Mormon Terminology: Devil

22 February

Mormon TerminologyTeachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 305;“The punishment of the devil was that he should not have a habitation like men. The devil’s retaliation is, he comes into this world, binds up men’s bodies, and occupies them himself. When the authorities come along, they eject him from a stolen habitation.”

Matthew 7:15; “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

Smith’s inspired revelation sounds like a mix of the Body Snatchers and the Exorcist gone bad.

What ‘authorities’ is Mr. Smith referring to?

Does Smith have proof of this taking place?

Are there any viable, extraneous sources (biblical) from which we can verify this claim?

The Bible tells us angels are angels, and men are men. There are no biblical references indicating angels lost the opportunity to  have bodies.

To gain more insight on this, see Bruce McConkie’s explanation on the Mormon devil.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism

“Devil. In LDS discourse, the term “devil” denotes anyone who promotes the cause of evil, but it is especially applied to those unembodied spirits who rebelled against God in the premortal life and were cast down from heaven to this earth. …”

Edit note:

When I originally posted this, I mistakenly credited Bruce McConkie with the quote from Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Bruce McConkie is the author of Mormon Doctrine. The author of EM is Daniel H. Ludlow. Please accept my apologies for the oversight!

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