My Exorcism

[blazerb]

So, in honor of the day, I thought I would tell a story that I have not told very often anywhere. I once cast out an evil spirit or something. Probably something. It was weird.

I served a mission in a third world country. I had been in one area for just a few weeks. I was the senior companion, but my companion had been there longer and knew the area better than I did. In the ward there was a young woman who had recently been baptized. She had a sister who was a single mom who we sometimes tried to teach. They were nice, but more interested in talking to us than talking about church. One night the single mom came to the house we lived in. She asked us to come over because her sister, the member, was acting strangely.

We arrived to see this girl speaking in a strange voice. She was saying a lot of crazy things that I no longer remember. At one point, she told us that she had promised her sister's baby to the devil. This sent the sister into strange behavior. They both were saying things that claimed devils were speaking to us. I told my companion that I was going to call the MP. Before I left, I went into the room with the girl who had originally been acting strange. She was growling and rolling on the floor. I raised my arm to the square and commanded the evil spirit to depart.

I ran to a phone. Most houses did not have phones so I had to go to a nearby house. I called the MP. He was most unhelpful. I explained the situation. He responded that some local leaders wanted missionaries to be miracle workers. He told me to do what we could. That was it.

I went back. When I got there, things had calmed down. My companion said he forced the devil in the single mom to come out. He had challenged it and got it to go. I really don't know exactly what happened. I asked why the original girl was calm. He told me that my action had taken care of her. We said goodbye and returned home.

The next day, we passed by the house. The single mom talked to us. My companion told her that she and her sister had to end whatever they were doing. I paid close attention to her face. There was an odd look to it. I kind of think they were playing a joke on us. It was a pretty elaborate joke if they were.

I'd love to hear what you think about this, or if you have strange experiences.

[RubinHighlander]

Pretty crazy one Blazerb! It does have elements of that seem suspicious, that you pointed out.

I had a couple of minor experiences on my mish, nothing as crazy as yours, as far as evil possessions. We had some people tell us they had evil spirits in their house, so we just said a prayer and asked god in the name of Jesus to cast them out; not a very official priesthood action, like raising an arm to the square.

The other experience that shocked me a bit: I was walking down the street with my comp when some evangelical nut come up behind us, slap us both on the shoulders and said "Mormons, in the name of Billy Grahm and Jesus Christ I bind you!" We were both taken by surprise and I can't even remember what our response was. I think Billy was in town that week or something.

The strangest experience I've ever had where I thought I was possessed was when I was a teenager. One morning I woke up but could not move. It seemed like a long time but I'm guessing it was only 30 seconds or so. I really thought I was possessed or something because I was awake but paralyzed. I couldn't talk out loud so in that panicked state I just begged god to help me; nothing happened right away but I eventually started to gain control, like my body was finally waking up a minute after my brain did. I later learned that in going through puberty it's possible to have imbalance in serotonin and melatonin and the other chemicals responsible for muscle paralysis during sleep cycles. Some poor folks have permanent disorder with this; I'm glad I only experienced it once.

[Ghost]

When I was a missionary, we used a particular apartment just for meetings and teaching sessions. The story was that missionaries had lived there at one time but were harassed by unseen entities. Those entities were driven out at one point, but the mission decided not to have missionaries live there anymore. Like most such stories, that was fascinating to hear but not firsthand.

In at least two cases, people who I would never expect to make such things up have related to me firsthand stories of apparently supernatural experiences. In one of these cases, it was two people who experienced the same thing together. That gave the story additional weight for me.

One of my favorite stories from LDS history is the one where, at a conference, several people described a strange scene from different perspectives.

“Joseph put his hands upon Harvey Whitlock and ordained him to the high Priesthood he [Whitlock] turned as black as Lymon [Lyman Wight] was white his fingers was set like Claws he went round the Room and showed his hands and tryed to speak his eyes was in the shape of Ovil Oes [oval o’s] Hyram smith said Joseph that is not God Joseph said do not speak against this[.] I will not beleive said Hyrum unless you inquire of God and owns it Joseph bowed his head a short time and got up and commanded satan to leave Harvey laying his hands upon his head at the same time.” (Hancock, Autobiography, 90.)

(Another account of the same scene describes a man levitating through a window, I believe.)

