Annoying the adversary

What annoys the adversary? What causes him to be angry and frustrated? Satan has a tremendous hold on the world at large in this day and age. His efforts are aimed at destroying individual souls because he knows -- what for him is the awful truth -- he cannot frustrate the “Great Plan of the Eternal God” (GPEG) (Alma 34:9). He is pleased when we deviate, even in small ways, from the path the Lord has set for us. He is pleased when we commit even the smallest sin. He is exultant when we commit serious sin. Conversely, he is angry and frustrated when we repent and seek to obey our Father-in Heaven and accept His gospel in our lives.


In the book of Moses, Chapter 7, verse 26, Enoch sees a vision of the latter days and is shown a vision of the future that includes some of the most frightening verses in all of the scriptures -- Moses 7:23-26.

And after that Zion was taken up into heaven, Enoch beheld, and lo, all the nations of the earth were before him; And there came generation upon generation; and Enoch was high and lifted up, even in the bosom of the Father, and of the Son of Man; and behold, the power of Satan was upon all the face of the earth. And he saw angels descending out of heaven; and he heard a loud voice saying: Wo, wo be unto the inhabitants of the earth. And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced [italics added].

Enoch observed the very day in which we live. Satan has that kind of hold on the earth today. The earth is indeed wrapped in the chains of darkness. We understand that eventually, Satan will be cast into “his place” And the GPEG will triumph. After we have cast off Satan’s chains, and after we are cleansed with the blood of Christ so that when we stand before him spotless, both Jacob (quoting Isaiah) and Isaiah himself tell us that we will be able to look upon Satan as a fallen spirit, and we will be surprised that he held such power over the earth and its inhabitants. In 2 Nephi 24:12-17 (compare Isaiah 14:12-17):

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and shall consider thee, and shall say: Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms? And made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, and opened not the house of his prisoners? [italics added].

The great truth -- that is awful to Satan -- is that we can disturb and frustrate his plans with simple acts. As we serve others, as we lead others to the truth, as we serve the Lord, we can indeed annoy the Adversary. He is most annoyed when individuals turn to the Lord for guidance and salvation. Elder Carlos E. Asay said:

“Few men have disturbed and annoyed the adversary more than Joseph did; few have felt the combined powers of darkness more than he did; and few have triumphed over Satan more nobly than he did.”

Joseph Smith himself said in Joseph Smith-History verse 20:

"…It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?"

Let us seek to be annoyers and disturbers of the plans of the Adversary. Let us perform the simple acts of love and service to others that destroy his plans and build up The Kingdom of God on earth. Let us work out our own salvation and assist our families and those around us to do so also.