Gramps,
Every time in the Bible when the Angel of the Lord (Christ) appears or angels appear (as with the Assyrians) there is no dark force that accompanies them or tries to “overtake” them. I mention this because Joseph Smith was overtaken by a dark force prior his vision of the Father and Son. Only one other religion states this happened also, that is Islam. Muhammad was overcome by demons and believed he was demonically possessed for a while. But no where biblically does this happen). I am sincerely trying to sort this out.
Frankie
Dear Frankie,
The answer to your question is a simple one, and is one of the profound evidences that the Church organized by Joseph Smith is indeed the true and living Church of Jesus Christ in these latter-days. Satan is against all good and all truth. He promotes only falsehoods and lies. The sectarian religions do much good, they lift men to higher levels of altruism and increase the concept of faith in God in the hearts of many. However, these religions have not the power to save anyone in the kingdom of God, the highest kingdom of glory in the eternal worlds. Those good people will indeed be saved, but they will be saved in the terrestrial kingdom of God, that is administered by those of the highest, or Celestial kingdom. Where God and Christ are they cannot come, worlds without end.
After the great apostasy of Christ’s original Church there was not an organization on the earth that had the power to save men in the Celestial kingdom. When it came time to restore the true and living church to the earth, Satan used all his power and all his forces to prevent that from happening. That is why he appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, who was to be called by the Father to affect that very restoration. Would Satan have appeared to Martin Luther to prevent him from objecting to the rule of the Catholic Church? Would Satan have appeared to John Wesley, who broke away from the Church of England, but who claimed that he never had the authority to organize a new religion?
Further, the fact that the Bible does not record a visit from Satan to impede the calling of one of God’s prophets in no way states or verifies that such a thing did not occur. It may not have, but it could have, and if it did it simply was not recorded, or having been recorded, did not survive the editings and the translations of the holy scriptures.
Gramps