[Arcturus]

Interesting for sure. I have no firsthand experience myself, but know a few people who served missions in the AZ and NM missions, and a good friend who's mother is 100% Navajo. I've asked these people what they think about skin walkers because it amuses me, and all of them say they believe in them as much as they believe in anything else, and they refuse to talk about it. My part-Navajo friend has told me that he doesn't believe there are skin walkers, he knows there are. And the conversation stops there.

If you talk to anyone in the south, you don't have to ask too many people to meet someone who has had a scary experience with voodoo dark magic stuff. Creepy and very interesting.

[achilles]

I was very depressed when I was in my third mission area. The other missionaries in my apartment took me to the mission president to be exorcised. I was too depressed to argue, and maybe somewhere deep down I was amused and interested in seeing what would happen next.

After they explained everything to the mission president, he laughed and told us to go back home. He was a smart ass sometimes.

[Kishkumen]

The best story I got is when I exorcized a demon from my bowels in an outhouse in a ghetto of Argentina after eating from questionable food preparation standards of a member family.
I sent that demon back to the murky depths of the earth, a hole about 4' deep in some random person's backyard.

[achilles]

The best story I got is when I exorcized a demon from my bowels in an outhouse in a ghetto of Argentina after eating from questionable food preparation standards of a member family.
I sent that demon back to the murky depths of the earth, a hole about 4' deep in some random person's backyard.

Staphylococcus aureus... Or even grosser, Escherichia coli (fecal/oral route)... that means you ate s#!+

They're not demons... they're cute little microorganisms...

[2bizE]

The best story I got is when I exorcized a demon from my bowels in an outhouse in a ghetto of Argentina after eating from questionable food preparation standards of a member family.
I sent that demon back to the murky depths of the earth, a hole about 4' deep in some random person's backyard.

I had a very similar experience. It was easy knocking on doors (it was a 3rd world country, and there really weren’t doors to knock on), but this time I had to knock because I was in the deepest despair of needing to have a bowel movement. I was ushered out back to what looked like a 2-3 foot volcano. It had a 3-4 inch diameter hole on top. I somehow had to squat over it and go in the hole. I exploded instead and most went in the hole. It would have been embarrassing, but it was such a relief that I didn’t care. Luckily, I carried toilet paper with me.

[moksha]

She was growling and rolling on the floor.

Most likely possessed by Elder Boyd K. Packer's dancing bear avatar.

I raised my arm to the square and commanded the evil spirit to depart.

I command you by the power of the Royal Melchezidek Priesthood to return to a parallel dimension.

I paid close attention to her face. There was an odd look to it. I kind of think they were playing a joke on us. It was a pretty elaborate joke if they were.

Then it was a delightful sense of humor. A win-win since most missionaries would leave with a renewed sense of confidence.

[Hagoth]

I had a family ask me to exorcise some restless spirits from their house. They had called their priest in twice (or were deliberating calling him back - can't remember) and he wasn't able to cleanse the place to their satisfaction, plus he charged a fee each time. I said a prayer and ended with the arm to the square thing. When I checked back later they seemed perfectly satisfied with the results, but they still didn't want to hear the discussions.

I also had a companion who was convinced that our converted chicken coup apartment was haunted. I did the same there and it put him at ease.

Maybe I should put out a shingle.

[blazerb]

I paid close attention to her face. There was an odd look to it. I kind of think they were playing a joke on us. It was a pretty elaborate joke if they were.

Then it was a delightful sense of humor. A win-win since most missionaries would leave with a renewed sense of confidence.

That's an awesome way to think about it.

[blazerb]

The best story I got is when I exorcized a demon from my bowels in an outhouse in a ghetto of Argentina after eating from questionable food preparation standards of a member family.
I sent that demon back to the murky depths of the earth, a hole about 4' deep in some random person's backyard.

I had some experiences like that, also. That demon took a lot longer to cast out.

[Rob4Hope]

OK...I got a good one. NOt first hand...so take it for what its worth. But I looked this guy in the eyeballs and questioned him VERY Carefully on the issue. He swears it happened, had no reason to lie to me, and was the first hand witness of the event. He is a respected professional, doesn't drink or use drugs of any type, and is credible.

You also have to realize that when things happens that are creepy like what I'm gunna relate, people don't want to talk about it. They get labeled nut jobs...and are scoffed at and shunned. So I'm of the opinion that more of these things happen than we let on, but people hide it because of the fear of ridicule.

