Five Things About Demons
Knowledge obtained from uncomfortable experiences with dark spirits represent terrific moments in my life. Struggling with "knowing" malevolent forces seek my end, mainly because I could use science to explain away my experiences if ever I decided it all was not real. At the time of those disturbing experiences, it was very real, still very real! Some things I reveal may be uncomfortable to read, as they are uncomfortable to write.
Several lessons from my experiences I will mention in this article.
Kate Bennet speaks about the Seers, Demons and Guardians in her fictional trilogy. She may not be far off. The picture is the cover of her second book entitled Demons. Check out her trilogy. On the cover, it says that the motives of demons are simple and the methods are not. A truer characterization of the lot of them is covered in those words.
- Demons (The Seers Trilogy) by Heather Frost
Amazon.com: Demons (The Seers Trilogy) (9781462110346): Heather Frost: Books
The Five Things
Experiences
| Five Things
| People in Scriptures it happened to
|
---|---|---|
Happens to all of humanity daily
| For each spiritual encounter an equal and opposite experience is possible.
| Moses, Job, Cain, Paul, Joseph Smith, Jr, Jesus Christ, Alma to name a few
|
Author's experience
| Our spirits look like our physical body.
| Mahonri Moriacumer (brother of Jared), Moses, Jesus Chirst, Peter, James, John, Job to name a few
|
Many people of many faiths
| A full body possession is violent and rare.
| The Mute in Matt 9:32, Blind Mute in Matt 12:22, Man with unclean spirit in Mark 1:27 to name a few
|
People who do not get "high"
| Sobriety Prevents Spiritual Mistakes
| Jesus is the best example
|
Peopl who seek artificial "high"
| Inebriation is an Invitation to Evil Influence
| Noah and Lott are the best examples
|
One: Newton’s SPIRITUAL Third Law!
Isaac Newton postulated that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. I agree with him. Whatever action occurs a commiserate response life has taught me. For every spiritual experience with God there exists the potential to experience an equal and opposite experience with a dark spirit. Notice the modified wording.Potential is the key. There is a potential to have that wicked experience.
I mentioned this to one of the leaders of my church, the belief that when good things happen the potential for bad to happen exists. He told me that he did not believe that. I wanted to argue with him, but I held my tongue so that I would not dishonor a servant of God. Dissonance followed that meeting because, from my experience, I was correct. The things that I knew made my perspective plausible.
I think of what Joseph Smith Junior suffered before he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. He experienced a dark power that overcame him. It consumed him almost to the point that he could not speak and thought to lose his life! In the Joseph Smith History is recorded the following about the experience:
…I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light… It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound.[1]
After recalling Joseph’s experience and Moses’s experience and Alma the Younger's experience, I kept my belief. Each of the men I mentioned described in their records a similar experience that I had.
Now, again, I do not say that one has to have an equally dark experience, but we will have the potential, if we are not watchful, to have the opposite experience all things being equal to know the good from the bad. That experience can be a foul mood or a cranky day. It could be a grouchy disposition or an aggressive desire towards some thing or person. Satan knocking on the door and asking to come in will not always be the case!
Each time we allow our hearts to fill with darkness, we invite that experience. Also, I believe that for each dark experience there is an equally justifiable chance to feel the light. It does not have to be an angel, but kindness, love, peace, joy, and other positive feelings when we involve ourselves in positive things.
Two: Look in the Mirror if You Want to See God!
All of humanity is created in the image of God. From my experiences with them, I am confident that each spirit and mortal looks like human beings. Shocker. God declared in the beginning that we are created in the image of Them, male and female created They them. I like the wording in the scriptures. Look here:
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27
Mortals can have natural deformities, of course, that cause them to look different than most of humanity. Spirits tend not to be deformed in my estimation. Due to the conditions of mortal life, the elements that make up our bodies do not always follow the course set for them before the Fall of Adam and Eve. This occurs because the elements do not honor humanity because of our pension to dishonor ourselves. Luckily, that disparity only exists in time, mortality.
Our spirits, the ones in our physical bodies, look like our physical bodies. Generally, spirits have the same features of their physical bodies. I am sure some genetic variations have caused subtle differences, but that is another topic. From my experience with dark spirits, they do not appear any different than us. I have only actually seen one shared in another article.
My anecdotal view should be taken in that vein. I have read of others who have seen them, dozens of them at a time as distorted wisps or shadows. I have limited experience with seeing that version of them since I mostly only felt their presence--just as I only feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.
