Getting rid of evil spirits as a woman


irelandreed97
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so recently I have been wondering if there is a way to get rid of an evil spirit that may be lingering around me. I live alone, so I don't have a priesthood holder to ask when things are urgent. An example is that I went to be the other night with my bedroom door closed. I awoke in the middle of the night to footsteps. My eyes were closed but I could see, and my body was completely paralyzed. A dark figure started walking from my door all the way to the other side of my bed and I could see the tall dark shadow standing on the other side of my bed looking at me. No eyes, just a tall dark figure. I was panicking and trying everything to move in my paralyzed state and I couldn't. Finally I remembered my mom telling me she used to have the same type of experiences and she was told to raise your right hand to the square and say "in the name of Jesus Christ, get thee hence". She said if you can't physically do it, to do it in your mind. When I did that after a couple of times I could move and the figure was gone but the door was open. Is this the correct way for a woman to do something like this, or how would I go about doing this in a time of immediate need?

side note: I do not indulge in anything that would welcome any type of those spirits.

Edited by irelandreed97
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Welcome to the wonderful world of Sleep Paralysis.  I'm a card-carrying member, so is my dad, so is my brother, so is my son.  Seems like it runs in the family...

The first thing I advice is to always say your prayers before going to bed.  The next thing is to offer a prayer to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ when you find yourself in sleep paralysis.

The next thing I encourage you to do is to talk to your doctor and describe your sleep paralysis experience.  He will most likely refer you to a sleep specialist that will do some testing to rule out narcolepsy.  If you don't have narcolepsy, then sleep paralysis is uncomfortable, sometimes scary, but it shouldn't deprive you of good health.

Here's some tips to lower the incidences of sleep paralysis (my family has a consistent pattern - we used to experience a lot more of these as teen-agers and it slowly tapers down as one gets older):

1.)  Try to lower your stress levels.

2.)  Try to get an uninterrupted good night's rest - at least 6 hours.

3.)  When you experience it, don't panic.  Relax your body (prayer helps with this).  If you can go back to sleep even better.

4.)  If you feel like your choking, try to control your breathing by taking shallow but very even breaths and work towards breathing a bit deeper as your body relaxes.

5.)  If you see demons, don't panic.  Offer the prayer while relaxing your body to distract the focus from the dark presence.  If the presence is still there after the prayer, you can try counting sheep (make your mind focus on what the sheep's face look like while counting).

 

So... I don't want to dismiss your demonic experience or minimize it in any way.  I just want to explain my experience and my research on the matter:  Sleep paralysis occurs when you cycle through REM sleep (that stage in sleep where your mind is most active) and your body and brain goes out of synch.  So, during REM, your brain goes very active and so your brain shuts down your body so that your body won't respond to the brain stimulus and cause you to do dangerous stuff in your sleep.  At this stage, your brain goes into dreamland - but your body doesn't do anything about it because it is paralyzed.  The problem occurs when the REM cycle completes and your brain wakes up but your body has not received the signal yet to get out of paralysis mode.  So your brain and body gets out of synch.  There is only one solution to this and it is to wait for your body to get in synch with your brain.  What you do while waiting determines your experience (whether it's cool or scary or reverent or invited demons, etc.)... Sleep walking is another one of those where the body and the brain go out of synch in a REM cycle.  The brain paralyses the body while it goes through dreamscape but something goes awry so the body doesn't get paralyzed, it starts to respond to brain stimulus instead.

Hope this helps.

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I used to have sleep paralysis as a teenager as well.  I couldn't move, I couldn't yell out and there was always that feeling of something extremely evil around me.  I finally had a blessing and never had the problem again. But I put up with it for a long time before I finally had my dad give me a blessing.

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By the way, in the absence of the Priesthood in your home, your next stop for requesting blessings is through your Home Teacher.  If you don't have one or you don't know who it is, or you know who it is but they don't visit, bring it up with your Visiting Teacher, or your Relief Society President or your Elder's Quorum President so they can address the issue.  If that doesn't produce results, go to the Bishop and ask him to give you a blessing.

