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Ponderize Moses 4:21 - Enmity

This week’s ponderize came to me during a recent visit to the temple.   When I heard the word enmity, I decided to spend some time pondering what it means.

We know that enmity is the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.

If you look in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, you find the following definition.  (Again, I use this dictionary when I am pondering things that were revealed to Joseph Smith because this is the context he would have been using)
EN'MITY, noun
1. The quality of being an enemy; the opposite of friendship; ill will; hatred; unfriendly dispositions; malevolence. It expresses more than aversion and less than malice, and differs from displeasure in denoting a fixed or rooted hatred, whereas displeasure is more transient.
2. A state of opposition.
With the definition of enmity in my I have been pondering what this scripture means.
15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15 (See also Moses 4:21)
Consider these two questions:

  • Why was it necessary for God to cause those that follow Satan to have a hatred toward the children of Adam and Eve?  
  • How does Satan use that hatred to try and destroy us? 

I think this passage of scripture in Moses 7 helps us understand these questions:
 32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
 33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood; (Moses 7:32-33)
Here is the point.  Satan and his followers hate the children of Adam and Eve because they have been given bodies.  These bodies allow us to have experiences to help us grow, develop, make choices, and become like our Father.  If Satan can convince us that we should also hate our bodies, then we are more inclined to abuse them or use them contrary to God’s design.  Additionally, if he gets us to hate ourselves, then we also lose sight of the fact that those who are around us are our spiritual brothers and sisters, and we begin to hate them as well.  If we hate God’s children, then how can we love Him?  Hence the first and second great commandments.  Love God, and Love each other.  Satan twists the enmity that God put between Satan and the people of this earth as a protection, and he turns it into a tool to destroy us.  We must be careful and not be fooled by this lie.  We must turn our back on the master of hate and embrace the Master of love.

Here is a list of the references to the other uses of the word Enmity in the standard works:

  • Doctrine and Covenants 101:26
  • Moses 4:21
  • Ephesians 2:16
  • Luke 23:12
  • Numbers 35:21
  • Numbers 35:22
  • Romans 8:7
  • James 4:4

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