Leading Us Away Carefully

"And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well--and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell." (2 Nephi 28:21)

Sometimes, we start to set up routines and practices that help us feel confident that all is indeed well in Zion. Most of us, if Satan came to us and tried to convince us to commit grievous sin, would turn him down outright and reject his temptations. He knows this. Yet how does he convince so many (indeed everyone who has ever lived on the earth except for Christ), to commit the sins that we commit? It is little by little. He is very patient about it and careful about it. He knows us and knows the things that will trick us.

What does this mean for us? Well, it means that we have to be constantly vigilant, keeping ourselves watchful and mindful of the commandments and our standing with the Lord. We must know when we sin, and we must repent and correct it right away. If we don't, we will build up these walls around us of "carnal security", and we will feel as though everything's ok. We will allow ourselves to fall out of good habits, or at a minimum, those habits will become less meaningful to us and we will do them out of habit only. We will begin to feel less and less of the influence of the Spirit, which in turns becomes less and less of a guide and protection for us.

I don't want to be this way. I want to be sure to always be close to the Spirit and always try to do what is right. I want to have this influence as a leading force in my life. There is so much more I can and should be doing to ensure that this happens.