“First, he pacifies, which means he appeases or placates. Second, he cheats, swindles, misleads, fools, or practices fraud upon, which means he deceives by trickery. Third, he flatters, which means he compliments excessively and insincerely, especially to win favor. … Fourth, he leads the way by going in advance, by conducting, escorting, or directing, by causing one to follow a certain course of action or line of thought. … Satan thus customizes his dishonesty according to the susceptibility of his target. His favorite approach is whatever works” (Largey, “Enemies of Christ,” 297).
“Last summer on a lonely stretch of desert highway, we saw ahead what appeared to be the road covered with water. My children would have wagered their entire savings on that fact. But within a few minutes we were at the distant spot and saw not one drop of water. What an illusion!
“How many things there are in this life that appear to be one way and all of a sudden are the reverse. … Satan operates that way. He is the master of illusion. He creates illusions in an attempt to detour, dilute, and divert the power and the attention of the Latter-day Saints from the pure truth of God” (Cook, “Spiritual Guides for Teachers of Righteousness,” 25).