Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.” (D&C 10:5). I had never thought about the specific connotation of the word “Conqueror” in this verse before. The verse does not use the word victor or even survivor but conqueror. We are not fighting a war of attrition to a stalemate and eventual armistice. We are to pray always that we may not just best or beat Satan and his minions but conquer them. Christ did not broker a peace deal or a ceasefire with the powers of death and hell. He conquered them. He didn't give the serpent a warning tap on the head. He crushed it under His heel. He broke the bands of death and threw down the gates of hell, and He has been sending His angels and His faithful servants and missionaries as incursionary forces into enemy territory to do all they can to destabilize and tear down the centers of power of the enemy. When we are struggling with a temptation or a fear or a doubt or a weakness or an addiction, we need to take the kid gloves off and go scorched earth on the thorns in our side. We turn weakness into strength not merely by chasing it off, but by marching into the heart of it and occupying it until we have brought it into submission. This is what it means to conquer. Avoiding or tolerating our enemies is not enough. We must pray for them and serve them and love them until they have been completely conquered by our efforts and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. God's work and His glory are to save as many of His children as He possibly can, and if He has to march into enemy territory, then that is what He is going to do.
