“In Their Own Snare”

Almost all dishonesty owes its existence and growth to that inward distortion we call self-justification. It is the first, and worst, and most insidious form of cheating: We are cheating ourselves.

Spencer W. Kimball, “On My Honor,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 12 September 1978

After the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon were stolen, the Lord explained to Joseph Smith the thought process of the people who had taken it. Here’s how they justified their misconduct:

1. Joseph Smith is only pretending to translate.
2. We can take the first draft of his manuscript, change it, and compare it against his final draft to prove he is an imposter.
3. Maybe our tactics are dishonest, but that’s okay because our goal is to expose a charlatan.

The Lord specifically identified their fallacy in these words: “It is no sin to lie that [you] may catch a man in a lie” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:25). Then, lest there be any confusion, the Lord taught Joseph the true principle: “Wo be unto him that lieth to deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for such are not exempt from the justice of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:28).

These people likely thought they were clever. They may not have realized that they were succumbing to the flattery of the devil. (See Doctrine and Covenants 10:25-26, 29; 2 Nephi 28:22.) But they were certainly not acting in their own self-interest. In the end, the Lord said, Satan “causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:26).

When our children were much younger, one passage from the Book of Mormon particularly resonated with our son: “There shall also be many which shall say: … dig a pit for thy neighbor” (2 Nephi 28:8). I think he imagined a deep hole in our front yard, possibly covered with small branches and leaves, which an unlucky person might fall into. Nephi, who gave us that warning, indicated that things don’t turn out so well for people who play that trick:

That great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God.

1 Nephi 14:3

And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord.

1 Nephi 22:14

This prophecy is both sobering and comforting. It’s sobering because it reminds us not to engage in deceptive practices. It’s comforting because it reassures us that we need not panic when others try to take advantage of us. In the end, the pit digger ends up in the pit. The snare setter gets caught in their own snare.

Today, I will avoid rationalizing dishonesty. I will remember that those who deceive others only harm themselves in the end, and that another person’s dishonesty is no excuse for my own.