Hope this helps.

Edited by anatess2
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13 minutes ago, pam said:

I would also start singing "The Spirit of God" to myself.  That has always been my go to hymn for many occasions that I needed to direct my thoughts somewhere else or to try and bring the Spirit in.

I do this too!  That song is very spirit-lifting that sometimes I find myself singing it on the top of my lungs to drown out my bad thoughts!

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I'm not going to say it's not an evil spirit, but you also may not be getting enough air, particularly if you are sleeping on your back. I had similar problems only casting it out didn't work. I prayed about it, and got my answer, of all places, indirectly from "Coast to Coast AM"  a conspiracy theory, paranormal radio show on late at night.  I was bored enough to listen one night on my way to work, and they were talking about something, I forget what.   It sounded similar to but not exactly what I was experiencing. Now I don't put stock in that particular show, but I at least had a name to begin researching from.  After a night of research, I had a potential answer.  My nasal passages were closing off. I started using Breathe Right strips, and the unpleasant experiences went away. 

At this point the problem seems to have stopped as I haven't needed to use a strip in quite a while, but I still keep the strips on hand if I start getting the problem, I start using them again.  

Of course I had another experience when I felt something on my chest.  I touched it and it was hairy.  Then I woke up, grabbed at it, and it said "MEOW!"  I generally kick the cat out of the bedroom now. 

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11 hours ago, irelandreed97 said:

so recently I have been wondering if there is a way to get rid of an evil spirit that may be lingering around me. I live alone, so I don't have a priesthood holder to ask when things are urgent. An example is that I went to be the other night with my bedroom door closed. I awoke in the middle of the night to footsteps. My eyes were closed but I could see, and my body was completely paralyzed. A dark figure started walking from my door all the way to the other side of my bed and I could see the tall dark shadow standing on the other side of my bed looking at me. No eyes, just a tall dark figure. I was panicking and trying everything to move in my paralyzed state and I couldn't. Finally I remembered my mom telling me she used to have the same type of experiences and she was told to raise your right hand to the square and say "in the name of Jesus Christ, get thee hence". She said if you can't physically do it, to do it in your mind. When I did that after a couple of times I could move and the figure was gone but the door was open. Is this the correct way for a woman to do something like this, or how would I go about doing this in a time of immediate need?

side note: I do not indulge in anything that would welcome any type of those spirits.

You can run around asking for blessings from priesthood holders who may or may not have the necessary power in their priesthood to cast away these evil spirits, or you can do it yourself.  The problem with  many Latter-day Saints is that they believe more in science and scientific explanations than they do in the power of the priesthood.  Calling the problem "sleep paralysis" is a convenient "medical" explanation for those who do not believe in the power of Satan.  You obviously do not suffer from unbelief that results from false traditions and inherited lies, so you have the power to do it.  Joseph Smith taught that any baptized member has the power to cast out evil spirits.  " No matter who believeth, these signs, such as healing the sick, casting out devils, &c., should follow all that believe, whether male or female."  (HC 4:603) 

Like I said, do it yourself.

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Just to confirm and add to what others have said, it is within your power to command these evil spirits to leave. I have found a prayer from the heart is sufficient in most instances. Because I have needed to offer such prayers fairly regularly I have come to recognize the feeling. If I don't offer a prayer from the heart nothing happens, but when I do it correctly I feel a power flowing from me and then an immediate different feeling in the room, the fear leaves and I am at peace again. I have not experienced paralysis but I could see this being a scary experience.  

Some think that you can offer a prayer once and such a spirit will be gone for good. I don't believe this is typically the case. You must offer regular prayers to cast them out and protect your home. 

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16 hours ago, irelandreed97 said:

so recently I have been wondering if there is a way to get rid of an evil spirit that may be lingering around me.

