Because the fall of Adam and Eve brought physical death into the world, all human beings are subject to the power of “the first death,” which is the natural physical passing that is part and parcel of mortality. However, physical death is not the end of the soul. We can decide through the exercise of our agency whether we will experience eternal life or a second spiritual death. Here, Alma teaches that those individuals who die before they have repented of their sins are dead “as to things pertaining unto righteousness.”
John Taylor, who was the third president and prophet of the LDS Church, spoke about Satan’s role and power to tempt humanity:
“Who is Satan? A being powerful, energetic, deceptive, insinuating; and yet necessary…. He is a being of God’s own make, under his control, subject to his will, cast out of heaven for rebellion; and when his services can be dispensed with, an angel will cast him into the bottomless pit.”