Elder M. Russell Ballard on Lucifer's War
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"We are in a war.  This is the same war that raged in the premortal world.
Lucifer and his followers are committed in their evil direction.  But we
must never forget this about Lucifer: he is a liar.  He is the father of
all lies and has been from the beginning.  He was cast out of Heavenly
Father's premortal kingdom because of his disobedience, and now he has one
goal, one eternal commitment that has never changed from the time of the
war in heaven until the present day.  His sole purpose is to make you and
me as miserable as he is, and the best way for him to accomplish that is
to entice us into disobedience....

"Pray regularly.  Serve faithfully in whatever capacity a call is
extended.... Establish a time and place to study the scriptures on a daily
basis, even if its only for a few minutes at a time.  In the great scheme
of things, these things take so little time.  But the long-term benefits
are infinite and eternal.  It takes faith - real faith, unequivocal and
unreserved - to accept and attempt to live prophetic counsel even when you
don't completely understand it.  Such simple faith has the power to guide
you safely through every challenge you may face in your life.

"Of course, Lucifer doesnt want us to feel or exhibit that kind of faith,
and so he makes us feel uncomfortable with obedience.  He plants defiance
in our hearts with justification and rationalization, subtly convincing us
that it is possible to live the spirit of the law even if we are in
violation of its letter.

"But to each of you I have only one question: are you going to follow the
true and living prophets or not?  It really isn't any more complicated
than that.  Keep your eyes riveted on the First Presidency and the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles.  We will not lead you astray.  We cannot."

(M. Russell Ballard, "How to Find Safety and Peace," BYU Devotional, March
12, 1996; see _New Era_, Nov. 1997, pp. 4ff)