Here goes.
--------------

This guy served his mission in Haiti. Their apartment was literally across the street from the local Voodoo Temple. They often saw people going in and out, as well as learning the goal of Voodoo is to trigger possession so that they can communicate and fortune tell from the world of spirits. They use drugs, hysteria, dance, ceremony and everything else to accomplish their goals. It could be a frightening sight to see, as well as potentially dangerous.

The branch president there was a local, and one day the missionaries got a notice that the BP wanted them over to his house immediately. His daughter had been associating with the local Voodoo crowd, and there was a problem the BP needed the missionaries to help with.

This missionary, with his eyes wide open and completely serious, told me that when he went into the daughters bedroom, this girl appeared unconscious and was floating about 2 feet off her bed in a horizontal position. It freaked the living SH~T out of the missionaries who had no idea what to do. I suppose this would be one of those moments where they would be doing double-takes to see if there were wires, some type of trick happening, or if they themselves were in their right mind.

The offered a priesthood blessing and left.

=====================================

My considered opinion about what this RM told me (who at the time was in his mid 30s) is--it was a hell of a lie,...or it was what he actually believes he experienced. I have no reason to disbelieve him. None at all.

Can I explain it? Nope. Are there other accounts people tell of similar things? yes. What do I think?....I don't know what to think. He believes it happened, and he was in his right mind. I have no reason to doubt what he explained.

So...chew on that a little.

[wtfluff]

The best story I got is when I exorcized a demon from my bowels in an outhouse in a ghetto of Argentina after eating from questionable food preparation standards of a member family.
I sent that demon back to the murky depths of the earth, a hole about 4' deep in some random person's backyard.

Well, in that case... I probably spent weeks exorcising those types of demons during my two-year sentence in a southern hemisphere third-world country.

[blazerb]

My considered opinion about what this RM told me (who at the time was in his mid 30s) is--it was a hell of a lie,...or it was what he actually believes he experienced. I have no reason to disbelieve him. None at all.

Can I explain it? Nope. Are there other accounts people tell of similar things? yes. What do I think?....I don't know what to think. He believes it happened, and he was in his right mind. I have no reason to doubt what he explained.

So...chew on that a little.

I would bet he actually believes it happened. It doesn't mean that it did. Memory is a tricky thing. That applies to me, too.

[Rob4Hope]

My considered opinion about what this RM told me (who at the time was in his mid 30s) is--it was a hell of a lie,...or it was what he actually believes he experienced. I have no reason to disbelieve him. None at all.

Can I explain it? Nope. Are there other accounts people tell of similar things? yes. What do I think?....I don't know what to think. He believes it happened, and he was in his right mind. I have no reason to doubt what he explained.

So...chew on that a little.

I would bet he actually believes it happened. It doesn't mean that it did. Memory is a tricky thing. That applies to me, too.

One of the things that is frustrating is our science is very materialistic; meaning, only those things that can rationally be measured, reproduced, and explained with current science are accepted. Everything else is discounted or scoffed at. I am reminded of a book I just purchased from Dean Radin about Magic. He got into it from a scientific perspective.

One interesting thing that HAS been found (and is reproducible) is that random number generation CAN be manipulated and skewed by conscious intent. This is a continuation of the double slit experience that BAFFLES science, but its provable. Another thing I won't rehash here or hijack the thread over is the overwhelming evidence of NDE's.

So, you put this stuff all together, and then people have these experiences that terrify them (and some are benevelant type experiences so its not just one sided), and we generally don't believe them. Why?....because, if we can't measure it, or science doesn't support it, then we disbelieve it. But the deck is stacked.

Science claims: "No one ever saw a 'spirit'....so they don't exist. Period." (I'm using this as just an example). But we have thousands of people who clinically die (according to science,...how interesting hunh?) and they report having NDEs where their 'spirit' removed from their body. And science then comes along and say: "OH NO IT DIDN'T. You are TOTALLY mistaken. You had brain hypoxia or something...was all a hallucination...."

Yeh,..right.

Science is beginning to prove them wrong (see Radin).

Man...I LOVE this topic! Its so fun to watch both sides square off. Its like a prize fight...bring on the popcorn and beer!.