So fun tidbit: there’s this crime show on Fox called Lucifer, and as its name suggests, the main character is Satan. However, it’s not a typical representation of him. He’s depicted more as a punisher of the wicked than an unrelenting force for evil, which is a really interesting perspective. The show focuses on the fact that though Satan can tempt and make wickedness seem attractive, and the Lord can guide and inspire righteousness, everyone ultimately has their agency. (It’s a good show. I recommend it.) This, however, is not my focus, though discovering the show did lead to a discussion with my friend, Kathryn, that inspired a handful of questions.
If Lucifer was one of God’s most elect, one of the best and brightest, what happened that led him to pride?
Does Lucifer regret rebelling against God?
Is or was there any way for him to repent and be redeemed, provided that he genuinely wanted to?
Obviously there’s no way for us to answer the first two questions since he’s the only one who could ever properly answer them, but the last one really piqued our interest. Kathryn and I immediately dove into the scriptures to find anything and everything about Lucifer, the Sons of Perdition, and the premortal life.
In D&C 76:25-27 we get an account of the fall of Lucifer:
“And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning!”
From this we can see that Lucifer was a beloved son of God, one who the entirety of heaven wept for. One who we wept for. This account doesn’t convey hatred for our fallen brother, it begs for pity and grief. Kathryn pointed out that the sorrow in the account is reminiscent of the sorrow of the father in the parable of the prodigal son, and it got us thinking. Could Lucifer be like the prodigal son, but where the son in the parable humbles himself and returns home, Lucifer is still too bitter and stubborn to do the same? But what if he did humble himself someday and desire to repent? Is the infinite Atonement infinite enough to offer redemption to the Father of Lies himself?
These questions plagued us. We had to know. So we scoured the scriptures, hunting through the topical guide and the entirety of the Standard Works, looking for answers. Hours passed, bubble maps were drafted, and we found so many interesting nuggets about Lucifer and his personality—enough for a whole other forum—but none of them really answered our question about whether or not Christ’s Atonement applies to him. But then, I came across the account of Christ’s 40 day fast where Satan tempted him. In Luke 4:6-7, Satan says to Christ,
“All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”
Now, for the longest time, I had been under the impression that Christ had then told him to go away and leave him alone because God was the only true God, but reading Christ’s response in 4:8 had me see the situation in a whole new light.
“Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
That’s not a dismissal. That’s an invitation. He doesn’t mirror the words of Moses in Moses 1:16, “Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not,” he says “Get thee behind me,” which sounds an awful lot like “Come follow me.” Christ is asking his little brother to repent. He wouldn’t say that unless it were possible for Lucifer to do.
Of course, the doctrine of the eternal fate of the Sons of Perdition still stands, that for them “there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come,” (D&C 76:34), and we’re told that to descend into that state, one would have to have “denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.” (D&C 76:35) I pondered this for a long time, confused as to how Christ’s Atonement could be infinite and not cover everyone who wanted to use it. However, it occurred to me that perhaps living in that denial would require constantly and actively denying Christ and the Lord without ever seeking absolution. Perhaps the reason the Sons of Perdition never gain forgiveness is because they never seek after it, because if they did seek to accept the Atonement, they wouldn’t be living in that denial anymore. Perhaps Sons of Perdition are doomed because any who genuinely try to change wouldn’t be considered a Son of Perdition any longer. Perhaps a Son of Perdition, by definition, is one who had every opportunity to use the Atonement, knew it could redeem them, but still chose to scorn it and not accept it, thus removing them from the power of the Atonement. So maybe those Sons of Perdition do have an opportunity to cease being a Son of Perdition. Maybe that could be an option for Lucifer if he ever stopped existing in that state of anger and bitterness and denial, but as of yet, it doesn’t appear he ever will.
If this is the case, the implications are incredible. If even Satan himself could be redeemed through the infinite mercy of Christ’s Atonement (provided he ever stopped refusing it), then how much more redeemable are we? It doesn’t matter how black our sins, we can always, always be restored. This whole time spent researching this with Kathryn has really strengthened my testimony in the Atonement and the love that the Lord has for me and all of his children. Not only that, but it’s given me a better perspective on human imperfection. The Lord loves us all so much; we’ve been told this since we were babies. Yet, we look down on others so much for making mistakes or being, quite frankly, terribly wicked and venomous. The whole “he who has no sin, let him cast the first stone” ideal applies once again. While I think it’s important to call people out for their wrongdoings so they know that they need to repent, I think it’s equally vital that we never forget that there is nothing that they can do that will make the Lord stop loving them.
I'm not sure if this is completely doctrinally sound. I know this is a lot of speculation that's very difficult to confirm, but it feels right, and if Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can still love and weep for Lucifer and offer him a way home after all he did and continues to do, there’s no question that he loves the rest of us and will always offer us a helping hand should we choose to accept it. That gives me strength, so I'm sticking to it. There is always another chance. Always.
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