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Aaronic Priesthood Manual 2

Satan and His Temptations

"Lesson 11: Satan and His Temptations," Aaronic Priesthood Manual 2, 37

OBJECTIVE

Each young man will understand that Satan's power is real but that each of us can resist temptation.

PREPARATION

Materials needed:

NOTE

The purpose of this lesson is to help the young men recognize Satan's methods so that they can better resist his temptations. This lesson and the following one should be taught on successive Sundays.

The young men should understand the reality of Satan, but you should not talk too much about him or relate personal experiences with the power of evil. Avoid discussing the occult. If the young men bring up such subjects as Ouija boards, seances, spiritualism, or Satan worship, you should tell them that such things are tools of Satan and that we have been counseled to avoid them completely. Then direct the discussion back to the lesson.

SUGGESTED LESSON DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

Clues

Read the following clues. Tell the young men to raise their hands when they think they know whom you are describing. None of them should say anything until you have finished reading the clues.

I am a spirit child of God, which makes you my spirit brother.

I was present in the Council in Heaven.

I offered to go to earth and redeem mankind.

I want you to become as I am.

I work hard to encourage you to follow me.

I am your mortal enemy.

Scripture and discussion

Have the young men read Moses 4:1-4.

Explain that in a sense the war that began in heaven is still being waged. Satan continues to fight against God and tries to persuade us to follow him.

Satan Is Real

Scripture and discussion

Have the young men read 2 Nephi 28:22.

Explain that the first step in combating Satan is to recognize that he actually does exist. Many people today believe that Satan is a myth, that he just stands for the evil in people.

Compare that view of Satan with the experience of Joseph Smith. Have the young men read Joseph Smith-History 1:15-16.

Quotation

Read the following statement:

"One of the things that gets young people into difficulty, and I've learned this from working with young people most of my life, ... is that they do not take Satan seriously enough. He has great power and when we feel that he doesn't, when we feel we can handle our situations ourselves, is when we may get into difficulty" (William H. Bennett, in Conference Report, New Zealand Area Conference 1976, p. 14).

Satan's Work Is to Destroy Us

Scripture and discussion

Explain that Satan failed in the premortal life to destroy our agency, but he knows that if he can get us to misuse that agency now, he can still destroy our souls.

Have the young men read and mark 2 Nephi 2:27.

Quotation and discussion

Elder ElRay L. Christiansen identified some of Satan's tactics: "Satan knows all the tricks. He knows where we are susceptible to temptations and how to entice us to do evil. He and his messengers suggest evil, minimize the seriousness of sin, and make evil inviting" (in "Q and A," New Era, July 1975, p. 49).

Chalkboard and discussion

Write suggests sin on the chalkboard.

Write minimizes sin's seriousness on the chalkboard.

Refer back to the list of sins. Have the young men give examples of arguments Satan uses to try to minimize the seriousness of each sin. Write their responses on the chalkboard to the right of each sin. Possible responses include-

"Everyone's doing it."

"It doesn't hurt anyone, so what's wrong with it?"

"Just once won't hurt."

"It hurts only me."

"It can't be wrong if two people love each other."

If time permits, you may want to evaluate each argument and point out some of the factors it fails to consider.

Write on the chalkboard makes sin appear inviting.

Quotation

Explain that Satan knows us and our weaknesses. He knows what sins to suggest and when to suggest them-usually when we are tired or discouraged. President David O. McKay said: "Your greatest weakness will be the point at which Satan will try to tempt you, will try to win you; and if you have made yourself weak, he will add to that weakness" ("The Temptations in Life," Improvement Era, July 1968, p. 3).

Thought questions
Discussion

Explain that one of Satan's most effective tactics is to slowly lead us from what is right to what is wrong. It doesn't matter so much to him whether it takes two weeks or two years to lead us to commit a serious sin, as long as he sees that we become more willing to listen to his suggestions.

If Satan tempted you to commit a serious sin at first, you wouldn't even consider it. However, he may be able to tempt you with what seem to be small or unimportant sins. Then gradually he will suggest larger and larger sins until he can tempt you to do something you never would have considered at first.

We Can Resist Satan

Scripture story

The Pearl of Great Price records an interview that the prophet Moses had with God, during which Moses talked with God face to face. After God withdrew, Satan appeared to Moses and commanded Moses to worship him. Moses had seen the glory of God and recognized Satan as an impostor.

Read Moses' reply to Satan, found in Moses 1:18-22.

Quotation

"When he is challenged, Satan is angry, as he was with Moses. He cried with a loud voice, trembled, and shook, and he departed from Moses who was resolute. ... There was nothing else for him to do. He has to leave when you say, 'Depart from me, Satan.' Every soul who has mortality is stronger than Satan, if that soul is determined" (Spencer W. Kimball, "The Blessings and Responsibilities of Womanhood," Ensign, Mar. 1976, p. 71; italics added).

Conclusion

Challenge

Challenge the young men to be firm in their determination to resist Satan and his temptations. Reemphasize the fact that Satan can have no power over us if we resist him.

Encourage the young men to seriously consider what weak point Satan may be trying to attack in their own lives. Have them write in their journals two ways they can overcome this weak point.

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