AUTHOR’S NOTE:  This is the eleventh of The Screwtape “Text Messages” in Today’s AI World.  Although the basic C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters vehicle of communications of a senior demon to an apprentice is retained, I have made a few changes:

The method of communication is text messages instead of letters.  The apprentice demon, Wormwood, has been replaced by Phishhook and Screwtape has been replaced by Mephisto, named after a demon from German folklore and Faust. The target to be tempted by the demons is referred to as “The Lostling.” The demons refer to hell as Meta-Dystopia. Finally, there are observations about the text messages from a “good team” fact checker and analyst, Clarion Veridiel.

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TO: Phishhook (101-001-1010)    URGENT

FROM: Mephisto

LOSTLING DOSSIER: The targets are a married couple in their 50s.  They’re actively involved volunteering in their church and in local politics.  The two Lostlings strongly identify with and support their national political party.

Dear Phishhook:

For the Lostlings, church attendance serves a spiritual purpose, but it is also important in meeting their social needs.  We can weaken their faith if we isolate them doctrinally and socially from other members of their congregation. We can also negatively affect other members if we use the Lostlings to create divisions in the group. These are your marching orders for this targeting:

First, the Lostlings are regular attendees in their Sunday School class. Unfortunately, these classes are well taught, with lots of discussion, and class members are comfortable in expressing ideas and asking questions.  No one worries if the discussion goes a bit off-track or if someone asks a quirky question. We must change that!

Our Lostlings have always had strong opinions and consider themselves to be very strict in interpreting church doctrine.  Your task is to transform them into becoming “Sunday School Policeman” who see their role as maintaining orthodoxy in the classroom. They need to be the first to speak out if they perceive there is any deviation from what they perceive to be the appropriate topics for the lesson.

If any questions or comments from class members don’t conform to the Lostling’s views, they need to take the lead in aggressively rebutting those heresies.  They won’t need to do this many times until open, candid discussion will be stifled and class members will be reluctant to make even innocuous comments for fear of being contradicted.  An added benefit of this approach is that those who have been policed will feel resentment towards the Lostlings.

The second tactic is a related thrust in our offensive.  The two Lostlings have what I refer to as “Gospel Hobbies.”  They devote a substantial amount of time to family history and survivalism.  There is nothing intrinsically wrong with these interests, but, as you well know, we have always taken advantage of the “too much of a good thing” syndrome.

Convince them that everyone needs to share their passions!  In classes and casual conversations with fellow church members, have them incessantly promote their hobbies at the expense of other gospel principles. They can even subtly imply that others who aren’t similarly motivated are shirking their duties and may be putting their eternal salvation in jeopardy.

This approach has several advantages for us. Our Lostling’s will make people uncomfortable, and others will start to avoid them, creating the social isolation we seek. There will also be a crowding out effect as gospel hobbies discussions supplant consideration of other topics.  People may even start to be turned off and avoid self-reliance and family history efforts because they hear about them too much from our Lostlings.

Let’s also encourage the Lostling’s to talk politics in church. They shouldn’t do this overtly, but there are subtle ways of slipping politically charged ideas into lessons and conversations.  For example, they could use emotionally charged words in making class comments, such as “radical, socialist, right-wing, or reactionary.”  Or by making statements like “We can’t remain silent while the politicians are destroying everything we believe in,” “the world is going to hell in a handbasket,” ” or “as good Americans and church members, we have a duty to support ………….”

They should also frame political issues as moral imperatives, making it difficult for others to challenge them without appearing to lack faith and conviction.  This practice can be made more effective by selectively emphasizing scriptural verses and statements by their church leaders that align with the Lostling’s political views, while downplaying or ignoring others.  No problem if truth is a casualty!

