THE WAR IN HEAVEN NEVER ENDED

I go to Egypt a lot. I see the incredible, mostly preserved ruins of temples spanning thousands of years. On the walls of the temples are hieroglyphic etchings and images that echo themes and patterns familiar to any Latter-day Saint who’s been through the temple. You look at the walls and carvings and realize, Joseph Smith was right. The ancient world was full of divine pattern, sacred space, and covenant structure. That’s what we explore on our Gospel on the Nile cruise.

But today I want to talk about something much deeper. Something that’s not just etched into
stone walls in Egypt. It’s etched into the very conflict of our modern age.

I want to talk about the War in Heaven.

What Was Really at Stake?

We often reduce the War in Heaven to a tidy Sunday School summary: Satan wanted to take
away agency, Jesus wanted to preserve it, a third rebelled, and the rest is history. But there's more beneath the surface—something painfully relevant to our time.

When you read Moses 4, pay close attention to Lucifer’s response to the Father’s plan. It’s not
just rebellion, it’s reaction. Reaction to inequality. Reaction to unequal outcomes. Reaction to the uncomfortable truth that agency means disparity. It means different choices, different
consequences, different degrees of glory. For some that’s not fair. And Lucifer didn’t like it.

He wanted a plan where “not one soul shall be lost.” Think about that. He wanted equity of
outcome, not equality of opportunity. Sound familiar?

President Oaks has said it clearly: “The equality of God is not the equal outcomes for all, but
equal opportunity for all.” But Satan’s plan? That’s forced equity. That’s fairness weaponized
into tyranny.

To achieve equal outcomes, you must remove agency. And the moment you remove agency, you destroy the soul. You flatten the individual into a cog. You reject the very purpose of
mortality—to choose, to grow, to change, to become.

Satan didn’t just reject the Father’s plan. He wanted the Father’s glory in exchange for a
counterfeit. And Jesus? Jesus said, “Thy will be done.” That’s the pattern. That’s the path. That’s our part of the covenant with the Father.

The Hidden Tools of Tyranny: Untethered Empathy and Malevolent Compassion

The deception of Satan’s plan wasn’t just force. It was framed as love. It was cloaked in
empathy.

Let’s call it what it is: “untethered empathy” and “malevolent compassion.” This is Satan’s
primary tool then, and now.

Untethered empathy says, “I feel your pain, and nothing else matters.” It detaches compassion
from accountability. It severs love from truth. It offers comfort without repentance or covenant.
That’s why today we hear, “Love is love.” “You do you.” “God loves you no matter what.” These
phrases sound kind. But strip away their surface and you find hollow half-truths. Truth without
love is cruelty. But love without truth? That’s just sentimental nihilism.

Now take that empathy and put it into action—that’s malevolent compassion. That’s when
empathy becomes ideology. That’s when the “feelings” justify rebellion against divine law.

You see it in the attacks on the family. The redefinition of identity. The assault on the Law of
Chastity and the order of the family. And it always starts with compassion: “I’m just trying to
help people.” But as C.S. Lewis warned, the tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its
victims may be the most oppressive of all.

People don’t want to be evil. So they invent a new morality. A morality not revealed by God, but invented by man. That’s how you justify darkness in the name of light. That’s how you get an Antichrist culture, one that crucifies truth while preaching love.

This is what’s filling our institutions. Our universities. Even our chapels. A counterfeit morality
built on untethered empathy and malevolent compassion.

And here’s the sobering truth: the hosts of heaven who followed Lucifer may not have been
monsters. Not at first. They were likely lured in. They were deceived by that same false
compassion. The War in Heaven was never about cartoonish evil. It was about seductive lies.
That’s the real evil. And it’s happening again.

The Path of the Savior: Grace and Truth

Contrast all that with the Savior. John tells us Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” Not just grace. And not just truth. Both.

That’s what our temple experience teaches us. That’s what the covenants are for. Not just to show us the path—but to transform us into covenant keepers, into Christlike beings. Not just “I love you,” but “Come, follow me.” “Do as I do.” That’s the gospel.

The modern world wants Teddy Bear Jesus. Fluffy. Safe. No demands. But the real Christ is both Lion and Lamb. He invites us to become like Him, and He gives us the power to do it. He
redeems us not in our sins—but from our sins.

The Invitation We Accepted

This is the truth we knew in the premortal world. We saw the plan. We saw the pain. We saw the adversity, the horror, the injustice, the suffering. And still—we chose the Father’s plan.

That’s why you’re here.

You chose the hard path because you knew where it led: Exaltation. Growth. The very character of God.

Lucifer’s plan is always easier. It offers comfort up front, but chains on the back end. Christ’s
plan demands sacrifice up front, but freedom in the end.

So don’t be surprised when the philosophies of men tug at your heartstrings. They may sound
right. They may feel good. That’s the point. The adversary doesn’t start with horns and hatred, he starts with empathy. He offers a cause, a new morality, a justification. And unless we’re anchored in revealed truth, we’ll fall for it.

We Are Still at War

The War in Heaven wasn’t a one-time event. It’s the war of our age. It’s the war inside your
home, your ward, your children’s schools, and your own heart. It is still about agency. It is still
about glory. It is still about truth.

So ask yourself: Am I grounded in the gospel of Christ—or in a counterfeit gospel of compassion without covenants?

Do I recognize truth, or have I traded it for soothing lies?

Are we raising children for Zion—or preparing them to fall for Babylon with a smile?

Final Word

This war is real. But so is the Savior. He is grace and truth. He is covenant and comfort. He is
our Redeemer—and He invites us into the process of becoming.

Let’s not nibble on the carrot of Untethered Empathy and Malevolent Compassion. Let us love
with truth. Lett us love through covenant. Let us love with the Pure Love of Christ.

—Greg Matsen