Hope this doesn't offend.

[Romanytony]

First hello, I am new to this forum and hope I can make full use of it in the future. Right now I have an urgent request, and I hope I don't offend by asking this question.

Here goes. I live in an old building, part of which is vacant and due to be refurbished. Several friends and some family members have all experienced some form of evil presence. Our local Bishop has blessed the building but friends tell us they have seen several 'entities'.

I personally have never seen anything but do feel a coldness and feel a shiver when I go in there.

I want to go in and use the priesthood authority to banish whatever it is and cleans the place once and for all. The rest of our home is peaceful, please can anyone give advice.

[Hemidakota]

Are you an Elder with great faith?

[Romanytony]

I am a High Priest, yes, I do have faith in the priesthood.

[Hemidakota]

You have the priesthood necessary and ability to blessed the residence. It is always an additional blessing to have another Elder or HP to assist in the blessing.

[Hemidakota]

Oh! I suspect there is foul play with the spirits with lingering in the residence.

[Romanytony]

Thanks, of course another priesthood holder would be advisable but not available at present, so I am going alone. I guess I just want re-assurance that nothing can harm or affect me without me allowing that to happen. Isn't that so? What exactly do you mean by 'foul play'?

[Hemidakota]

Church policy on blessing homes...

Dedicating Homes

Church members may dedicate their homes, whether or not they are free of debt, as sacred edifices where the Holy Spirit can reside. A member may dedicate his home as a sanctuary for his family where family members can worship, find safety from the world, grow spiritually, and prepare for eternal family relationships. Unlike Church buildings, homes are not dedicated and consecrated to the Lord.

To dedicate his home, a member might gather his family members around him and offer a special prayer that would include the elements mentioned above, or other appropriate words.

[Hemidakota]

Thanks, of course another priesthood holder would be advisable but not available at present, so I am going alone. I guess I just want re-assurance that nothing can harm or affect me without me allowing that to happen. Isn't that so? What exactly do you mean by 'foul play'?

[paraphrase] "...spirit prison is here..." by President Brigham Young. If that is the case, this person has caused committed a serious offense and is still here for a reason. Foul Play - murderer, committed suicide, and so forth.

As long you live by the covenants, you have nothing to fear.

Wicked Spirits Have Their Bounds and Limits

It would seem also, that wicked spirits have their bounds, limits, and laws by which they are governed or controlled, and know their future destiny; hence, those that were in the maniac said to our Savior, "Art thou come to torment us before the time," and when Satan presented himself before the Lord, among the sons of God, he said that he came "from going to and fro in the earth, and from wandering up and down in it." And he is emphatically called the prince of the power of the air; and, it is very evident that they possess a power that none but those who have the Priesthood can control, as we have before adverted to, in the case of the sons of Sceva.

Having said so much upon general principles, without referring to the peculiar situation, power, and influence of the magicians of Egypt, the wizards and witches of the Jews, the oracles of the heathen, their necromancers, soothsayers, and astrologers, the maniacs or those possessed of devils in the Apostles' days, we will notice, and try to detect (so far as we have the scriptures for our aid) some few instances of the development of false spirits in more modern times, and in this our day. Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith by Joseph Smith, Alma P. Burton

"Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection-Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that... the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise. ... And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked... shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth .... Thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection." Alma 40:11-14

And where is it that the spirit of man goes at death? Where is the world of spirits? Joseph Smith taught: "The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work; hence they are blessed in their departure to the world of spirits." The Prophet then added that "they are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings,16 and motions, and are often pained therewith." In speaking of the nearness of the world of spirits, Parley P. Pratt wrote that "it is here on the very planet where we were born." Continuing, he explained: "The earth and all other planets of a like sphere, have their inward or spiritual spheres, as well as their outward, or temporal. The one is peopled by temporal tabernacles, and the other by spirits. A veil is drawn between the one sphere and the other, whereby all the objects in the spiritual sphere are rendered invisible to those in the temporal." Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, 9th ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1965), pp. 126-27; italics added; see also Brigham Young, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976), 3:367-69.

