How much power is Satan given to try and afflict man? In October 1962 General Conference, Elder Eldred G. Smith taught: “Going back to the story [of Job] now to get the principle I was looking for, we note that Satan had power to do only what God had permitted him to do. Satan did not win that war in heaven. He was cast out of heaven to do what the Lord wanted him to do, to test and try and torment man. Satan, then, has power on this earth only as the Lord permits and as we yield to his temptations.
What a remarkable attitude! There are many who, if they had experienced what Job had, might have turned their backs on God questioning His love. But not Job. How is such an attitude obtained? At least in part, such an attitude is gained through an understanding of the revealed purposes of mortality. Though we do not know all the reasons why we are in this life, the scriptures and the prophets have taught some basic reasons that must be learned and always remembered.