Instead of seeking unto the Lord for wisdom, they seek unto vain philosophy and the deceit and traditions of men, which are after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. They are led by their own imaginations and by the dictates of their selfish will, which will lead them in the end to miss the object of their pursuit. 10:209. _Sin and Wickedness_--God permits sin, or it could not be here. 13:151. The law is for the transgressor. 15:161. All evil is from beneath, while all that is good is from God. 13:267. Aside from the revelations in our day, there is not knowledge enough to tell you why God suffered sin to come into the world. You have been told the reason why--that all intelligence must prove facts by their opposite. 6:144. I wish you to understand that sin is not an attribute in the nature of man, but it is an inversion of the attributes God has placed in him. Righteousness tends to an eternal duration of organized intelligence, while sin bringeth to pass their dissolution. 10:251. Sin has come into the world, and death by sin. I frequently ask myself the question: Was there any necessity {118} for sin to enter the world? Most assuredly there was, according to my understanding and reasoning powers. Did I not know the evil I could never know the good; had I not seen the light I should never be able to comprehend what darkness is. Had I never tried to see and behold a thing in darkness I could not understand the beauty and glory of the light. If I had never tasted the bitter or the sour how could I define or describe the sweet? 13:59. The annoyances, difficulties, errors, perplexities, sorrows, and troubles of this life, from first to last, are in consequence of sin being in the world. For me to say it is not right for sin to be in the world, or if we, as intelligent beings, come to the conclusion that sin entered the world by chance, through some mistake, and it was contrary to the design of him who created us, we should err. 14:98. Let a Saint diverge from the path of truth and rectitude, in the least, no matter in what, it may be in a deal with his neighbor, in lusting after that which is not in his possession, in neglecting his duty, in having an over anxiety for something he should not be anxious about, in being a little distrustful with regard to the providences of God, in entertaining a misgiving in his heart and feeling with regard to the hand of the Lord towards him, and his mind will begin to be darkened. 3:222. The law of God is pointed against sin and iniquity, and where they appear it is unbending in its nature and must, sooner or later, hold sovereign rule against them, or righteousness could never prevail. 3:256.