| NOTE: This page is only about the version of the Devil in the Book of Mormon, and not his other interpretations such as the Holy Bible, or different views of Satanism. therefore none of the different interpretations should be added here. |
| “ | Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the hearts of the people; and thus did Satan get possession of the hearts of the people again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing. | „ |
| ~ Satan corrupting people in 3 Nephi 2:2 |
Lucifer, better known as the Devil and Satan is the main antagonist of the Book of Mormon. He is regarded by many religions as the supreme overlord of Hell and demons. Alternatively, he is also considered to be the living embodiment of evil, whose power is second only to that of God. Although Satan was originally a Judeo-Christian concept, almost all orthodox religions have an evil godlike (or semi-godlike) figure that can be said to be connected to Satan in their mannerism and purpose.
His Evil Ranking[]
His Villainous Deeds[]
- He presumably did most of his crimes that he did in the Bible, such as tempting Eve for instance. There is also no indication at all that this version of the Devil lacks a clear moral agency or that he doesn't harbor knowledge of right and wrong.
- Satan is indirectly, lot of times directly responsible for all of the pain and suffering caused by people as he corrupts them all, though his intent of him knowing this is of constant relentless initiative. Because of this, people like Lehi, Abinadi, Alma the Younger, and even Helaman are afraid of him.
- Determined to overthrow God's church of righteousness, he personally founds the great and abominable church, with the whore of all the earth, according to Nephi.
- When Korihor is defeated, Satan callously leaves him to his horrible fate.
- Because of Satan's actions placing humanity at high risks for damnation, Jesus Christ saving humanity from eternal torment had to be done by suffering the worst fate ever known. Had he not done this, Satan would doubtlessly have power over everyone's souls.
- As the lead catalyst of sin, he is the theological symbol of evil who is frequently described as an enemy to all that is righteous. That being said, he shows no known positive aspect of him whatsoever, simply doing whatever he can to obtain his endgame.
Why He Doesn't Stand Out?[]
- As a man who is incessantly called the ultimate enemy of all goodness over and over again, he is the textbook example of a Generic Doomsday Villain. Satan doesn't speak throughout the entire novel, and barely makes an appearance at all. While he is described throughout the novel as a vague devilish force, his motivation behind harming the innocent is unclear. The only thing that even shows him to be sentient in some way is the fact that he convinces people like Korihor to gather him more followers, with even his and Korihor's telepathic communion being off page.
- He fails the heinous standard to King Noah, who tried to make Gideon massacre hundreds of Nephites, Amaron, who tried to wipe out the two thousand Stripling Warriors, and especially Amalickiah, who tried to exterminate the Nephites down to their last baby.
- He is occasionally portrayed as a force that needs to exist for the cosmos to be in balance, especially because most of his actions are temptations rather than threats of violence as humans still have free will to not follow him unless they want to.
Trivia[]
- Despite being placed as a Villainous Benchmark, Satan has the second most PE depictions (and that's not even counting the ones who take inspiration from him) in all of fiction behind William Afton.
- The reason why the Mormon take on Satan is not part of the King James Bible story profile is because of numerous differences between the two that cannot make them compatible as a single profile.
External Links[]
- The Devil on the Villains Wiki