I cannot say those accounts are incorrect because these dark spirits appear to us and we can perceive them differently. About the appearance of those evil spirits who followed the devil having deformities, I doubt it. But such a topic I will not enter at this point.
We look like God from my personal experience based on what I have seen and what is written in the scriptures, human.
Three: Dreaded Possessions are Real!
Spirits have the power to manipulate our physical bodies, which is why the Holy Ghost could touch our hearts by causing the correct synapses to fire in our brains or hormones to react in our bodies to create the euphoric feelings we get when He or His presence is near testifying of Jesus Christ, the Father, or the gospel of Christ.
Joseph Smith Junior taught that the Holy Ghost does not have a body so that He can enter into our physical form and interact with our spirits to leave an indelible impression upon it that the person experiencing it cannot easily forget.
I felt the influence of the Spirit in my life strongly, several times to the consuming of my flesh to purification. Generally, we do not refer to the Holy Spirit inhabiting us as a possession. Our spirits within us, invite communion with the Holy Ghost by our very actions, behavior.
Many people have seen enough movies to fear demonic possession. It is real. I would not say that about the demonic possession movies that I see where the victims fly up a wall or hang on the ceiling. I have seen the convulsing and distorted looks in my own personal experience at my Protestant church as a child. Mostly, demons try to seduce people in some manner to invite them in. It is like a vampire being invited to a house. In order to enter, someone has to extend an invitation.
It is the same with demons. We extend invitations unawares by our behavior. Lying, cheating, stealing, anger and such are all invitations to these dark ones. Sudden onset of depression and hopelessness are also invitations. Any prolonged negative feeling invites demons around, who then do all they can to extend those feelings with their influence. I take exception with clinical depression caused by chemical imbalances. Clinical depression is a medical condition to be treated with pharmaceuticals and therapy.
A full-body possession is violent and rare. It is because the spirits within us know that the dark spirits are in rebellion to God. Even with an invitation, a direct "come on in," the result is violent. Our spirits, no matter how evil we are in this life, do not want to associate with demons at some subconscious level because those spirits represent failure and deception. Plus, we like to be in control of our own bodies. Having a foreign object, or spirit in our bodies causes us to instinctively assert dominion if we can--with both evil and good spirits.
We are commanded to submit our wills to God because we must make a concerted effort to do so if we are to feel the influences of the Spirit of God. God WILL NOT force His influence on any of His children. The devils will always use force. They know no peace.
Four: Sobriety Prevents Spiritual Mistakes
Related to this third thing is the fourth thing I learned. We should keep our bodies healthy and balanced so that we can recognize the Spirit of God when His influence interacts with us. I know this is not a demonic key, but it is one of the things I learned. A healthy body is a perfect receptacle of the Spirit of God, or the devil. Either way, the body must be responsive for either a demon or a heavenly spirit to influence.
Within the community of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and as a tenet of the faith, Christians avoid tea, tobacco, harmful drugs, and coffee. This oath is called the Word of Wisdom. Just as Daniel took an oath regarding his covenant with Jehovah not to partake of unclean things associated with the Gentiles, Latter-day Saints took an oath before baptism not to partake of those things and to partake of healthy things.
Inebriation Is Fun but Not Fun too
Five: Inebriation is an Invitation to Evil Influence
The fifth thing builds on the fourth that impairment in any way opens the mind and heart of any person to a dark version of the spirit. Without drugs obstructing our systems, we can hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost more clearly than we otherwise would hear. Anything that impairs our ability to function properly or relax inhibitions is satanic. If I were drunken, it would be more difficult to interact with the Spirit of God—not impossible, but difficult. The reason is that when we are pliable to suggestions due to artificial stimulation and such (no matter the form), we open ourselves up to the suggestions of the evil spirits that follow Satan. We do things that our HIBITIONS would not allow if we were in full control. The celebratory language of individuals who became so drunk they could not remember the previous night is misapplied. Rape and murder tend to follow healthy people who indulge in some recreational drug-form. I like to remember the night out!
Have you recognized experiences with the dark spirits in your life?
In conclusion, demons are real. If we understand what they are and who they are we will avoid doing things to invite their influence. We do not need to invite them since we will experience them without having to do a thing anyway at some point during our mortal life! Why multiply the experiences.
[1] JSH 1:15-17. Joseph Smith History is an official canonical record of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints detailing extracts of the life of Joseph Smith Junior, first prophet of the church.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2016 Rodric Anthony Johnson