Chapter 10

Scriptures are a funny thing. Of all the volumes of scriptures available to us, it’s interesting how little we believe in them. We have our favorite verses. We read overused ones over and over again (think John 3:16). And there are those our church leaders use again and again to validate claimed authority. Add the interesting stories, you know…those scripture narratives that keep readers intrigued, and you have the core belief foundation of your ordinary church member. It’s mostly the safe stuff. Things you can believe in without having to question your faith or wrestle with the spirit in any way.

I bring this up because of an experience my missionary daughter shared with us recently. She and her companion one evening felt that something didn’t feel right in their house. There was a presence of darkness and they could feel it. Without going into too many details, her companion felt attacked at one point with something pressing down on her head and neck to the point where she could barely keep standing. They both saw some dark entity in a hallway and they couldn’t awaken the other two sisters who were asleep in another room. Even with all the commotion, they couldn’t wake up.

Fortunately, my daughter remembered what to do in this situation. As a young girl, she once had something similar happen in her bedroom and I needed to cast evil out. Drawing upon faith and confidence in the Lord, she commanded it to leave. After some more prayer, it was gone and the episode was over. I am thankful to God that we taught our children what to do in these scenarios and more importantly, that they have every right and power to exercise faith to dispel any evil spirit. The next day, she recounted the story to her mission president, who agreed with her actions and helped calm their nerves. While certainly frightening in the moment for those young women, I believe that these encounters can be powerful faith builders and necessary to spiritual progression. As she told us the story, my heart was full of joy knowing that this will only strengthen her.

Back to the scriptures. How often are evil spirits mentioned throughout the scriptures? A few times? A dozen times? A hundred times? I don’t know the exact answer, but my guess is closer to the latter. Just in the Lord’s ministry alone there are many examples of evil spirits running rampant. So why don’t we talk about this? Of all the wickedness in the world today, how much of it can be attributed to evil spirits taking control of mortal bodies? We seem to fear saying demonic possession in church like it’s something that only happened way back when. Did Satan take a break? Did he just stop trying to gain control of our minds and bodies? There seems to be widespread mental illness gripping our nation like a plague, and yet, I hear nothing in church about possession or evil spirits gaining access to our minds. People think they are opposite genders, are no gender, are animals, are fantasy creatures, or are afflicted with all manner of confusion. They have lost their divine identity. They have lost that knowledge that they are a child of Gods. They are eternal. They are valued. Their soul is unique in the universe.

And our church sits silently on the sidelines. When is the last time you’ve heard someone talk about casting out evil spirits from their home? How about casting them out of a person? When is the last time a church leader has spoken on the subject? When is the last time an apostle or general authority claimed to do so? When I ask these questions, I usually get the, “We don’t speak about sacred experiences like that in public” answer. Really? Since when? That’s exactly what scriptures are…recounting of miracles and faith building experiences. We should be talking about it more and if it’s because it’s not happening, then, oh boy, are we in trouble. Moroni warns us of what will happen if miracles cease.

Our answer today seems to be placing trust in the arm of flesh. If a child, teen, or adult seems messed up in the head, we turn to chemistry rather than ensuring that the individual hasn’t been taken over by a sinister being. Would you even know if a person has been possessed? Do you think we, as an LDS membership, have the discernment anymore to recognize it? I truly believe that possession is far greater today than during the Lord’s ministry, but it now goes unchecked. The very people who claim authority from God (not just leaders, but all priesthood holders), are negligent of their duty and responsibility.

Dealing with an evil spirit is difficult. It’s kinda like taking a test. You’re left on your own against a powerful enemy. What do you do? If you do nothing, it doesn’t just go away. Do you really believe all the scriptures or just the cute ones that make you feel good? Do you really believe that Satan and his minions are attacking our minds and bodies incessantly to take control? If so, what are you doing about it to recognize and prevent it from happening? Are we listening to the spirit when it tells us someone is “off”? This experience was a great reminder for me to keep my guard up, to call upon the powers of heaven to keep these influences out of my home, and to study fervently all the scriptures. Evil knows all the tricks and uses all of them all the time. Even the “old” ones. Be vigilant and if the time comes when you have one of these experiences, show faith and conviction in Jesus Christ and you will prevail.