Avoiding Deception

Jesus said, “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4; see also Mark 13:5, Luke 21:8, Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:5). He followed up this warning with a series of prophecies about the events which will precede His Second Coming.

Accurate information can help us avoid being deceived.

Many times in the Book of Mormon, people are deceived because they simply aren’t being careful:

• Zeniff was deceived by King Laman because he was “over-zealous to inherit the land of his fathers” (Mosiah 7:21; Mosiah 10:18).
• After Zeniff’s death, his people were “deceived by the vain and flattering words” of his son, King Noah (Mosiah 11:7).
• During the time of Mosiah and Alma, many church members were persuaded to commit sins by the flattering words of people who had left the church. (See Mosiah 26:6.)
• Zeezrom, a lawyer, tried to deceive his fellow citizens through a series of clever questions, in order to turn them against Alma and Amulek. (See Alma 12:4.)

In all of these cases, the victims were susceptible to deception because they were distracted by their own ambition, by flattery from their deceivers, or by a complicated set of questions.

However, on other occasions, people are led astray by their fear of being deceived:

• Laman and Lemuel rationalized their rebellion by accusing their brother Nephi of “[working] many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes” (1 Nephi 16:38).
• Lamoni’s father believed that Ammon had deceived Lamoni with the intent to rob them of their property. (See Alma 20:13.)
• About two years after the miraculous sign of the Savior’s birth, some people began to question the significance of what they had seen, “imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the hearts of the people” (3 Nephi 2:2).

Ironically, a fear of being deceived can make you vulnerable to deception. Korihor took advantage of this phenomenon when he accused church leaders of “leading away the people after the silly traditions of their fathers, for the sake of glutting on the labors of the people” (Alma 30:31). He deceived church members by convincing them that they were being deceived by someone else!

Vigilance (but not paranoia) can help us avoid being deceived.

After Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the priesthood and were baptized, Joseph reported that their minds were enlighted by the Holy Ghost, so that they could now understand passages of scripture whose meaning had previously been elusive. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:74.) Oliver likewise marveled in their new clarity of thought, contrasting it with the confusion in the world around them:

Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind.

Joseph Smith—History, footnote, final paragraph

Oliver certainly didn’t think highly of those who are easily deceived, calling them “foolish,” “untaught,” and “giddy.” The implication is that education, self-discipline, and seriousness of purpose can reduce our gullibility. But ultimately, his point is that exposure to truth is our best defense against deception. When you know the truth, when you have experienced it for yourself, you are empowered to refute and reject clever and distracting arguments.

The enlightenment we receive as we grow closer to God can help us avoid being deceived.

Today, I will avoid being deceived by obtaining and remembering accurate information, by being vigilant, and by drawing closer to God, who can help me see more clearly.