A tried-and-true strategy for us is to promote the single quote approach which uses an isolated, maybe out of context, statement by a now deceased church leader to definitively establish an idea.  For example, their Orson Hyde once said speaking of the miracle of the wine and water at Cana, “We say it was Jesus Christ who was married…”  Or the phrase probably erroneously attributed to Brigham Young, but part of Mormon folklore, that when the saints go back to Missouri that “there won’t be a yellow dog to greet them,” which implies future destruction of that place.  The single quote is a great tactic because it can be presented as the final word and leaves those who might disagree without much recourse.

Now let’s move on to some hard-core tempting.  Use the Lostlings to create a ‘culture of contempt’—a habit of seeing people who disagree with them not as merely incorrect or misguided but as worthless and even dangerous.  By depicting others as enemies of the faith or nation, we can create a righteous vs. evil perspective that creates deep divisions.  Encourage a winner take all approach that assumes that no common ground can be found with those who believe differently.

Phishhook, your over-arching goal is to transform the partisan views of the two Lostlings into a mega-identity where they are defined more by their political party than they are by their religion. Intertwine their political views deeply with their religious identity, making it difficult to separate the two. Ideally, get them to consider themselves as a (insert political party here) more than a Christian.  Here is my mantra for you to recite–Help them to trade their politics for their religion.

Your opportunistic file leader: Mephisto

 

TO: Mephisto (666-911-1313)

FROM: Phishhook

Dear Mephisto:

I’m not even close to finishing the temptings you ordered for the two Lostlings, but the results have been so deliciously disruptive that I couldn’t wait to report back to you.  They have embraced their roles as Sunday School policeman with gusto.  Last week a timid, semi-active women dared to venture in their Relief Society that she hadn’t read the entire lesson but thought that punishments meted out by God were rather harsh.  Wow, did our Lostling pin her ears back.  She suggested that the woman couldn’t fully understand because she hadn’t studied and that their God only punished people if they needed it to avoid going to hell.

The male Lostling was equally aggressive in the men’s meeting.  A member who owned a small business mentioned that he paid tithing as a lump sum at the end of the year on his net revenues.  Our Lostling indignantly interjected that what the member was doing was a contribution but not a tithe.  No one was brave enough to contradict him!  Fewer class comments during the rest of that lesson.

Your “single quote from a leader strategy” is in full play.  Lately, the Lostling has made a point of bringing a copy of Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine to church to settle controversies. He refers to the book as the “final and definitive word.”  Apparently, he doesn’t know the book is no longer in print.

He has also become adept at using LDSBOT to find obscure quotes to support his points of view. Two weeks ago, he espoused a second-hand account of Joseph Smith saying that “the Ten Tribes are in the North Pole….. and John the Revelator is with them, preparing for their return.”  That day he pointed out that hunting is wrong because he had a quote from Spencer Kimball that said we shouldn’t kill little birds.  Privately, he used his IPAD to show a quote from Joseph Fielding Smith, who once wrote, “We will never get a man into space,” implying that the moon landings had been faked.  I was gratified that the Lostling didn’t bother to mention that Smith later acknowledged he was wrong.

On another occasion, their Sunday School class touched on Book of Mormon geography. The Lostlings got into an extended argument with another class member about where everything took place, why they knew their view to be authentic, and, of course, what their LDS tour guides had told them on recent vacations to Book of Mormon lands.

The Lostling’s gospel hobbies are also working effectively for us in socially isolating them.  Lately, they have been obsessed with the Signs of the Times.  Every natural calamity and every world event are seen as a clear indication that the end of time is almost here.  They express surprise at the naivety of others who have less of a Millennial Mentality.

I gloat that our Lostlings are not as accepted in church as they used to be.  Some members tend to avoid them because they use the times before and after church to promote their political views.  I have heard them say “I could never vote for a ______________ because they________” and “I have it on good authority that the brethren don’t want____________.”  Other members are eager to hear their latest tidbits.  I sense the beginning of some cracks in ward unity.  No overt contempt yet, but it’s a good start!

