A first reaction would be to stay as far away from evil as possible. But this quotation by Brigham Young may be comforting.
“If I do not learn what is in the world, I mean to learn all that is in heaven, earth and hell. Do I need to commit iniquity to do it? No. If I were to go into the bowels of hell to find out what is there, that does not make it necessary that I should commit one evil, or blaspheme in any way the name of my maker. Do you not suppose the Lord is there and knows all about it? I am satisfied of it.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 249)
Studying evil to understand, shed a light on it and expose it, seems to be a contradiction. Comprehending it with the spirit of righteousness and a desire to stop it is a proven method to eradication.
Good people do not become bad by learning about evil. One must sympathize with or practice evil to fall prey to it. Whereas, learning how evil operates is empowering.
To overcome evil and conspirators who employ Satan’s schemes, we must understand the enemy. If we study the secret combinations found in history and learn from them, we are better equipped to overcome Satan’s influences here and now. Enemies delight in our ignorance of their past successes, movements, and current plans.
But how can you stop an enemy you cannot see or understand?
Staying resolute while studying and combating evil is something that needs to be addressed. Knowing the underlying principle behind it is to understand the why, which, in turn, helps us to understand the how. That encourages us to become unwavering. It is advantageous to have a broader perspective on the ‘why’. Self-assuredness will come as we focus on the evil. Exposing evil should make us more doubtless, crowding out the darkness. Let’s examine this.
A question to ask is where are you getting your information? Perhaps from those ‘talking heads’ on popular websites? Are you an information junkie looking for your next fix? Looking for the next dirty thing the conspiracy is involved in? What’s the latest and the greatest thing going on in the world of evil? Is that the motivation? Or should our motivation be a part of a plan to do something good to expose the evil? Are we getting information just to get information, or is it part of a good strategy to expose it?
As in war, one must know the enemy to be effective against evil. No one would dare say to General George Washington “Don’t study the British plans to invade the colonies! That’s negative. It will give you an icky feeling!” One must know their action plans to effectively combat it. With an action plan, one does not just stand there saying, “I’m the most informed person here. I’ll tell you what to do!” Why are you in the war–to observe, or to win?
If you know what the enemy has historically done, then you know how to head them off, prevent them from doing more evil and hurting your mission. Keep them off guard without repeating yourself and revealing your own tactics. Many times they are so intent in their evil that they’re not aware we are watching them. Look for patterns of wickedness. Listen and learn. You’ll know when they are lying.
Know how not to be fooled. Righteous designs and principles have patterns, too. Recognizing these will help you to pick up the underlying reasons of their actions and words.
This brings to the mind that while you’re ‘studying’ evil, study the good that will be presented also. If you focus only on the positive and ignore the reality of what’s going on, you’re dead. Evil wants to destroy you. Studying evil is a strategy to get something done, not to gather dust like a collectors plate hanging on the wall, or books on the shelf that say you know something about conspiracies. That method is a means to an end. And that end is to eventually do away with Satan’s power over us. But that effort, that formula, begins with one person—yourself. It is done by ourselves, our families, our next door neighbor, our block, our community—all as a Zion people and kingdom of God. Hunkering down is not going to work. We have to be brave and step up. This is the truth, like it or not.
Education without actions leads to frustration. And then, of course, action without education leads to fanaticism. These two must be merged together. If you’re just learning truth, then you’re just an information junkie. It is never enough and will never satisfy. You will just be looking for your next hit, ignoring previous truths that you learned, that have suddenly become ‘old news’. And now it doesn’t matter anymore, because now you need the next hit.
A good tactic when reading for truth’s sake is to watch for that ‘icky’ dark feeling. The strategy for combating that frame of mind is to continually do something to do away with evil. Satan will recognize the pattern YOU develop of jumping into action and you will negate his power. Your mindset must change to avoid those negative impressions. A good mindset to have is one of service to those you love and care about. There are many in your immediate surroundings who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. And they don’t know that you have it! You have the ability to bring out the ways to combat this evil network to others who are confused.
Let no man count this as a small thing.
You cannot have an icky feeling when you share these things of darkness. Love and the Light of Christ will attend you as you do something, anything, for others.
Ether 8:22 says:
‘…whatsoever nation shall uphold such evil combinations, to get power and gain… shall be destroyed.’
We should not only study good and its effects upon our race, but also evil and its consequences.
We have a commandment to warn others, not to allow it to be above us. We’re learning truth to strengthen our stewardship to fight evil.
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