.
·
Everyone is a valedictorian.
·
Everyone earns their doctorate degree, with
honors, if they want it.
·
Everyone is a Noble Peace Prize winner, if they
want to be.
·
No unfaithful spouses, no cheating on taxes.
·
No layoffs or Reduction-in-Force experiences in
the work place.
·
No foreclosures or bankruptcies.
·
No garbage or garbage trucks or garbage day!
·
No broken TV's, broken garbage disposals, or
clogged toilets.
·
No broken windows, burned out light bulbs, or
faulty garage door openers.
·
No computer viruses.
·
No addictive substances or substance abuse.
·
No drunk drivers, ever.
·
No acne, no headaches, no stress.
·
No wrinkles, no gray hairs, no arthritis.
·
No sun burns, no broken bones, no stitches or
scars.
·
No bloody noses, no black eyes.
·
No aches or pains, bad backs, bum knees, or
tennis elbows.
·
No injections, inoculations, medicines or blood
draws.
·
No donating of blood.
·
Easy, simple, made-to-order child birth - - no
labor - - like ordering a pizza (do you want pepperoni with that?)
·
No old folk's homes.
·
Every steak is superbly tender and perfectly
cooked.
·
Every movie gets an Oscar and has a happy
ending.
·
Every book is a New York Times bestseller.
·
Every newspaper is full of good and happy news -
not one line about bad news.
·
Everything is always on sale - nothing is too
expensive.
·
Everyone lives in a mansion - everyone has their
own pool.
·
Everyone gets front row seats at the basketball
game.
·
Everyone gets fifty-yard line seats at the
football game.
·
No disappointment, no discouragement or
depressing experiences, no let-downs.
·
No eye glasses, no hearing aids, no crutches or
wheel chairs.
·
No handicapped parking - - everyone gets front
row parking.
·
No extreme weather - no floods, earthquakes,
tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, droughts, wind storms, snow storms, ice
storms, rain storms, volcanic eruptions, wild fires, etc. - - every day is just
another day in paradise!
·
No trike, bike, motorcycle or automobile
accidents.
·
No traffic jams.
·
No missed shots in basketball.
·
Every batter hits a home run in baseball.
·
No attempts on goal in hockey as every shot
scores.
·
Same for soccer - every kick scores.
·
Every time a fisherman casts his line he pulls
in a fish.
·
Every first down is a touchdown in football and
no missed point-afters.
·
Every bowling game scores a perfect 300.
·
Every golf swing results in a hole-in-one.
·
Every lottery ticket is a winner.
·
Nothing ever gets lost.
·
No starvation, no unruly dictators, no scandals
in government, no political strife
·
No crime in any form, no jails, no policemen or
firemen or ambulances.
·
No suicide, no oppression, no poor, no hungry,
no desolation.
·
No pestilence, no gluttony, no pride, no envy,
no lust, no jealousy.
·
No anger, no greed, no slothfulness.
·
No dirty dishes, no dirty clothes, no dirty
cars, no dirty windows, no dirty toilets or bath tubs.
·
No terror, no horror, no fear, no murder, no
rape.
·
No Stalin's, no Hitler's, no Saddam Hussein's,
no Osama bin Laden's
·
No character, no principle, no morality.
·
No integrity, no maturity, no humanity, no
service to your fellow men, no compassion, no sacrifice, no lack of self-esteem
·
Nobody has to work for anything.
·
No prudence, no temperance, no courage or
justice.
·
No love, no hope, no faith.
·
No humility, no kindness, no patience, and no
diligence.
·
No kindness, no fortitude, no justice, no
temperance or prudence.
·
No one needing clothes, no sick, no prisoners.
·
No sin, no abortion, no infertility, no unwanted
pregnancy and no unwanted children - - no orphans or orphanages.
·
No need for patience, no need for compassion.
·
No feelings of loneliness or discouragement.
·
No one has a care in the world!
·
No wisdom, no learning, no growth, no progress,
no improvement.
·
No spirituality, no scriptures, no commandments.
·
No mysteries, no paradoxes, no discoveries.
·
No weight struggles - - either with being
overweight or underweight.
·
No plastic surgery.
·
No lawsuits or lawyers.
·
No sickness, no disease, no nurses or doctors or
hospitals.
·
No blindness, no lame, no halt, or maimed.
·
No amount of junk food is bad for you.
·
No guilt, no consequences.
·
No choice, because there's no agency!
·
No bad days... ever!
·
No feelings of remorse or sorrow, no need for
repentance.
·
Everything is easy, nothing is hard.
·
Everything is simple, nothing is challenging.
·
No baptismal fonts, no priesthood, no prophets
or apostles.
·
No churches, no seminaries, no temples, no
prayer.
·
No Holy Ghost.
·
No virgin birth, no manger holding the Babe of
Bethlehem.
·
No miracles.
·
No Atonement.
·
No crucifixion, and no resurrection.
·
No Savior.
·
No God.
·
No eternal reward.
·
Not a care... I say NOT A SINGLE CARE in the
world!
And
that is my opinion of at least a glimpse of how Satan's Plan for Mortality
would have been presented to the heavenly council. I can imagine that if it
were laid out with the right passion, combined with some subtle deception and
clever deceit, the holding back of some pertinent details, that it would be a
very enticing, very luring, very attractive and very tempting Plan for
Mortality. So much so that a third part of the heavenly hosts bought into it.
And so much so, that there are occasions where some of us (maybe most of us)
would think that parts of his plan would be nice for us! But, remember, IT WAS
ALL A BIG LIE! There would have been nothing attractive, nothing appealing, and
nothing valuable about it. Had it been implemented, it would have been the worst
disasters in the history of the all eternity.
However,
our Wise and All-Knowing Heavenly Father knew that Lucifer’s plan had
absolutely no merit, that it wouldn’t work. We should take some time to ponder and
appreciate the beauty and the completeness of our Heavenly Father's Plan for
Mortality (also known as ‘The Plan of Happiness’). With His Plan, we should be
especially grateful for the potential of life after mortality. Clearly, Heavenly
Father’s Plan WAS the better choice – in fact, there really was NO OTHER
CHOICE! Rest assured, no matter how hard life may be, or how difficult it may
get, our choice to go with Heavenly Father's Plan (which ALL of us did!) was
the right one.
The
Devil STILL wants us to believe that we were somehow deceived and that his plan is still the more attractive
option. But don't let him tempt you. Like a wise man once said, "I don't
allow myself to think about it." Regarding Satan's Plan for Mortality, we
would do well to follow that counsel!
Instead
we should appreciate with greater reverence and awe the wondrous and perfect Plan
for Mortality, the Plan of Salvation authored by our Father in Heaven. Likewise,
we should have an unending gratitude for our Father’s Only Begotten Son, Jesus
Christ, and His central and defining role in the Plan. For it was through the Atonement
of our Elder Brother, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Redeemer and
Savior of the World, who perfectly performed His role in the Plan that it’s all
worth it; that we can have the chance to fulfill our grandest dream of becoming
like our Heavenly Parents! Indeed, because of Him, our dreams can come true!
I
so testify in His Holy Name.
_______________________________________
Wm.
Calvin Hughes
March
1, 2014 ~ Lake Elsinore, California
