We live in the golden age of tools and machines. They do everything for us, whether we're building a freeway, flying across oceans, washing our clothes or printing our newspapers. Never have there been so many tools used in so many ways by so many people.

Yet almost all of them rely on basic principles that have been known for thousands of years. Today's woodworker would recognize - and be able to work with - the tools that Joseph, Mary's husband, taught Jesus to use in his carpenter's shop in Nazareth. Our most sophisticated mechanical machines still rely on such basic principles as the lever, fulcrum, inclined plane, and wheel and axle.Tools harness our energy. They make work easier, more efficient and more polished. But it's important to remember that tools are simply an extension of the mind. For example, today's writers have at their disposal extremely sophisticated computers and word processors, with built-in spell checkers and dictionaries at their fingertips. Yet William Shakespeare, regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, wrote with a quill pen. The graceful furniture made by Thomas Chippendale 200 years ago, before the advent of electric power tools, is now priced beyond the reach of most collectors.

With that in mind, it's apparent that the most meaningful tools may be those that work on our minds and souls. If the mind directs the tool, then it's important to know what shapes the mind. Prophets and writers throughout the ages have recognized that connection and speak of it often. Just as often, they talk about the "tools of the devil," referring to the means by which Satan tries to thwart the work of God.

What are those tools? Satan uses a whole arsenal of them. Prejudice is one of his chief tools, keeping minds closed and truth shut out. President David O. McKay listed anger, hatred and jealousy as tools of destruction. Discouragement is a major tool, used to take the heart out of our efforts. Satan uses half truths, one of his most common tools, to keep us from understanding the full import of what we see or hear. Flattery is also useful to him and is a deadly poison, said the Prophet Joseph Smith. Illicit drugs and alcohol are some of his great allies, being involved in the majority of crimes and perversions.

Oliver Wendell Holmes summed it up thus: "Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all." And Satan is the father of lies. (See John 8:44.)

The Lord has His tools, also, and work to do. He said, "This is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.) The tools for this great work, like the machines that run our complex society, rely at their heart on basic principles.

They include truth, to counter the lies and misinformation spread throughout the world by Satan; love, which attacks hatred; tolerance to combat prejudice; hope in the face of discouragement; honesty and virtue in place of deception and deceit. President Ezra Taft Benson said that "one of our best missionary tools is the sterling example of members who live the gospel." He also said the Book of Mormon as a tool is at the heart of our missionary work. (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, pp. 203, 210.)

Indeed, the list of tools available to the Church as it performs its great mission is extensive, from carefully written lesson manuals to auxiliary organizations, from priesthood ordinances to home and visiting teaching assignments.

President Spencer W. Kimball said, "Now, to take the gospel to the whole world is a formidable undertaking. To even approach it, we must use every proper tool, device, and invention, and increase our effectiveness and our missionaries." (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 568.)'

There is wisdom in this. A popular saying applies: "If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem is a nail." Wisdom tells us that we should master as many tools as we can, especially those that touch people's hearts and bring them closer to the Lord.

A final caution is in order. Every craftsman knows that you have to maintain your tools and take care of them. They must be sharpened, aligned, calibrated, oiled, stored with care until they are needed, used properly, carefully and with respect. Otherwise they become rusted, dull, twisted and unsafe.

Brigham Young knew something of this. "I labored many years as a mechanic, and in the darkest night I could put my hand upon any tool I used," he said. (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 214.) That's an example we all should follow.