Edited June 8, 2009 by Hemidakota

[Hemidakota]

Ensuring that Pam doesn't beat me with a bat over referencing, regarding the Spirit World location:

The world of spirits is one world, even as the world of mortals is one world. We live and act in a world today wherein we find saints and sinners in one sphere; the degraded and defiled, as well as the pious and the pure go about their business on the very same stage of the mortal drama. So it is in the world hereafter-"the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil" (Alma 40:11), live and move and have their being in one and the same realm. "Where is the spirit world?" Brigham Young asked. He then answered: "It is right here. Do the good and evil spirits go together? Yes, they do. Do they both inhabit one kingdom? Yes, they do." And yet, even as the pure maintain a separate existence from the perverse in this stage of action, so also is there a division between spirits beyond the veil of death. On the one hand, death is a great leveler: it breaks all the bands of poverty, infirmity, and worldly caste or station. On the other hand, death is a great separator, an occasion wherein a "partial judgment" of the spirit results in a designated area of residence. That there was a major separation of the righteous and the wicked before the ministry of the disembodied Savior is evident from the scriptures. (See D&C 138; Luke 16:19-31; 1 Ne. 15:26-30.) Regarding the nature of things since the meridian of time, Heber C. Kimball asked: "Can those persons who pursue a course of carelessness, neglect of duty, and disobedience, when they depart from this life, expect that their spirits will associate with the spirits of the righteous in the spirit world? I do not expect it, and when you depart from this state of existence, you will find it out for yourselves." Life Beyond, by Robert L. Millet, Joseph Fielding McConkie

Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (Liverpool: F. D. Richards & Sons, 1855-86), 3:369

Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (Liverpool: F. D. Richards & Sons, 1855-86), 2:150; cf. Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, 9th ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1965), pp. 127-28.

[Romanytony]

Thanks so much for such a full answer, can't understand all of what Joseph Smith said, but am very pleased that you didn't laugh at me. To those that have experienced the presence it is very real and very powerful. Without prompting they have separately come to the same area of the building, in fact the exact spot and identified it as where the spirit is strongest, and now refuse to enter the building. If only we had 'Taps' in this country! Only joking.

I have felt the spirit of the Holy Ghost often in my life, and have been guided and felt his influence. To acknowledge the positive also means there is an opposition, which only gives weight to my testimony.

Thanks again.

[Hemidakota]

I be the first one to answer a question like this since, I have experience more than one occasion evil spirits.

[Romanytony]

That seems to open another question, I was under the impression that 'visitations' and other paranormal activity comes from the third that followed Lucifer, which is why we are advised not to dabble with anything that does not come from the Lord. Prior to joining the church I had experience of paranormal activity, and after joining the church understood that it all came from the dark side, however the quotes above say that sometimes it is from people that had lived and passed on.

[a-train]

Stop reading ghost stories for a while.

-a-train

[Romanytony]

I totally agree a-train re ghost stories, I never read them or watch so called paranormal TV shows (my wife does like watching Taps though), all of the sightings have come from others, family members and friends, all long time church members. I have never seen anything, one friend said he was 'jumped and attacked' the other day when he walked through the building, he is an elder and has a great knowledge of the scriptures. All I want is a peaceful home, filled with the spirit.

By the way I like the quote re personal/public interests, for a long time I have felt that having an aspiration to be an politician should be an automatic exclusion default.

[Hemidakota]

That seems to open another question, I was under the impression that 'visitations' and other paranormal activity comes from the third that followed Lucifer, which is why we are advised not to dabble with anything that does not come from the Lord. Prior to joining the church I had experience of paranormal activity, and after joining the church understood that it all came from the dark side, however the quotes above say that sometimes it is from people that had lived and passed on.

Visitation comes from both sides. Unfortunately, meeting Lucifer face-to-face or one of his cronies is not for every one.

