In the New Testament we read of the Savior's encounter with Satan and his myriad of temptations. Really, Lucifer only has three temptations in his arsenal, but there are some spin-offs.
He comes to Jesus first with the physical appetites. This may be his favorite, so he often tries this first. The verse says, "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread" (Matthew 4:3). Jesus has been fasting, and so He is hungry.
Jesus counters with, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Notice how Jesus always counters with scripture. Lucifer must be thinking, "Well, two can play this game."
Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3, which says, "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."
In ancient times the law of Moses was equated with manna--bread coming down from heaven. Just as God's law would sustain you, manna would also keep you alive. But there was also a "deadness" aspect of the law (see 2 Nephi 25:27). Jesus later gave His Bread of Life Sermon and said,
"Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
"This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:49-51).
Had Jesus succumbed to this temptation, He would have preserved His own life, but not had the capacity to provide us the "bread of life" that could allow us to live forever and have eternal life.
So Lucifer tries his hand quoting scripture, which he knows well. Jesus is carried away in the Spirit and placed upon a pinnacle of the temple. Satan comes back with, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone" (Matthew 4:6). He is quoting from Psalm 91, verses 11-12.
Notice how both temptations come with the challenge, "If thou be the Son of God . . ." Satan knows good and well who Jesus is, and he knows you and me as well, but he wants us to question our own identity and our potential as sons and daughters of God. He wants to alter our perception of the distance between us and God, to make it seem like an impossible journey.
I think the third temptation is quite lame, but Lucifer is getting desperate here. He tries again to get Jesus to question His identity by enticing the Creator of "millions of earths like this" (Moses 7:30) to worship him in exchange for those things He already created, and inherited from His Father.
It is interesting that both of these scriptures about the bread of life and angels having charge over us, are found in Section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants, and are part of the oath and covenant of the Priesthood (see verses 44 and 88). There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it; Jesus could have easily performed both miracles of jumping off the temple pinnacle without getting hurt (at least physically), and transforming rocks to bread. But this is right before His ministry, and Satan, I believe, is trying to get Him to misuse His Priesthood, which would then nullify the Atonement for you and me.
There is one final aspect of this scene I find rather interesting. Who were the three greatest kings in ancient Israel before the kingdom was divided? It would have to be Saul, David, and Solomon.
All three kings succumbed to one of these temptations, and they each chose their own one. David was taken down by the appetites of the flesh (see 2 Samuel 11). Saul was taken down by pride, as David started getting more attention than he did as king. The women danced in the streets and chanted, "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands (see 1 Samuel 18:7-9). Ironically, at the beginning, Saul was so humble they could not find him to be king, as he hid himself (see 1 Samuel 10:21-22).
Solomon was taken down by riches and his wives who led his heart astray (see 1 Kings 11:4-9). Ironically, at the beginning, the Lord gave Solomon riches because he asked for wisdom instead of riches, so the Lord blessed him with both (see 1 Kings 3:9-11).
Jesus faced all three temptations, as "He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them" (D&C 20:22). And thus you and I can rejoice, as "Jesus Christ, your advocate, . . . knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted" (D&C 62:1).
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