One sobering pattern that has emerged in the opening chapters of the Old Testament is the reality and proximity of Satan.
Wherever the Father and the Son work in righteousness, there Satan wages war in wickedness.
In the pre-earth life he rebelled against the Father’s plan and sought to destroy our agency (Moses 4:3).
In the Garden of Eden “he sought to beguile Eve…and to destroy the world” (Moses 4:6).
After Adam and Eve had children, he “came among them” (Moses 4:13) offering counterfeits, lies and misery.
Satan is relentless and incessant.
So, as the Lord’s disciples, we must learn to persevere.
Like Moses, we must learn to cast Satan out. And when “the father of all lies” persists, we must cast him out again, and again-and “in the name of the Only Begotten” when necessary (Moses 1:21).
Satan rarely leaves without a fight.
Like Adam and Eve, who “called upon the name of the Lord” (Moses 4:4) after entering the fallen world, we must learn to continue in prayer in every circumstance.
“And Adam and Eve, his wife, ceased not to call upon God,” (Moses 5:16).
After Satan ensnared his son and his posterity, Adam remained firm. He “hearkened unto the voice of God, and called upon his sons to repent” (Moses 6:1).
Our current Prophet recently invited each of us to persevere:
“Resolve to be resolute. The Lord loves effort. The Lord loves consistency. The Lord loves steadfastness. While we surely will come up short from time to time, our persistent efforts to hear Him and follow the inspiration He gives us will help us to ‘wax strong in the Spirit’ (Mosiah 18:26),” (President Russell M. Nelson Twitter, Jan. 1, 2022).
Each of us has and will continue to face our own battles with the Adversary. May we be resolute, may we persist, may we persevere.
May we say as did Moses, “I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him” (Moses 1:18). As we do so, we too will experience the return of light and glimpse the glories of eternity.
