“The Lord does communicate some things of importance to the children of men by men by means of visions and dreams as well as by the records of divine truth. And what is it all for? It is to teach us a principle. We may never see anything take place as we see it in a dream or a vision, yet it is intended to teach us a principle.” (Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses p. 286)
“There are among us many loose writings predicting the calamities which are about to overtake us. Some of these have been publicized as though they were necessary to wake up the world to the horrors about to overtake us. Many of these are from sources upon which there cannot be unquestioned reliance.“… We need no such publications to be forewarned, if we were only conversant with what the scriptures have already spoken to us in plainness.” (Harold B. Lee, In Conference Report, Oct. 1972, 128; or Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 106.)
“Brothers and Sisters, keep the doctrine of Christ pure and never be deceived by those who tamper with the doctrine.” (Elder Ballard, The Trek Continues, General Conference, Nov. 2017)
“When a man goes about prophesying, and commands men to obey his teachings, he must either be a true or a false prophet. False prophets arise always to oppose the true prophets, and they will prophesy so very near the truth that they will deceive almost the very chose ones.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p. 365)
“This incredible blindness which led to the rejection of those truths spoken by prophets and which prevented the recognition of Jesus for who he was, according to Jacob came, “by looking beyond the mark’, Those who look beyond plainness, beyond the prophets, beyond Christ and beyond his simple teachings, waited in vain then, as they will wait in vain now. For only the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us things as they really are and as they really will be.” (Elder Neil A. Maxwell, On Being a Light address delivered at the Institute of Religion Jan 2, 1974)
“I have learned that strong, Impressive spiritual experiences do not come to us very frequently, and when they do, they generally are for our own edification, instruction, or correction. Unless we are called by proper authority to do so, they do not position us to counsel or to correct others.”
“Be ever on guard lest you be deceived by inspiration from an unworthy source. You can be given false spiritual messages. There are counterfeit spirits just as there are counterfeit angels. (See Moroni 7:17) Be careful lest you be deceived, for the devil may come disguised as an angel of light.” The spiriual part of us and the emotional part of us are so closely linked that it is possible to mistake an emotional impulse for something spiritual. We occasionally find people who receive what they assume to be spiritual promptings from God, when those promptings are either centered in the emotions or are from the adversary.” (Boyd K Packer, The Candle of the Lord, Ensign 1983 51-56, From a talk given at a seminar for new mission presidents, 25 June 1982)
“The Lord has promised to reveal his mysteries to those who serve him in faithfulness. The gospel is very simple so that even children at the age of accountability may understand it. Without question there are principles which in this life we cannot understand, but when the fullness comes we will see that all is plain and reasonable and within our comprehension. The simple principles of the gospel such as baptism, the atonement, are mysteries to those who do not have the guidance of the spirit of the Lord.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Book of Mormon Student Manual Religion 121-122)
“There is also a restricted and limited usage of the expression mysteries; it is more of a colloquial than a scriptural usage, and it has reference to that body of teachings in the speculative field, those things which the Lord revealed in plainness in this day. It is to these things that reference is made when the elders are counseled to leave the mysteries alone.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon doctrine 2nd edition 1966 524.)
“Satan has shown himself to be an accomplished strategist and skillful imitator; the most deplorable of his victories are due to his simulation of good, whereby the undiscerning have been led captive. Let no one be deluded with the thought that any act, the immediate result of which appears to be benign, is necessarily productive of permanent good. It may serve the dark purposes of Satan to play upon the human sense of goodness, even to the extent of healing the body and apparently of thwarting death.” (Elder James E. Talmage, p. Articles of Faith:211)
“Nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the spirit of God.” (Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, 1 April 1842, p. 744)
Come Follow Me Lesson - Acts 16:16-18 Institute Manual - Paul Rebuked the Evil Spirit in the Damsel
While still in Phillippi, Paul and his companions encountered a damsel with “a spirit of divination”. Divination is the act of foretelling, or pretending to foretell, the future by using occult practices. Divination, which is also called soothsaying, was and is forbidden to the Lord’s people.