Remember that Joseph Smith did not have the priesthood when he went into the Sacred Grove to pray.

Quote

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.

 16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me

 ...It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound.

I had an experience very similar to Joseph's.  It bound my tongue, so even though I held the priesthood, I couldn't do what I'd been taught.  My entire body felt like it was bound, so I couldn't raise my arm to the square.

Recognizing exactly what it was, I did exactly what Joseph did.  I said a pleading prayer in my heart.  And I felt delivered out of the enemy which held me bound.

One can call it sleep paralysis if one wishes.  I'd have no scientific evidence to say anything to the contrary.  But when I felt relief at the very moment I plead with God, I find that to be an awfully convenient paralysis.

Edited by Guest
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It certainly sounds like sleep paralysis. I've experienced it quite a few times - very similar to what Anatess and Pam describe - not with "demons" per se, but with a feeling of panic and inability to move - sometimes a powerful force holding me back against the bed. My wife tells me I make "wimpering" noises when it happens - when she hears me she gives me a nudge and I come fully awake.

Sleeping with your eyes open can produce strange effects: a few years ago I was admitted to hospital with acute asthma, and I was lying on one of their trolley-bed things. I was dead-tired but unable to sleep properly because of the effort needed to keep breathing. I went into a kind of miserable doze during which which I clearly saw a woman with a round face looking at me. She was quite beautiful, with long dark hair; a bit like Anna Ford in her younger days. As I gradually woke up the face changed until it became the rivet in the side of the bed, and I realized that was what I had been looking at all along. I can only suppose is that the dream-state does strange things to the information we receive from our senses.

I also once read an article* which suggest that Fuseli's painting "The Nightmare" is a representation of sleep paralysis: the ugly fella on the sleeper's chest is the force holding her down. (The most scary part of the painting for me is the nasty-looking horse in the background - some suggest is the steed the demon arrived on - probably combined with the pun of "mare" in "nightmare").

John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare.JPG

*I don't know if this is the same article but it says much the same as the one I'm referring to: http://www.thesleepparalysisproject.org/about-sleep-paralysis/culture-and-history/

Edited by Jamie123
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13 hours ago, Jojo Bags said:

You can run around asking for blessings from priesthood holders who may or may not have the necessary power in their priesthood to cast away these evil spirits, or you can do it yourself.  The problem with  many Latter-day Saints is that they believe more in science and scientific explanations than they do in the power of the priesthood.  Calling the problem "sleep paralysis" is a convenient "medical" explanation for those who do not believe in the power of Satan.  You obviously do not suffer from unbelief that results from false traditions and inherited lies, so you have the power to do it.  Joseph Smith taught that any baptized member has the power to cast out evil spirits.  " No matter who believeth, these signs, such as healing the sick, casting out devils, &c., should follow all that believe, whether male or female."  (HC 4:603) 

Like I said, do it yourself.

 

Huh? Seems like you have a beef with those that can integrate science with religion. I have had my experiences with weird stuff that cannot be explained, along with people I trust and love tell me theirs. Some real, creepy stuff mind you. However, in this case, it does sound like sleep paralyses, which is a real thing. Do you deny what those that have experienced it have said? There have been a good balance on this thread between a scientific explanation and advise on how to deal with it, along with religious, faithful ideas that could help. 

I wonder how many people thought that having a child born with mental illness meant that they were possessed? But now, you can accept that they aren't right? Faith and living the gospel can help in any situation, whether it is scientifically explained or not. 

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3 hours ago, EarlJibbs said:

 

Huh? Seems like you have a beef with those that can integrate science with religion. I have had my experiences with weird stuff that cannot be explained, along with people I trust and love tell me theirs. Some real, creepy stuff mind you. However, in this case, it does sound like sleep paralyses, which is a real thing. Do you deny what those that have experienced it have said? There have been a good balance on this thread between a scientific explanation and advise on how to deal with it, along with religious, faithful ideas that could help. 