[FunkyTown]

I feel badly for the third, to be honest. As difficult as the times are here, are we really going to maintain hatred for eternity when their ending is far worse than any temporal pain we're put through here? I wouldn't be afraid to confront them with the Priesthood. Exorcising evil spirits is one of the signs of a believer, so use that Priesthood! You'll be fine.:)

Plus, the Son of Man is on your side, so you aren't alone. :)

[Wingnut]

One doesn't have to hold the Priesthood in order to cast out Spirits. It can be done by anyone with faith, so long as it is done in the name of Jesus Christ.

[its_Chet]

It is not my place to counsel a High Priest, but I offer my humble thoughts and observations for whatever they're worth to whoever reads them.

I believe that physical danger posed by evil spirits is very real. Joseph Smith Jr. was attacked in the sacred grove. His ability to speak was affected, among other things. On a few occasions I have been attacked in my sleep, while dreaming, and normally I am unable to speak without great effort and multiple attempts. When I get the ability, I have always used the Priesthood (in my dream) to banish the presence from me. Whether or not we can use the Priesthood in our sleep I leave to you to decide for yourself.

I believe a person is more vulnerable to this sort of attack when they're sleeping, for reasons that are obvious as well as ones that aren't. I also believe that the more a person thinks about this stuff, the more vulnerable they become, though I can't explain why. I have observed that people who come from poor countries tend to be much more susceptible to spiritual experiences of various kinds, both good and bad, while people whose cultures cause them to be jaded and cynical have no knowledge of these experiences. They are too numb to experience the good, and normally the bad as well. A friend of mine served his mission in Curitiba, Brazil, and he told me a true, scarey story that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up all night, I have heard of no such experiences in the more developed countries.

I believe that these attacks can be conducted by the third of Father's children that sided with Lucifer, as well as people who have lived and died and whose hearts are far enough from the Savior that they don't mind trying to harm others, alive or dead.

I have read a book about people who have left their bodies and returned to them (near death experiences). The book is called "Glimpses of Eternity" and was written by Arvin S. Gibson, a member of the Church. He interviewed Church members, inactives, and non members alike. A few of their stories involved attacks from evil spirits. One was the story of a college professor who was an atheist. As the story goes, he left his body in the hospital, and was coaxed out into the hall by spirits. He was led down the hall, which seemed to become an entirely different place from the hospital. The further he got from his body, the more aggressive and threatening the growing number of spirits around him became, until eventually they were attacking him "physically" (which caused him pain that he could feel). At that point, he began saying anything remotely religious sounding that he could think of: "On the first day, God created light", etc. He had no idea what to say, but he knew he needed Divine assistance, and attempted to solicit it any way he could. Though the things he was saying were mostly simple recitations of vague recollections of scripture, the spirits recoiled from him whenever he would say it. They demanded that he stop talking about God, and the mere mention of Him seemed to repulse them to some degree or another. At some point, with the spirits not yet successfully banished, he called on Jesus Himself to save him. Then Jesus came and the spirits left.

We have been advised, when our mind seems overrun by impure thoughts that we wish to rid ourselves of, to sing, hum, or play in our minds our favorite hymn. I submit that if you were to download some hymns from the Church's website, burn them to CD, and play them in an area where you detect hostile spirits, you might very well drive them from there. Or perhaps you might anger them. Either way, you'll be able to observe the strength of their resolve.

Think of it like this: there are people living among us whose hearts are very far from God, and when you discuss religion around them they are offended. They may flee from you. They may become agitated and cause you problems. I suspect the same can generally be said of spirits. As long as you demonstrate genuine faith, I suspect that eventually they won't be able to tolerate hanging around any longer, and flee from you. Of course, they may take action against you first before they give up, but we know that at least on the other side of the veil, Heavenly Father's authority cannot be denied.

