Deceive and edify

While working on my lesson for next Sunday, I was studying two scriptures that led me to similarly interesting thoughts.

Consider D&C 50:3

Satan hath sought to deceive you, that he might overthrow you.

and D&C 52:16

He that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose language is meek and edifieth, the same is of God if he obey mine ordinances.

One of the things I like doing to better understand scriptures I am supposed to teach is researching the etymological evolution of key words in those scriptures.

The key word in the first scripture was deceive. On the surface, this verse seems to tell us that Satan wants to trick us or make us see things that aren’t really there. Upon reading the entry for deceive in the 1828 Webster?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Dictionary, I found out that deceive in Joseph Smith?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s time meant ?¢‚Ǩ?ìto ensnare?¢‚Ǩ¬ù.

It seems then that according to the first scripture, Satan isn’t just trying to trick us; he’s trying to trap us.

Going to the 1828 Webster?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s didn’t make much difference for edify, but I did find something equally interesting when I researched the root of the word. Edify comes from the Latin word aedificare, which means ?¢‚Ǩ?ìto build a house or temple?¢‚Ǩ¬ù.

I think this brings a different perspective to the second scripture other than our traditional understanding of ?¢‚Ǩ?ìlanguage which is meek and uplifting?¢‚Ǩ¬ù.