I See... Transforming Evil into E-ville

There are two types of evil in the world, and before we launch on a quest to turn one kind of it into another, we must be able to tell the difference between the two.

E-ville: This type of bad behavior is overwhelmingly easy to detect. Villains in Disney fables are e-ville. The famous Canadian mountie, Dudley Doright, will always save sweet Nell from the sinister clutches of the e-ville Snidely Whiplash. E-ville is as bright as the moon and as prominent as the painful pre-teen pimple. When Satan boldly tempted Jesus to misuse his godly powers for personal relief, satisfaction, and gain, he was exercising e-ville in most undeniable ways. When referring to this type of heinous handiwork, it is critical to pronounce it correctly. Repeat after me- “Eeeee-ville,” slow and sinister, like you really mean it. It is important to savor every syllable as it smoothly tumbles out of your mouth. There is no doubt here- this is bad.

Evil, on the other hand, is delivered quickly and quietly, with so little emphasis and energy that it may be difficult to even determine what was said. This type of bad behavior wants to masquerade as anything other than what it really is- tolerance, neglect, rationalization, etc. Nephi accurately described it as chains that slowly, almost unknowingly lead us down to hell (2nd Nephi 28:22)  The world is literally bathed in this type of behavior. Much of it flies under our righteous radar yet floods our homes in the form of oversexed entertainment accepted as exemplary, or perhaps as routine tasks pursued on sacred Sundays. Repeat after me ten times quickly: “evle evle evle evle evle evle evle evle evle evle.” If you say it quickly and often, it will be hard to know what you're referring to. Doubt and disguise is at the core of this dimension of deviance.

If evil and opposition has to exist in the world, and it does, the righteous quest of every latter-day saint should be to agressively turn “evle” into “e-ville.” Clearly identifying the enemy- e.g., pornography as the single most sinister sword slicing up the plan of salvation into insignificant body parts, or unwarranted criticism of doctrine and authority robbing fragile testimonies of their spiritual foundations still under construction- allows us to overcome it. It is time to choose.