Doug Tales 85: The War, Part Two

Many people act as if the war with evil is happening overseas and far away from them. To them, it’s a foreign operation with no local impact. Doug Mendenhall knew from experience that the real battlefront is here in our homes and neighborhoods. He had many experiences talking to individuals for whom negativity and darkness were a daily literal reality. He talks about some of those on the front lines of spiritual warfare in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), on pages 59-60:

“A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge and consequently more power than many men who are on earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 4:588)

So Joseph said we need to get knowledge of these things or it may not bode well for us in the other world. We should seek revelation to assist us and give us knowledge. I know the Lord is willing if we are. All of us are surrounded by evil. I for one do not want to be brought into subjection to some evil entity for lack of knowledge when it is available to me now.

With some effort it is possible to understand how they work and how they can be brought into subjection. If we bring them into subjection then Zion might not be far behind, as we will be standing in holy places, and the adversary will have no power over us—he will be bound in that he will have no power over the hearts of the children of men.

Joseph Smith has said that we must search into and contemplate the darkest abyss and the broad expanse of eternity. Might it be important to understand the opposite of God in order to understand Him completely? Just a thought, but did we not come here to experience what we choose to call opposites—light and dark, sweet and sour, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, etc. “And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet.” (D&C 29:39)

Much of the time many families in the church encounter a lack of priesthood direction in the home. One time I was talking with several women; who would be considered strong LDS with strong LDS families. I sat there amazed as each one talked about family members who were having problems with demons, possession and basically all kinds of darkness. They indicated that their husbands don‘t or won‘t deal with the problems. They are too busy with their sports, television, and video games.

One of them said, “When I try to talk about spiritual things with my husband, he just says, ‘yes Honey,’ as he turns back to the television set.” The other woman talked about how her teenage son who is so scared of demons and their influence on with him that he’ll get under his covers at night and reach out with a long stick to turn off the light.

All of these women wished their husbands would step up and figure out how to help their children and families in this war. Most of the people I have met are begging for help and don’t know where to find it. It is important for priesthood holders to get active in this fight. Their families are suffering as a result of their non-participation.

Just recently I chatted with a woman from a nearby State. She and her children are gifted in that at times they can see spirits, both light and dark. Her oldest son brought home books about witchcraft and did what was necessary to invite dark spirits into their home; he opened a portal to the underworld. The mother and his siblings were able to see what was now coming into their home. When he came home from being with his friends they could see the dark spirits that surrounded him and were also in him. They dedicated their home and it helped for several days, then the dark spirits took over again. They didn’t know of anyone in their ward or stake that might help them, so they have suffered in silence for years now. The youngest daughter just went off to college and called her mother telling her that there was the spirit of a four-year-old girl that keeps coming to her. She asked her mother what she could do about it and the mother had no help to offer her.