The Lord has informed us the last days would be a time of “commotion,” when “men’s heart’s shall fail them,” and “fear shall come upon all people.”1 He stated that “all flesh is corrupted before me,” enabling “the powers of darkness” to “prevail upon the earth, among the children of men.”2 We are told that false traditions and precepts of men will run rampant, enabling “that wicked one” to “taketh away light and truth,” and even cause the “humble followers of Christ” to err.3 Satan will seek to deceive us through false prophets, false spirits, strange notions, and priestcraft.

We have been warned that a secret combination will seek “to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries,” and bring “to pass the destruction of all people.”4 Prophecies and types and shadows in the book of Isaiah and the Book of Mormon reveal to us that the covenant prophets of Ephraim will align with this machination.5 These high priests will join with the politicans, judges, and lawyers of the land, covenanting with them and the Devil to destroy the freedom of the people.6 This, in hopes that when the land is invaded they will be passed by.

Amid this level of confusion and strife it is imperative for us as followers of Jesus Christ to become familiar and skilled with true keys to avoiding deception. Unfortunately, the “living prophet” has not been identified by the Lord as one of those keys. The Old Testament furnishes us with plenty of examples where “living prophets” who were regarded and sustained as the ecclesiastical authorities of the day taught and prophesied falsely, and led the Lord’s people astray.7

So, what are the keys to avoiding deception according to the Lord?

In JS-Matthew, Jesus gives the most reliable safeguard for deception in the last days: “Although the days will come, that heaven and earth shall pass away, yet my words shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled. . . And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived…”8 The Lord’s words in the scriptures constitute the most complete and effective key for avoiding deception. Those who treasure up His words are promised they will not be deceived. Treasure means “to hoard; to collect and reposit for future use; to lay up, as to treasure gold and silver.”9 This verb implies sincere effort to obtain the words, and high esteem for them when they have been retrieved and internalized.

Why does treasuring up the Lord’s words prevent deception? Because if we truly know what the Lord has said, we can count on it coming to pass. As Jacob testified “he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.”10 King Benjamin also taught that He “never doth vary from that which he hath said.”11

The Lord gave another key in His own interpretation of the parable of the ten virgins.

“And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.”12

We find in this passage that taking the Holy Spirit for our guide, and not being deceived are in a synonymous parallel. This leads us to conclude that by receiving the truth and taking the Holy Spirit for our guide—or in other words, the Lord’s voice through the Spirit—we will not be deceived. This single factor is what the Lord uses to differentiate between the wise and the foolish virgins.

By taking His Spirit as a guide we come to know Him personally, and rely on Him alone. For when “came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, Ye know me not.”13 Those who have taken the Lord’s Spirit as a guide, and have come to know Jesus Christ through His direct guidance will not be deceived. These individuals inquire of Him directly to know the truth of all things. They ask, seek, and knock for themselves. They receive and are acquainted with His voice, which leads them to literally come unto Him and be freed from the bondage of sin.14

Notice in each of these examples there are no mortal humans being relied on. Nephi taught us a profound truth in his exclamation: “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.”15 In another chapter, one that specifically deals with the Lord’s covenant people in the end-time, Nephi again testified: “Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.”16 Jeremiah likewise warned:

“Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.”17

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Truth. His words to us through direct revelation and His words through the scriptures are the only sure ways for us to overcome deception and sift through the confusion of the latter-days. We must let go of any ideas that we can trust in mortal humans, regardless of what their calling or position might be. As the psalmist wrote: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”18 And again, this time with a promise: “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever.”19

Much of the content for this post came from chapter 2 of my book Upon My House Shall It Begin. You can order it here.

1    D&C 88:91; c.f. D&C 45:26

2    D&C 38:12

3    D&C 93:39; 2 Nephi 28:14

4    Ether 8:25

5    Isaiah 28:15

6    3 Nephi 6:20-30

7    Jeremiah chapters 5, 6, 23; Ezekial chapters 13, 14, 22; Micah chapter 3, Hosea chapters 4 and 5, etc.

8    JS-Matthew 1:35, 37

9    Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

10    2 Nephi 9:41

11    Mosiah 2:22; c.f. Alma 7:20; D&C 3:2

12    D&C 45:57

13    Matthew 25:10-11 JST

14    D&C 84:49-53

15    2 Nephi 4:34

16    2 Nephi 28:31

17    Jeremiah 17:5-7

18    Psalms 118:8

19    Psalms 125:1