The evil spirit in the damsel bore witness of the divine mission of Paul and his companions, but they rebuked the evil spirit and cast it out of the young woman. The scriptures also record instances when evil spirits bore witness of the divinity of the Savior and His disciples but were rebuked.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained why the Lord and His servants reject the testimony of evil spirits: ”The testimony of the devil-led damsel was true. Paul and Silas were prophets; they had the words and power of salvation. But true testimony from Satan’s servants does not lead to salvation. In effect the damsel was saying ‘go ahead and believe in Paul and Silas and this Jesus whom they preach. I agree they and their Master are of God; and since we are now united on that point ( I, Jamie, personally believe this is where things get tricky). You can also continue to follow me and enjoy the fruits of my divination.’ And how many other practitioners of false religions there are who give lip service to Jesus and his doctrines so that people will the more readily follow them and their special brand of ‘saving’ grace. It was for the very reason here involved that Jesus himself forbade the devils whom he cast out to testify that he was the Son of God (Luke 4:41).
"There is indeed a system of gospel prerequisites. Milk must come before the meat. As we grow in holiness, it is vital that we grow steadily and surely, feeding regularly and consistently upon the fundamental and foundational doctrines of salvation. Too often members of the church, supposing that they are deeper and stronger than they really are, make an effort to feast upon heavy meat---doctrinal matters that are clearly beyond the purview of what is taught by the Brethren today---well before they are ready to do so. A friend serving as a bishop indicated that after a member of his ward a good man but one who had wrestled for years with the Word of Wisdom had attended a series of discussions on unusually deep doctrines, he had said, “Bishop, I’m convinced that if I can simply make my calling and election sure, I can then get the strength to stop smoking.” What is wrong with this picture? In Mosiah 4 it reads, “see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.”(Robert L. Millet's: More Holiness Give Me, Jan. 28, 2004)
“Some who are not authorized want to speak for the Brethren and imply that their message contains the meat’ the Brethren would teach if they were not constrained to teach only the milk.’ Others want to counsel the Brethren and are critical of all teachings that do not comply with their version of what should be taught…..another sign of spiritual immaturity and sometimes apostasy is when one focuses on certain gospel principles or pursues gospel hobbies with excess zeal. Almost any virtue taken to excess can become a vice." (Elder Quentin L. Cook, Looking Beyond the Mark, Liahona March 2003)
“Some who are not authorized want to speak for the Brethren and imply that their message contains the meat’ the Brethren would teach if they were not constrained to teach only the milk.’ Others want to counsel the Brethren and are critical of all teachings that do not comply with their version of what should be taught…..another sign of spiritual immaturity and sometimes apostasy is when one focuses on certain gospel principles or pursues gospel hobbies with excess zeal. Almost any virtue taken to excess can become a vice." (Elder Quentin L. Cook, Looking Beyond the Mark, Liahona March 2003)
“You may not be aware of it, but there are false prophets rising within and without the Church. They believe they have had revelations, that they know something the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles don’t know. You need to be very careful of such people. If you are ever approached by anyone who claims special authority or revelation from God outside the sustained priesthood authority, turn and run from them as fast as you can. The Savior said that in the last days even the very elect could be pulled away from the truth by such false prophets.” (M. Russell Ballard, When Shall These Things Be?, Devotional March 12,1996)
"There are some among us now who have not been regularly ordained by the heads of the Church and who tell of impending political and economic chaos, the end of the world---something of the ‘sky is falling, chicken licken’ of the fables. They are misleading members…….” (Elder Boyd K. Packer, To Be Learned Is Good If..., General Conference, October 1992)
“We must gain learning, but we must apply it wisely. The spiritual power line conveys revelation. Revelation is given to the President for the Church, and to leaders and teachers in their respective callings. Personal revelation is provided for the glorification of individual members and families in the Church. These lines are well insulated, and they are not scrambled! Our Father is a God of order! No one else receives revelation to govern the church. It is possible to disregard or even misuse spiritual power. Like cutting the cord with clippers, it is possible to use spiritual power so carelessly as to destroy one’s very connection to that power. Worship strengthens our power line to deity. There can be no true worship without sacrifice, and there can be no true sacrifice without a cause. The cause that earns our love and priority is the cause of Jesus Christ. As we carefully and prayerfully protect the spiritual power line that link us to the Savior, we become more like him.” (Russell M. Nelson, Protect the Spiritual Power Line, General Conference, October 1984)
We are constantly being faced with truth and error and need to be on guard because as President Dallin Oaks said, “Satan is the great deceiver and the father of lies, but he will also tell the truth when it suits his purposes.”
President Russell M Nelson said, “Anything that opposes Christ or His doctrine will interrupt our Joy. That includes the philosophies of men, so abundant online and in the blogosphere, which do exactly what Korihor did.” His Wife Sister Nelson stated, “we must focus on the doctrines of Christ and not every wind of doctrine that blows through a blog.”
“But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.” (Jacob 4:14)
