Something I was taught years ago popped into my mind the other day and made me wonder if anyone else was ever taught this.

While growing up in the LDS church, I remember being taught many times that Satan was not allowed to read your thoughts. However, he was very skilled at reading facial expressions and body language.

It was very important to not let negative emotions (sadness, anger, frustration) show with your facial expressions. Doing so would give Satan an idea of what you were thinking and then he would know best how to tempt or discourage you. It was important to try to keep a smile on your face even when you weren't feeling happy so that you could throw Satan off track.

Maybe that's why so many Mormons are walking around with a pasted smile on their face.

I was taught that. I was also taught that I needed to "show the world" that I was happy as a mormon, another reason to paste on a fake grin.

Of course, imaginary beings can't read our thoughts *or* emotions or facial expressions or body language... :)

"I don't know that we taught that...."

I was taught the same thing. Another example of the never-ending, constantly changing, doctrines of the church.

Yep.
It made me wonder why people prayed out loud. Why would they want to let Stan know their weaknesses and wants?

I always thought the reason people prayed vocally even though Satan would realize how to best tempt us or hurt us was because it showed faith. It showed how unafraid we were of him because of our faith in God.

Thanks for posting about this. I hadn't heard of it before. Sadly, it makes sense in a sickening sorta way.

(I hope it goes without saying that I'm sorry to hear that crapola like that was ever fed to anybody! But, ya know, I'm saying it, any way.)

I was taught that Satan was in your thoughts... which is why an idle mind is the devil's playground and why singing a lame little hymn would make everything okay.

I was taught that too. Satan was powerful and magic. If you didn't control every last thought, he'd take over and you were done for.

Satan was about fear and therefore control. You had to be ever vigilant (pay tithing) or else Satan would have you in his grasp.

The only way to defeat Satan was to immerse yourself in religion (pay tithing)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2015 06:00PM by nonsequiter.

Well if I were Satan I'd be pissed that God, Jeebus and HG have clairvoyance ability in the battle for human souls.

Can't say I blame Satan for inventing the internet to level out the playing field.

:-D

many of the pages are stuck together.

You is weevil moose.

he bad



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2015 08:26PM by donbagley.

I don't remember anything about Satan can't read your mind

but I do remember hearing that Satan can't read so don't

ever read your patriarchal blessing out loud or Satan could

mess up your life.

What? Satan is illiterate too? And to think that he seems somewhat educated in the temple movie.

Hahahhahahahahhahahahhaha yeah, Satan's flaw... illiteracy.

and I can read your thoughts---YOU DIRTY PEOPLE YOU!

Wait a minute....

if our thoughts arise within our own heads they cannot be read until we translate them into a word form of our own particular idiomatic expression.

I must say I have sympathy for the multilingual Devil who manages to keep track of the billions of continual thought impulses from the inhabitants of a minor planet.

A friend of the Devil is a friend of mine.

Truthfully Saucie, if there is a compassionate god hiding out somewhere I gotta think he wouldn't fault us for cheering for the underdog.

Hail Stan!

Well Shummy if there was a compassionate god hiding out somewhere, he's turning out to be a huge impotent dissapointment. Right?

I ran into the devil, babe
He loaned me twenty bills
I spent that night in Utah
In a cave up in the hills


--Grateful Dead

Morms aren't the only ones who believe that. C.S. Lewis said that many times in the Screwtape Letters.

So Satan can't read your thoughts, but he can write temptations into your minds. Maybe God intended to give Satan read only access to brains, but then he accidentally got it wrong and gave Satan write only access? Oops, now people are sinning all over the place. It just goes to show how important it is to get the security settings right.

I was taught the same thing. I was also taught that satan couldn't enter the temple grounds, because it was hallowed ground...so I thought for sure I couldn't have "bad" thoughts in the temple, because bad thoughts originated from satan. That experiment didnt turn out well.

This is just TSCC pulling stuff out of where the sun don't shine. As usual.

Beings in the transcendent realms (and many species of animals) can read your thoughts. Humans were genetically engineered to be an open book. People can control their thoughts about as well as a dog controls its tail.

The only way Satan can't read your thoughts is if he doesn't really exist. In that sense, they might be right. But there can't be a Satan. There can be a Bigfoot, fairies, etc.

I was always creeped out that supposedly righteous angels COULD read our thought. Some of my thoughts I really didn't want my dead relatives listening to, so as a young TBM I was always hoping that they weren't around.

This is an outdated doctrine, because while Satan cannot read your thoughts he can see what you just clicked on. So he knows what you're thinking.

Oh yes, I recall that teaching also. The whole idea of a Satan is no longer a viable idea/option in my World View.

I'm more afraid of God reading my thoughts. Satan may be able to make me do bad things but God is much better at the slow torture he calls "enduring to the end."

......except on the occasions when Satan CAN read your thoughts... which may or may NOT coincide with his ability to control the waters.... and whatever need to reinforce whichever MORmON point has suddenly cropped up, because one thing about MORmON doctUrine is certain: Whatever the MORmON doctUrine is, that is ALWAYS the way it is!!!! ......unless it is not.

See; MORmON polygamy, MORmONISM and blacks and the MORmON priestdud, MORmONISM and eternal progression.