Three Great Leading Points

​In the wilderness of temptation Christ met the great leading temptations that would assail man. There He encountered, single-handed, the wily, subtle foe, and overcame him.

The first great temptation was upon appetite;

the second, presumption;

the third, love of the world.

Satan has overcome his million
​ by tempting them to the indulgence of appetite.

Through the gratification of the taste, the nervous system becomes excited and the brain power enfeebled, making it impossible to think calmly or rationally. The mind is unbalanced. Its higher, nobler faculties are perverted to serve animal lust, and the sacred, eternal interests are not regarded.

When this object is gained,
Satan can come with his two other leading temptations
​and find ready access.

His manifold temptations grow out of these three great leading points.

—Testimonies for the Church 4:44, 1876