I wonder how many people thought that having a child born with mental illness meant that they were possessed? But now, you can accept that they aren't right? Faith and living the gospel can help in any situation, whether it is scientifically explained or not. 

I have no problem with science as long as it agrees with the revealed word of God.  It's the pseudo science of psychiatry that I have a serious problem with.  I think, among other GA's it was Pres. Kimball who noted that Sigmund Fraud was deceived.  The foundation of psychiatry is flawed since it denies the very existence of God, Satan and evil spirits.  When you build on a flawed foundation, the building also is flawed.  Medical science has given diagnoses for things that the scriptures have identified as, at times, actually being caused by possession by evil spirits.  Not all illnesses are a result of possession, but many are.  I counted up all the miracles that involved healing performed by Christ and the apostles and fully 38% of them involved the casting out of evil spirits. 
 

Quote

 

These evil spirits have great power to tempt, persuade and entice men to deny the correct origin of man. We do not see them, but we do feel their presence, and unconsciously we hearken to their whisperings. Having been denied bodies they, at times, steal them. It is a common error, especially in scientific circles to scoff at such a thing as the temptation by the devil and more especially so to ridicule the idea that these wicked spirits have power to possess living bodies and subdue the spirit within them. But all the scoffing and ridicule does not change the fact. The stories of possession as recorded in the New Testament are true. The scoffer cannot explain away successfully the casting out of devils by Jesus Christ, when they called him by name and he commanded them to hold their peace; the story of the devils asking to enter the bodies of swine; the story of the seven sons of Sceva, and numerous others listed in the scriptures. There are scores of such incidents that have occurred in this dispensation. Our missionaries can give the evidence in such cases. No, it is not always a diseased mind that disturbs the normal thinking, the possession by devils is a positive fact.

Joseph Fielding Smith

Man, His Origin and Destiny, pp 282-283

 

In the early 1900's the Church in officially sanctioned Sunday school lessons that possession was a common event.  I have copies of two of those lessons that were published in the Young Woman's Journal.  According to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, there are conditions involving sin, depression, and physical weakness under which evil spirits can force entry into human bodies.  What I'm saying is that there is a possibility that what doctors call "sleep paralysis" is actually possession.  I wrote an extensive treatise on evil spirits that includes an appendix of over 100 pages of quotes about evil spirits, false spirits, deception, and discernment from the scriptures, prophets, apostles, missionaries, and LDS scholars.  In my research, I have concluded that possession by evil spirits is the single most common affliction of mankind.

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On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 8:13 PM, Jojo Bags said:

I wrote an extensive treatise on evil spirits that includes an appendix of over 100 pages of quotes about evil spirits, false spirits, deception, and discernment from the scriptures, prophets, apostles, missionaries, and LDS scholars.  In my research, I have concluded that possession by evil spirits is the single most common affliction of mankind.

I'd be interested in reading it.

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2 hours ago, MormonGator said:

I got rid of evil spirits by disinviting @Carborendum to my dinner parties.  

That's only because I was the only Mormon friend that would bring Tequila and other spirits to your parties.

Oh.  Wait....

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Guest MormonGator
2 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

That's only because I was the only Mormon friend that would bring Tequila and other spirits to your parties.

Oh.  Wait....

LOL! That's awesome. LOL 

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This is very interesting to me because on Wednesday (the day this was posted) I suddenly thought of the experiences I had had with evil spirits and what I had done to get ride of them. I even thought of this forum and wondered if it had been addressed recently. I don't find this a coincidence and feel I should share a couple of my experiences. I don't usually share them as most people don't understand, and I don't take them lightly. I feel that this is an appropriate time to share. 

We don't have a priesthood holder in our house either so I can relate to irelandreed97. 

So here it goes. 