Your objective of blurring the difference between their religion and their politics is working. The Lostlings are less tolerant of other perspectives and more likely to express their political views as almost religious values that allow no room for compromise.  If asked to define themselves, increasingly, it might be in terms of their political rather than their religious affiliation.   Mephisto, you have earned your title of Master Tempter.

Your obedient Phishhook

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TO: CK (110-111-1000)

FROM: Clarion Veridiel

There are so many prongs in the attack proposed by Mephisto. Let me focus on just one misunderstood concept. Mephisto suggests that the Lostlings should try  to validate ideas in classes and conversations by citing single statements from church leaders, past and present.  But that’s not the way it works.  Those single statements—which may represent personal opinion or reflect the culture of the time they were made, don’t constitute church doctrine.

Elder Christofferson taught, “It should be remembered that not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. It is commonly understood in the Church that a statement made by one leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, not meant to be official or binding for the whole Church.”

Elder Andersen reinforced the point, “The doctrine is taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk.” The family proclamation, signed by all 15 prophets, seers, and revelators, is a great illustration of that principle.”

Your loving servant: Clarion Veridiel

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AUTHOR’S NOTE.  We live in a deeply divided society.  It is not uncommon to have friends and family whose views differ so much from ours that certain topics can’t be discussed without causing problems. One of my favorite authors is Arthur Brooks, who writes on interpersonal relationships.  I recommend his How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Deeply and Being Deeply Seen and Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt.  In the latter book he suggests five rules for living more honorably in our divisive culture:

  1. Stand up to the man, whoever he is. Refuse to be used by the powerful.
  2. Escape bubbles and echo chambers. Go where you’re not invited, say things people don’t expect.
  3. Say no to contempt. Treat others with love and respect, even it’s difficult.
  4. Don’t necessarily disagree less but disagree better. Be part of a healthy competition of ideas.
  5. Tune out and disconnect more from unproductive debates.

I also recommend two books by Latter-day Saint authors that address the topic of bridging our societal gulf.  The first is by David Ostler, Healing Our Divides: Answering the Savior’s Call to be Peacemakers. The second is a collection of essays edited by Richard Eyre, No Division Among You, especially the essay by Thomas Griffith, “Unity Within the Church and the Nation.”

Understanding others is a key to reducing discord. But how do we know that we really understand?  One

approach is the “Ideological Touring Test.”  It’s based on the artificial intelligence Touring Test proposed by Alan Touring in 1950.  To pass the test an AI entity must be able to convince a human observer that the AI is human, based on its responses to questions and conversations.  Currently, the test results are mixed, but the bots are rapidly improving their won/lost record.

The Ideological Touring Test applies this approach to the viewpoints of others.  To pass, a person must be able to summarize opposing ideas well enough so that a neutral judge can’t determine whether the summary was written by a person who agreed or disagreed with the position.  Few would take the time to actually construct a summary, but the concept is worth thinking about as we listen and disagree. How much do you really understand as you are constructing your rebuttals while they are speaking?

In 2014, Dallin Oaks gave insightful and appropriate counsel to conclude this essay. He taught that, “Followers of Christ should be examples of civility. We should love all people, be good listeners, and show concern for their sincere beliefs. Though we may disagree, we should not be disagreeable. Our stands and communications on controversial topics should not be contentious.”

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If you found this message insightful, explore the rest of the Screwtape Text Messages series below for more behind-the-scenes strategies from the adversary in today’s digital world.

12. Help, I’ve Been Abducted by AI (Alien Intelligence)

11.  Trading Religion for Politics

10. Desensitization to Sin

9. Superscams, Fake News, and the Korihor Effect

8. Strategies for Tempting Teens, Girls and Boys

7. Virtual Validation, Cancer Culture, and Cyberbullying

6. Online Echo Chambers

5. Instant Online Gratification

4. Digital Distractions Away from God

3. Just Rely on the AI Bot

2. Escape from Reality

1. The FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Crisis