In the Same Boat as Cain

[Juliet]

Satan deceives us because he knows what will hurt our feelings and get us to blame God and stop listening to him

I was studying in Moses verses on Cain. The verse that stood out to me was Moses 5:21

21 But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him.

Satan knew that when Cain's offering was not accepted, it would hurt Cain's feelings and once his feelings were hurt, he wouldn't listen to reason.

It is when we have an emotional attachment to our beliefs that we become hard hearted.

God clearly told Cain what he did wrong and if he did well, he would be accepted. God was fair and kind. God also warned Cain to not listen to Satan but hearken and obey the commandments of God.

But because Cain was hurt, he blamed God for his sin and became violent.

26 And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord,

It was later, after Cain stopped listening to the Lord and killed Abel, and faced punishment that Cain talked to God about his feelings.

38 And Cain said unto the Lord: Satan tempted me because of my brother’s flocks. And I was wroth also; for his offering thou didst accept and not mine; my punishment is greater than I can bear.

If Cain had not stopped listening to the Lord, then Jesus would have helped him see why he was wrong and assured him he was still just as valued as his brother.

I have noticed myself there are times when I "stop listening" to the voice of the Lord and become decieved by the father of all lies.

For example, I constantly hear a voice telling me I am not lovable, or worthy, or good enough, etc etc etc.

Reading these verses I realize that I am making the same mistake of Cain. I didn't agree with the Holy Spirit so I stopped listening. Because the Holy Spirit tells me that Jesus' burden is light, to not give up, have faith, and keep trying, and that I am good enough and worthy.

Repentance is offered to all of Adam's children, even those shut out from hearing the voice of the Lord by being given the Holy Spirit

When Adam was cast out of the garden, he was still able to hear the voice of the Lord.

Moses 5 verse 4

4. And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.

41 And Cain was shut out from the presence of the Lord, and with his wife and many of his brethren dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden

So while Adam could hear the Lord's voice, Cain was shut out. But, the gospel was taught to him:

56 And God cursed the earth with a sore curse, and was angry with the wicked, with all the sons of men whom he had made;

57 For they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on his Only Begotten Son, even him whom he declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world.

58 And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost.

So, Adams' posterity that was shut out from hearing the Lord's voice were still preached the gospel and allowed to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. If Cain and his descendants' sins we're unforgivable....why were prophets sent to preach repentance to them?

There were two falls. Baptism brings us back from the first transgression, and the blood of Jesus brings us back from sin

In Moses 6, Adam is taught the pincipal of baptism. He is told that baptism is to bring us back from the first transgression back into the garden of Eden. Children are whole when they are born.

53. And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden.

54 Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world.

So, baptism takes us from hearing the voice of the Lord, as Adam did, to receiving the Lord's presence again.

But what about Cain and his descendents who were not even able to hear the voice of the Lord? We're they were taught the gospel of repentance?

49 Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God.

50 But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent.

So if by water we receive the Lord's presence, then how is it that we receive the Lord's voice again if we have been shut out from it? It is by the blood of Jesus.

So by the blood of Jesus we are sanctified to hear the Lord's voice again (maybe the terrestrial kingdom), and by the water of baptism we can receive His presence again( celestial kingdom).

59. That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;

This is good news. The scriptures says we can be cleansed from all sin by the blood of Jesus. Now is it just me, or did it say ALL sin? Why do we have a notion that some sins are unforgivable when it says ALL sin can be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, if one hearkens to the Holy Spirit. I guess the only sin that would keep someone from coming back to the presence of God would be to stop listening to the Holy Spirit.

It is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from the sins of the telestial kingdom/not hearing the Lord's voice. And it is the water that allows us back to the presence of the Lord.

In other words, there were two falls. The fall from the garden of Eden, and the fall from hearing the voice of the Lord near the garden.

Guess what. If we don't hear the Lord's voice, then where are we? That's right. We are in the group of Cain's descendants. He and many of Adam and Eve's children did not follow the Lord.

Moses 5:12-13

12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.

13 And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.

55 And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.

As long as we listen to Satan, he is going to know how to hurt us. Eventually we will have to realize that we are tasting the bitter and need to stop listening to to him. Of course he will always tell us there is no hope for repentance, and so some may be in spirit prison a long time due to unbelief.

D&C 76: 73 And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;

74 Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.

75 These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.

When we finally understand the importance of listening to the voice of the Lord, we can be like our father Adam, who was lifted up and baptised in water, fire and the holy ghost, and was quickened, enabling him to be in the presence of the Lord once again in his inner man.

64 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.

65 And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.

66 And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;

67 And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.

68 Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen.

The scriptures teach that all of us can become God's children. When Adam transgressed, he was shut out from the Lord's presence. When Cain sinned, he was shut out from the Lord's voice. If we do not listen to the Holy Spirit, our spirit will be shut out in outer darkness in our inner man. There won't be any light or truth. We will be in spirit prison to be deceived by the father of all lies. But because of the blood of Jesus, we can repent from being the children of the devil. We can believe in Jesus again, and finally be called His sheep. (Alma 5 further explains this concept).

[onefour1]

In the story of Cain, I find this verse to be quite interesting:

Moses 5:18
18 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.

Why would Cain love Satan more than God? In my life, I have found that there are those who will coddle you in your sins. They will tell you that there is nothing wrong with what you are doing and they will twist the blame onto the person who wishes you to stop sinning. It then becomes easier to like the person who does not give you any guilt. They seem to like you no matter what you do. They find fault with the one seeking your best interest and get you to turn against that person. You begin to say within yourself that the coddler is a nice person and cares about you. You find them to be your friend. You can do no wrong when you are around them.

Have you ever met somebody like this in your life?

[Juliet]

In the story of Cain, I find this verse to be quite interesting:

Moses 5:18
18 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.

Why would Cain love Satan more than God? In my life, I have found that there are those who will coddle you in your sins. They will tell you that there is nothing wrong with what you are doing and they will twist the blame onto the person who wishes you to stop sinning. It then becomes easier to like the person who does not give you any guilt. They seem to like you no matter what you do. They find fault with the one seeking your best interest and get you to turn against that person. You begin to say within yourself that the coddler is a nice person and cares about you. You find them to be your friend. You can do no wrong when you are around them.

Have you ever met somebody like this in your life?

This is true. Like people who join gangs for a sense brotherhood and acceptance. It seems like rejection and loneliness create holes that the devil quickly fills so if we do not repent quickly we are more prone to falling toward those who coddle us on our sins.

[EmmaLee]

It's good to know there are a few LDS people left who still believe Satan exists and that he can and does have influence on people's minds/lives (even if they don't believe in him, or believe that he can and does). Thank you for your post, Juliet.

Thank you for your comment, as well, onefour1 - there are many people who do that on this forum.