What Do We Know About the Council in Heaven?

Revelation is often incremental, building on what we already know and adding clarity to concepts we are already familiar with. One example of this iterative process is our understanding of the Council in Heaven. Earlier references in the scriptural canon are somewhat opaque, while more recent additions add valuable details and context about this important event.

1. Fallen from heaven

The earliest reference comes from Isaiah, who describes a powerful leader spectacularly losing his power:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God …

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Isaiah 14:12-13, 15; compare 2 Nephi 24:12-13, 15

It sounds like the story of Icarus, a warning against the folly of hubris. In context, it’s pretty clearly prophesying of the spectacular fall of the king of Babylon. But the references to heaven and the direct challenge to God’s authority suggest a possible reference to a cosmic event, transcending this earth.

2. War in heaven

John the Revelator described the origin story of the devil using mythological language:

There appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth …

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9

From this passage, we learn that Lucifer’s fall was preceded by a real conflict. Assuming that the “stars” represent people (see Job 38:4, 7; Doctrine and Covenants 29:36-37), a very large number of God’s children chose to follow him and fight for his claim to power. All of them were cast out along with him, which must have been extraordinarily traumatic for all involved.

3. He became a devil

In the Book of Mormon, Lehi teaches his children that “according to that which I have read,” presumably on the brass plates and likely including the Isaiah passage quoted above:

…an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God.

And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.

2 Nephi 2:17-18

Lehi urges his children to choose the “liberty and eternal life,” offered by the Savior instead of the “captivity and death” offered by the devil, who wants to “reign over [us] in his own kingdom” (2 Nephi 2:27-29).

So we learn from Lehi’s elaboration that the devil’s pursuit of power is connected with his rejection of our agency. In his view of leadership, those who rule must subordinate their followers, turning them essentially into prisoners instead of willing participants in a shared mission. It’s not a happy worldview. He’s miserable, and he wants to drag others down to his level.

4. One soul shall not be lost

In Joseph Smith’s translation of the book of Genesis, we get a glimpse of the events preceding the war in heaven described by John. In this account, Satan approaches the Father with a proposal:

I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.

Moses 4:1-4

Satan’s proposal was objectionable for two reasons: because he “sought to destroy the agency of man” and because he wanted the honor or the glory, presumably meaning that he wanted all of the credit for a successful outcome. The passage further clarifies that Satan’s proposal directly contradicted God’s previously established commitment to our agency and that he was cast down, not because his proposal was rejected, but because he rebelled against God.

5. He stood in the midst of them

In the book of Abraham, the event looks more like a council (or maybe a conference) and less like a battle. God shows Abraham “the intelligences that were organized before the world was,” including “many of the noble and great ones” (Abraham 3:22). He informs Abraham that he was one of those intelligences, which suggests that we may have all been there. In this large gathering, He asks, “Whom shall I send?” and receives two identical answers:

And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.

And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

Abraham 3:27-28

There is no mention here of Satan’s motivations, other than wounded pride. But the context helps us understand several things about the event. This didn’t happen in a private corner. It was a public event, visible to all of us. Many of God’s children took Satan’s side, following him out of heaven and losing their opportunity to come to earth. So the event functioned as a test, allowing people to choose whether they would follow God or rebel against Him. And we all passed that test. As Elder M. Russell Ballard observed:

Every person who has ever lived or ever will live on this planet made an essential decision to choose to accept Heavenly Father’s plan for our salvation. So we all came to earth with a proven track record of a successful spiritual nature and eternal destiny.

“Giving Our Spirits Control Over Our Bodies,” October 2019 general conference

The passage from Moses might imply that Satan presented an alternative plan, but modern prophets have clarified that he was merely reacting to the Father’s plan, not proposing a fully-formed plan of his own. Elder David A. Bednar recently wrote:

Only one plan was presented—the Father’s plan. Our Heavenly Father did not pose the question, “What shall we do?” He did not seek input, ask for recommendations, or request proposals. The essence of His question focused upon who should be sent to execute the terms and conditions of His plan.

Lucifer did not present a plan that was voted down by a majority of the participants in the premortal council. He rebelled! He sought to destroy the agency of man, was cast down, and “became Satan, … the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will” (see Moses 4:1, 3–4). Pride, arrogance, and selfishness motivated his revolt against the Father’s plan.

“Precious Promises of the Father’s Plan,” For the Strength of Youth magazine, January 2026

Taken together these passages demonstrate how our understanding of the Council in Heaven has been refined over time. What begins as a poetic warning against pride sharpens into a concrete event in which we all participated, with implications about our eternal identity and about the nature of righteous leadership. We were there, we chose to follow God, and we are here because of that choice.

Today, I will take confidence from my premortal choice to follow God. I will make choices that preserve and enlarge my agency and the agency of others, knowing that reduced agency will not lead to happiness.