Source of Hate and Evil

This is a difficult topic, but it has been on my mind for a while. Events of this week have amplified the need to address this topic. I don't know how to express what is in my mind and my heart, but I hope I can put something meaningful into words. And, I hope in some way, my words can impact others to help spur a change in the world. Our world is currently filled with hate. We see the effects of it everywhere. As I mentioned, events of this week have shown to a degree how much hate is out there. On the other side of the world, there was a group that murdered many children in a school. Just tonight I read that 2 police officers were murdered in New York and people are celebrating their execution.

I don't know about you, but I have been very blessed in my life such that I have not had to deal with the hate that exists in this world. I have a great family, live in a nice community and have great co-workers. I have been greatly blessed that I have been isolated (or protected) from the evils that come from all of this hate. I believe I have been oblivious to it for a long time. Unfortunately, I think too many of us are either ignorant of it or are in denial of it. Well, if recent events have not convinced us of the growing hatred in the world, perhaps we will never see it. But it is there. And it is growing.

As I was driving this evening after having read about the execution of the police officers, I was pondering on how awful this was. It was bad enough that they were killed, but for Americans to celebrate the murder and congratulate the killers was beyond my belief. As I was thinking on this and the hate behind it, the Christmas Carol, O Holy Night, began to play on the radio. I was immediately caught up in the contrast between the hate exhibited in these murders and the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. My heart ached as I remembered that He had suffered for all sins and considered the anguish He must have suffered because of the hate that is in the world today. I can't express in words how I felt as I considered it, but it was powerful. I am pleading with you, with all the energy and feeling of my soul to please take a few moments and reflect on your life as well as the state of the world. Please take some time to consider what I write here and give these words a chance to grow within your heart and mind. I ask this because I fear for all of us. If this hatred continues to grow, it will spread everywhere and will destroy the lives of many. The only way we can stop all of this hate is to recognize it, identify its source and fight back to replace it with love.

There is an enemy behind all of this hate. First, we must accept that there is evil in the world. I know that for years, popular opinion and moral relativism have been preaching that there is no absolute evil. Well, there is and we must come to accept it before we can begin to combat it. I am going to explain the origin of this evil and who this enemy is. Many may say that this is just my belief or what my religion teaches me. But I am telling you that I know what I am about to write is true. I have personal witness that it is true and I know that if you will take the time to consider it, something inside of you will recognize this as truth as well.

Our existence did not begin with our birth on earth. We all lived before, but we did not have physical bodies in our life before birth. We existed as spirits. In this existence, we were limited in our potential for growth. We had (and still have) a loving Father who had progressed much farther than any of us. As our Father, He desired that we would be able to progress, even as he had, and to have all of the joy that He has. However, in our state as spirits, this was not possible. So, He presented a plan that would allow us to progress. This plan included birth on earth. In order for us to grow and progress, we would need the ability to make our own choices. We would need to be able to make mistakes and learn from them. It is a good plan and I am sure we were all very excited to participate in it.

However, there was an alternative plan proposed. This alternative plan would take away the ability to make our own choices. Instead, we would be forced to make the right choices so that we did not make mistakes. This plan threatened to take away our agency, or the right to choose for ourselves. This alternative plan was rejected by our Father, which should have been the end of it. But, the author of this other plan, did not accept that decision and he rebelled. In his rebellion, he convinced many to follow him and he commenced a war against all those who did not agree with him. This war, that was started before any human lived on earth, was waged to destroy our souls.

In the first phase of the war, Satan, the author of the alternative plan, lost and was cast out. Again, that should  have been the end of it, but it was not. He continues to fight that war and he is raging it now harder than ever. He is the source of evil and all the hatred in the world today. His goal is to make us as miserable as possible. I am sure he still hates everyone who rejected him previously and wants nothing more than destroy as many as he can. Satan uses many tactics in this war. The key for us to defeat him again is to recognize those tactics and fight back. It should be very clear that one of his most successful tactics today is to instill hatred in the hearts of men and women.

Some of you who read this already know this. Others may not believe it or even question why it matters. I believe it is extremely important that we remember who the enemy is. Often, when I read of the heinous acts being performed these days, I wonder why would someone do that? What could possibly be the motivation for doing something so awful? If we want to turn the tide of evil and hatred in the world, we have to get to the root of the problem. We cannot just keep treating the symptoms. It should be obvious to us now that treating the symptoms is not working. The world continues to tail-spin into more and more hate and evil acts. This is why I believe it matters to identify where the evil and hate stems from and why it is important that we know that it is a continuation of a war that started long ago.

I often feel like we are like frogs in a pot of water. The temperature continues to rise, but we don't notice it because it changes gradually. This hate and evil did not come upon us all at once. But, it's here now and if we don't recognize it, we'll be cooked soon. I am trying to raise the voice of warning: the pot is just about to boil, let's get out.

So, how did Satan wage this war and get us to this state of danger? I'm not going to go into that in detail now, but suffice to say that I'm confident he has been waging the way on multiple fronts. One is to remove God from our lives. Another is to create counterfeit religions so that he can use belief in false gods to lead people into evil acts. Which then helps take the true God out of our lives because if we see that some religions are bad, then maybe we'll believe that they all are. There are many ways he is conducting this war and I believe if you take some time to think about it, you will recognize many of them yourself. One key you can use as you try to discern his tactics is to remember his original intent: to take away our ability to choose for ourselves.

Once we recognize that Satan is the enemy and the source of evil and hate, the answer on how to fight back and turn the tide of hate in the world falls into place. We must bring God back into our lives. Satan was originally defeated and cast out because we accepted our Father's plan and decided to follow Him. We need to make that decision again. He knew that Satan would continue to wage this war on earth, so He provided a means for us to overcome Satan here as well. God sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ to show us an example of how we should live and to provide an Atonement for us so that we could overcome evil and sin. The only way to combat Satan and begin to rid the world of all the hate that fills it today, is to live the teachings of Jesus Christ. He summed up His teachings by saying that we must love God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Love for God and for one another can change the world.  But it means we all must act.

I don't know if you and I can change the world, but I think we need to try. I know that we defeated Satan before by standing together and I know that he will be defeated again. But, I fear that his defeat this time will only come after he has destroyed many more lives here on earth. If we begin to act together to push back, to share the knowledge of our Father in Heaven and His plan for us, to expose Satan and his evil designs, to spread the love of God and our fellow man (and woman), perhaps we can make a difference and slow the spread of hate in the world.

I don't know how well I did in expressing my thoughts. I hope that the meaning and message I have felt in the deepest places of my heart can find at least a small place in yours. Please think on these things; consider them. I, for one, am deeply saddened by the hate I see in our country and the world and want to do something to fight back. If I can do nothing more than help expose the source and convince a few of the solution, then at least that is something.