Day 79 The Devil's Subtle Flattery and Gradual Slope

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. Welcome to day 79 on our journey.

We are in the thick of things with Nephi bearing incredible testimony as he kind of debriefs his own path through Isaiah and says things as plainly as he can through his prophesying about the coming last day. Welcome to the middle of a thought, honestly, so you want to make sure that you read the verses around it as well. The 'he' inside of here is actually the devil, as Nephi is kind of talking about the 'he'.

So keep that in mind as we read this. Let's read it and kind of see what it has to say here a little bit. Verse 22 says: "And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell.

And he saith unto them, I am no devil, for there is none. And thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance." Now, this one's an interesting one because Nephi is talking about the subtleties that the devil uses to convince people to just kind of wander away from the gospel or to just kind of casually float away and not be part of it in their lives. We talked yesterday about the dangers of casual relationship or complacent relationships with the Lord.

And this is no different. It got me thinking about... I was like, where did I read this?

I think it was from C. S. Lewis, and it got me looking up some C.

S. Lewis stuff. And C.

S. Lewis has some incredible quotes, but it got me thinking about the way that he talked about this. I think it was from *The Screwtape Letters*, which, if you haven't read that, it's a book about, you know, it's kind of written in a way that C.

S. Lewis takes the approach of a devil teaching a new devil how to be devilish. That's kind of the idea of *The Screwtape Letters*.

And so it's this devil teaching all the subtleties of sneakiness, of how to get people to sin, basically. Inside the book, he offers this quote that got me thinking a little bit more about Nephites. It says: "Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." And so for Savory Salt today, the quick thought about this verse is this.

Let's just all get... let's get together and do a quick basics check. How's your scripture reading going? How are your prayers?

How's your personal relationship with God and with Jesus Christ? How's your church attendance or your temple attendance? Right?

Let's, I mean, I could keep asking these questions, but let's just do a personal check today and kind of check in with each other. See how we're doing. Let's make sure that we're not on this gradual slope that slowly takes us away from the Lord.

Slowly takes us away from the feelings of the Spirit. Let's not be casual. Let's not be complacent.

And instead, let's turn and buy into what the Lord is offering and go all in in His direction. I hope that this has spawned a few thoughts for you in terms of ways that you can be intentional and continue to increase a greater vigor in your life when it comes to living the gospel and living the covenants that you've made with our Father in heaven. That's all for today, my friends.

Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow. I hope you are too.