LocalFarms

I only believe they can make us think they can control us physically, through the power of suggestion.

I believe we will be judged by our fruits.

I wasn't claiming that... I was claiiming that the popular notion of a person under demonic possession being like a puppet on strings being totally controlled by a spirit entity that never leaves that body until it is cast out by a priesthood holder is not how I understand scriptures to describe spirit possession. The person still had enough control of themselves to ask the the unclean spirit be cast out. I think of spirit possession to be of a type (but certainly of no comparison) to the spirit of god. Anytime you are feeling lustful thoughts, for example, you are inviting a spirit of lust to reside within you. That spirit may compel you to do different things (i.e. one person may be compelled to seek after immoral acts with a woman and another may just be compelled to look at porn) but it is still the same "spirit". The same can be said about hate, pride, envy, or any other sin. Also, the more you invite a particular type of spirit into your home or your body you make it easier for that spirit to dwell there.

But a drug addict does not have to commit a sinful act to become an addict. There are many cases where people become addicted to prescription medication due to malpractice by their doctors, children born to drug addicts are also addicted to the drugs their mothers used. Someone can also be led astray by a false spirit into believing that using a particular drug (say marijuana) is okay and in fact needed for their health. Of course the way to dispute whether a personal revelation is true is to hold it up to the word of the prophets

Yes they asked the lord to cast them out. For me there is a huge dissonance between the biblical accounts and the hollywoodized version.

I knew that the point of this post would be missed. I was trying to show that where it is not a sin to be a drug addict it is still a sin to use drug. Likewise a person can have ssa and not be "in sin" per se, but this does not legitamize in any way the homosexual act, regardless of wether it is within the bounds of marriage.

I'm totally OCD

It is also interesting that people with ssa tend to have addictive personalities

I agree we have a different deffinition Gwen and this is something I'd like us to investigate further. It is my opinion that we today have a faulty idea about what spirit possession is. I do not believe in the Hollywood/ Exorcist version of spirit possession. Have you ever seen someone be hypnotized by a stage hypnotist? They are made to do silly things like eat onions like they're apples and cluck like a chicken on stage. Does the hypnotist jump inside them and start pulling the puppet strings? No he usesthe power of persuasion to convince you you WANT to eat that onion or cluck like a chicken in front of everyone you know. This is similar to how I think an unclean spirit can take possession of a person. Sometimes the persuasion can become almost inescapable (as I learned durring my own experience with asleep paralysis), but, I believe, the spirit can't make you do anything you don't want to do.

isn't there scripture about saints in the Celestial Kingdom visiting their family members in the Terrestrial?

I believe every time you choose to sin you are inviting an unclean spirit possession over you. To the greater extent that you sin you give greater control to an unclean spirit in possession over you.

A drug addict can be intrigued with the idea of using drugs and convince himself that it is okay to do long before he ever touches drugs

I would be interested in this article please.

oh and wanted to say that the purpose of the above post was not to say "I think you are wrong because" but rather "this is why I think the way I do"

In repsonse to homosexual attractions not being wrong. I know you don't believe in comparing homosexuality to drug addiction ( for the record I do), but can you agree that it is not a sin to be a drug addict, but it is a sin to use illicit drugs? We can further say that it is possible that drug addiction is a form of spirit possession. Now to think a step further, a drug addict can refuse to use drugs, even though they feel a strong compulsion to do so (i.e. spirit possession? you with me here?). Now they don't give in to this compulsion, therefore they don't sin, but they are still, in my theory anyway, possessed by the unclean spirit. Therefore it can still be said of these individuals "It is not a sin to be a drug addict" but it can also be true that they are harbouring an unclean spirit.

If we all went to the kindom we were trying for, the telestial kingdom would be pretty empty. Since we know there will be some who end up there and the terrestrial as well, we can assume that some will go to kingdoms where they didn't "try for". Do you believe that these will be unhappy there?

Not where they want to be but where they are happiest

Wonderful, I learn something new every day.

Got our year supply, camping gear, first aid kits and year supply in the RV

Welcome Ruskala. Does your nickname mean something in russian?

For me the deffinition of the natural man is someone who is guided by their "self" (inwardness) versus their God (outwardness).

That's why I'm here

I would counter that NONE of our unrighteous wants can be satisfied in the gospel. For the record I lived for years as an out and proud gay man. If the churched announced that I would be homosexual in the next life I would accept it if the spirit confirmed that this is true. I would also accept it if the church said we'll be fish living in jello if the spirit confirmed it but I don't see it happening

I have been watching the USGS website for the last six years and I can say that from an artistic (non-scientific I'll admit) perspective it is very apparent that the size and distribution of earthquakes is growing exponentially.

We are all expected to live a life that is against our "wants"