Accuse

Joseph Smith taught in DHC 4:445: “If you do not accuse each other, God will not accuse you. If you have no accuser you will enter heaven, and if you will follow the revelations and instructions which God gives you through me, I will take you into heaven as my back load. If you will not accuse me, I will not accuse you. If you will throw a cloak of charity over my sins, I will over yours — for charity covereth a multitude of sins.” This notion of accusing one another is an important principle. Joseph is explaining something directly relating to obtaining salvation. Accusing someone is Satanic. One of the titles for Satan is “the accuser of the brethren.” Satan’s accusations are not said to be unwarranted or unsupported. He is not necessarily accusing his victims unjustly. It is probable some, if not all, of the accusations were, or are, just. If all were measured by an absolute standard of obedience, faithfulness, or virtue, all would necessarily fail. Satan does not need to use an unfair standard to accuse and condemn: …all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 1:16). “So if you want to condemn any of us, you need only look at our actual deeds and you will find sufficient reason to accuse us. Yet the negative and condemned role of accusing belongs to Satan. Those who take it upon themselves to do the condemning are acting the part of Satan. What Christ has asked us to do is forgive each other. Or, as Joseph put it, we are asked not to accuse each other.”¹See also SATAN; LUCIFER.