JOEL - Satan created nothing. God created everything, even
the little microbes that infect our bodies and cause
illness. Diseases, including physical, mental, and
emotional, are mostly caused by defects in our mortal
bodies and the results of living with other mortals on this earth which
God made.
There is opposition in all things(eg. good health and sickness)(2 Ne. 2: 11)
Without the bad we cannot appreciate the good.
Besides this, God allows disease to happen in our bodies
to give us experience; to make us humble; to
strengthen our character, and so that His works may be
made manifest in us. (John 9:1-3)
Satan can take advantage of such conditions and take over our souls
if we lose faith and allow these things to affect our
spiritual health.
But Satan is rarely the direct cause of such things.
His main job and goal is to tempt people to commit
sin. God has told us that Satan has no power over
children (D&C 29: 47), yet children do suffer from all
kinds of diseases; so it can't all be caused by Satan.
Satan can tempt us to commit sin which can, if we give
in to it, ultimately make us physically sick or
emotionally depressed.
I think Satan's power can be involved in affecting
some depression and even some madness in people who
allow him inside(Matt 8:28-32).
President Ezra Taft Benson said:
"As the showdown between good and evil approaches with its accompanying
trials and tribulations, Satan is increasingly striving to overcome the Saints with
despair, discouragement, despondency, and depression." ( “Do Not Despair,” Ensign, Oct. 1986, 2).
But there are of course other types of depression and mental illness
that are of a clinical nature that are caused by some
genetically inherited defect or chemical imbalance in
our bodies.
When the Lord placed enmity between Eve’s children and
the devil, Satan was told that he would bruise the
heel of Eve’s seed, but her seed would bruise his
head. (See Moses 4:21.) So Satan can torment man in
many ways, mostly by tempting us to sin, but most of
the diseases and illnesses we get are simply an
occupational hazzard, so to speak, because we live on
this earth with mortal bodies.
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