“The People Began Again to Build Up the Secret Oaths and Combinations”

"Without question Satan was at the very heart of the secret combinations which destroyed once and for all, without hope of recovery, the Zion society of the Nephites. He alone inspires the hearts of wicked men to secretly combine against righteousness (Helaman 6:26). And he concocts and administers the oaths and covenants of his kingdom. However, Satan could not have made any inroads without the initial overtures of the people themselves. Joseph Smith taught that 'the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power' (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.181). The people of 4 Nephi, guilty of this revolt or rebellion, consciously rejected light and truth." (Andrew Skinner, Book of Mormon Symposium Series, 4 Nephi - Moroni, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 299)