One night I was having a very bad night. I became very depressed. I have been diagnosed with depression so some night are just bad, I feeling the typical symptoms of depression. But this night was different and it was much worse. The feeling were almost overpowering, it was depression multiplied by 100. I felt doomed like my soul was going to be destroyed. I didn't understand what was going on and couldn't think clearly. It felt black and dark. I was crying trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly out of the blue I heard a voice shout three times to PRAY! it was an urgent command. Because I wasn't thinking clearly I hadn't thought about it before. I immediately got on my knees and prayed. I pleaded with the Lord to help me feel better and for my feelings to leave me. The feeling of darkness and destruction left immediately. I was even able to relax and have a good nights sleep. I didn't put any connection to an evil spirit and thought it was just the worse depression episode I must have gone through, I was grateful for the Lords help. But the next night my sister, who lives with me, started to see something black coming after her. I had not told her of my experience the night before. My sister is kinda immature for her age and I thought was just her over active imagination (it has happened before). I kept telling her was nothing and just ignore it. She came into my room to talk to me and the blackness followed her and she screamed out in terror , I finally realized something wasn't right. she was adamant it was something evil and I started putting 2 and 2 together and realized that my experience the night before and her experience was coming from the same source. When I realized this I started feeling uneasy again. We tried to pray but it didn't help. It was around 12 at night and I didn't want to wake anyone up so I decided to rebuke the evil spirit myself. I was nervous at first, very nervous but raised my right had a said, "In the name of Jesus Christ and by the priesthood of God I command you to leave." It IMMEDIATELY left. It wasn't happy it was being commanded to leave and I felt it swiftly leave the house, my sister saw the blackness leave immediately. It was so real that it we both pointed in the same direction we had "felt" or "seen" it leave the room. After it left we both felt a tremendous relief. We practically feel into each other arms crying. We both had a comforting feeling after we were able to go to sleep.

The next day we had a priesthood holder come and give us a blessing and pronounce a blessing on the house. It was a very scary experience but we  know it was by the power of God that the evil spirit left.

 

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My other experience came in the form of a dream and some people above would call it sleep paralysis. I went to bed as usual and dreamt of a ball of fire coming in front of me. It looked just like the sun but was only about 2 feet in diameter. It began to mock the temple and the rituals in the temple. It flew in front of my face unrestrained. As it did so I thought to myself that I knew exactly what to do, I would raise my hand and command it to leave. But the "sun" had bound my hands and harms, I could not raise them. I wrestled and fought to set my harms free but I could not. I then thought to myself, if I could not raise my hand to rebuke it I would could rebuke the "sun" verbally and that if I commanded in Jesus Christ name it would leave. But when I tried to speak I found that my mouth was also bound. I could not speak. I tried all night to loose my hands or to speak but could not. All the while the "sun" continue to mock the temple. I don't know why I did not think to pray. It went on all night, I finally woke up in the morning exhausted. I immediately knelt down and prayed. I also made and appointment with my Home Teacher to get a blessing. 

My home teacher had been a mission president and temple president and was very knowledgeable about the gospel. In the blessing he rebuked the evil spirit. He also told me of an experience of a general authority (I don't remember his name) who had a similar experience. The GA was working one day and an evil spirit opened his door and entered his room, he proceeded to try and convince him that the church was not true, the GA rebuked the evil spirit and it immediately got up and left the room. 

As Jojo Bags stated the earlier general authorities talked more of evil spirits then they do now. But they exist today as much as they existed  then. I am glad he posted the quote given by Joseph Fielding Smith. Maybe Satan does use sleep paralysis as a way to tempt and afflict men. I don't know, but I do know we can not take these experiences lightly. And we must use our the priesthood and help from our Heavenly Father to combat Satan and his followers.

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Guest MormonGator
2 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I was about to say... four times???:twothumbsup:

Love you, bro.

lol. Am I redundant, or do I just repeat myself? Maybe I'm repetitive. 

 

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