Adversary

The most common descriptive term for Satan in LDS discourse, adversary connoted Satan’s role as one who instigates suffering and works to thwart God’s plan for the eternal well-being of humanity.

To the extent that we deliberately cause suffering or seek to thwart humane causes, we may also be fulfilling a misanthropic, adversarial role against humanity and the work of God. More likely, through pride, selfishness, or passivity, we can thwart the work of God by failing to recognize or by openly denying the need for our individual or collective repentance, by passively accepting unjust or oppressive circumstances in our communities and cultures, or by partaking in the spoils of such inhumane systems. To some extent, contributing to such injustices is inevitable, and so we are asked to do what we can to help and serve others and rely on the grace of God for that which is beyond our immediate ability to heal and restore.