Make no mistake, this is literally a turf war, and you need to be packing, whether it's "firepower" or your belongings, if you get my meaning. Your position is one of staking a claim on an environment that is claimed already by people who don't answer to your private property rights, or any worldly office that would enforce those rights. The battle lines are drawn and either you or they will win this. And you may be able to judge how hard they are willing to fight. You know they can't beat the Savior, but when we act in His name we become a variable in the equation and that's the tricky part.

I am reminded of the Savior's teachings on such matters. His disciples were unable to cast out devils on one occasion of which we know, and He told them that they could only be banished with fasting and greater faith than those disciples had. He also said on another occasion that when you banish an evil spirit it will probably attempt to return, and so you must be on guard against that. By this I believe He meant that we should use the time when they're gone to mature spiritually and increase our faith.

It takes faith to cast out devils, and by faith, I infer the definition given in the Lectures on Faith: Not only believing, but knowing that you're doing everything you can to obey Father and qualify for His blessings. I asked a missionary about dedicating my home once and he said that until I had gotten rid of some CDs I had with some bad language on them, there was no point. I inferred that until every square inch of our homes is as spiritually pure as we can make it, dedicating the house will not work. At least partially, or perhaps not at all. Not sure.

My personal guidelines:

• Don't watch lots of ghost stories or TV shows about paranormal investigators, whether I think they're staged or not.
• Spend very little time, if any at all, thinking about encounters with evil spirits.
• Keep my home as spiritually clean as possible (throw out or edit movies and music that offend the Spirit).
• Do all I can to abolish or flee from contention in my home (no raised voices, verbal abuse, etc.).
• Avoid telling any stories like the one my friend told me from his mission.

I don't know how much of this, if any, is helpful. I'm afraid the best any of us can do is share what we know and leave it up to you to piece it together the best you can, and figure out your own way, with Father's help.

[Romanytony]

Thanks again, great answers. I think it's a good idea to set some spiritual music over there, I should explain, my wife and I and our two sons own this complex of buildings which was a woolen mill. American troops were station here during the war and some Italian POW's. The building in question is right opposite my home and is huge and empty. It all started when my daughter-in-law went into the building and came out screaming, like she was possessed. It lasted for some hours and we called the Bishop out. Eventually she calmed down, I have never seen anything like it. The nearest I have ever come to experiencing anything from the other side is when I feel prompted by the Holy Ghost, and one occasion when I had a bad dream and used the name of the Saviour.

To be honest I felt a little like the preacher who advised Joseph Smith to prey for guidance regarding which church to join, and when told of the visitation said those things don't happen. Because I have never experienced anything bad I had my doubts. Now my daughter in law has been LDS all her life, she has never felt anything like this before, she said it was evil.

I will play some good music over there, maybe leave it running all night, and then go in and say a prayer.

[skippy740]

If only they could "Hie to Kolob"! :)

[Romanytony]

skippy, are you sure you posted this in the right thread, I have no idea what you are on about, 'different terminology' etc.

Anyway I can see this thread going on forever and I don't want any of you good people dwelling any longer on the negative, the answers have been superb and I have learned a lot, I know nothing can harm me as long as I stay obedient and have the spirit of the Holy Ghost with me. I now recognize the various origins of these entities, but where they come from doesn't really matter as I know the Lord is more powerful than all.

God bless you all.

[FunkyTown]

One doesn't have to hold the Priesthood in order to cast out Spirits. It can be done by anyone with faith, so long as it is done in the name of Jesus Christ.

Your FACE can cast out evil spirits, Wing!

[pam]

Your FACE can cast out evil spirits, Wing!

OOOOOOOOOOOO...snap

[its_Chet]

I'll be praying for you and your family's safety, Romanytony. Please be sure to be on your A game, and make any covenants you can think of. Fasting would probably be advisable also. I doubt this is going to be easy. You may be stirring up a hornets' nest, and this may escalate before it's done. Nonetheless, we both know the Savior's got your back. We're pulling for you!

[FunkyTown]

OOOOOOOOOOOO...snap

Hahah. Thanks, Pam.