Define Guile

What is guile? Why is it a bad thing to have guile? And if guile is such a bad thing, why isn't it a bad thing that Ammon caught King Lamoni with it?

Though the usually dictionary definitions suggest that guile can refer to any kind of cunning or craftiness, not necessarily deception, the Guide to the Scriptures makes the term unfortunately clear: "In the scriptures, guile is deceitful cunning." Judging by the General Conference talks that have mentioned guile and many of the scriptures that also do, guile seems to be a bad trait to have.

Elder Ringwood's talk, Truly Good and Without Guile, mentions guile many times, mostly stating that those who are truly good and without guile do what's right, without any consideration of glory-seeking. But the phrase "truly good and without guile" did not come from Elder Ringwood. He borrowed that phrase, and the entire paragraph in which he heard it, from President Deiter F. Uchtdorf's talk, "Lord, Is It I?" However, President Uchtdorf used the word "guile" only this one time during that talk:

Over the course of my life, I have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the most competent and intelligent men and women this world has to offer. When I was younger, I was impressed by those who were educated, accomplished, successful, and applauded by the world. But over the years, I have come to the realization that I am far more impressed by those wonderful and blessed souls who are truly good and without guile.

Thankfully, my search of the scriptures turned up more results, though no more answers. In the Doctrine and Covenants, a few individuals are said to be without guile, in a context that implies that that trait made them trustworthy. An example of this is George Miller, who is mentioned in D&C 124: 20:

And again, verily I say unto you, my servant George Miller is without guile; he may be trusted because of the integrity of his heart; and for the love which he has to my testimony I, the Lord, love him.

In the New Testament, when Jesus Christ described Nathanael as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile" (John 1:47), He seemed to have meant it as a compliment. But Nathanael wasn't the only person alive at time who lacked guile. In 1 Peter 2:22, Jesus Christ was described as being a man "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." And this came after verse 21, which tells us that Jesus set an example for us to follow!

Yet, in the Book of Mormon and in the New Testament, two servants of God caught those whom they were preaching to with guile, and one of them openly admitted it. In Alma chapter 18, Ammon asked King Lamoni if he would believe what he was about to teach him. "And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I will believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with guile" (Alma 18: 23). And in Paul's second epistle to the Corinthians, he confessed that, "being crafty, I caught you with guile" (2 Corinthians 12: 16).

I'm going to have to do more studying to find out why it was okay for Ammon and Paul to use guile, even though it's clear from many scriptural sources that possessing guile is not usually a good thing. Perhaps possessing guile is bad, but catching someone with it isn't? But that doesn't make any sense. Like I said, more study is required. I'll look more closely at the story of Ammon to determine exactly how he caught King Lamoni with guile and whether he did anything crafty or deceitful in doing so. It would be harder to find out when and how Paul caught the Corinthians with guile. The records of that event may not even exist. So I'll just work with what I have. Did Ammon do something wrong by catching King Lamoni with guile? If not, what made that okay? I look forward to finding the answers to those questions. But first, I have some chores to do.