Conquering Spiritual Evil

Doug Tales 128: Agency, Part Two

Christ gives and Satan takes. And Christ waits while Satan intervenes. One honors our agency while the other does not. Doug Mendenhall teaches about giving up – and taking – agency in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume Two (2020), pp. 86-89:

Is your agency my right? Are there still people seeking, like I did, to give blessings to others, but not waiting for them to ask or seek the blessing themselves? Is this a violation of their agency? Why did our Savior state that He stands at the door knocking or waiting (Revelation 3:20), and we believe we have the right to bust through the door, like I did? Oh yea, I was the big powerful priesthood holder. My ego was so large there was no way I could get through any of those doors to bless anyone. Does Satan laugh and do angels of light hide their faces at this point?

Just this week my friend went into the hospital, and I went to see her. I must admit that as I stood there by her bed, my dogmatic preconditioned institutional behaviors wanted to take over. I almost asked her if she wanted a blessing. I know, there are many that will see nothing wrong with this because “If she didn’t, she would just say no.” Or “There is no harm in asking.” There isn’t?

Then why does our Savior stand at the door waiting? Obviously He knows when we are hurting, in pain, and need help. So why doesn’t He just take care of it? He honors agency. Why do we feel the need to offer a blessing or help? This was a huge paradigm shift for me. Growing up, I had been taught in church and elsewhere to offer help wherever I saw the need. Now I was being taught by the Savior’s example that what I had been taught might be wrong.

Some people who have either just come into their gifts or have had them for a long while seek others to work on. Some have expressed that since the gifts have come from God, shouldn’t we use them as often as we can to help others? Why? Is this not the same thing as seeking to give blessings? Does that come from a place of pride and ego like mine did? Or might it come from a place of caring and love? If that is the case, do those feelings of love and caring give us the right to ask others if we can work on them? The most gifted, caring person of all is our Savior. He has the greatest love, yet He stands there waiting to be asked. Do we think we can impinge on the agency of others where not even our Savior would tread? That is an interesting question indeed, in light of why Satan fell. His fall was the result of taking agency away from his children.

It is a strong temptation to offer your “services” when your gifts are new or you spent a lot of money to learn a new modality, or perhaps you just feel an abundant love for others. The different modalities may not teach their practitioners to openly solicit others, but their adherents know they need to “practice” to become proficient. Is that why some seek to work on others? There are ways to practice a modality that still honors agency.

But the practice of taking another’s agency away through any form of coercion is wrong.

Some might use manipulation to try and get someone else to make a decision. I know someone that did this. He told me that in his mind it was okay because he was just trying to get the other person to make a choice or a decision. Does that really make it okay? There are all kinds of ways to coerce someone else, like this person did, believing the end justifies the means. Does that mean it’s also okay to use passivity as a way to control or get our own way? “Wow, that pie you just made sure looks good. I wonder how it tastes.” (Hint! hint!)

Or some people actually get passive aggressive, getting angry or adding to what was said above, trying to make a person feel guilty if they don’t get their own way. “Wow, that pie you just made sure looks good. I wonder how it tastes. If you loved me, you’d let me have a piece right now.”

Let’s take a look at what the Lord Jesus Christ states about these interactions in D&C 121:37: “That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that.

So we do not have the “right” to take or impinge on another’s agency. Natural law tells us “A right is an action that does not cause harm to another human being…. Our rights come from what is called God’s law, spiritual law, or even natural law. One of the main laws of God is that of agency, which declares we have no right to impede or deny, [or even coerce] the agency of another human.” (I See…Awake!, p. 79) Taking agency from an individual amounts to theft. Natural law will require a recompense from the individual taking the agency; a price will be paid.

Doug Tales 127: Tired Leg Syndrome

One of Doug Mendenhall’s talents was his ability to learn via the school of hard knocks. Again and again, he would make a mistake of some sort based on incorrect assumptions, figure out a better way (with God’s help), and then be asked to write down the steps he took and what he learned. Humiliation and humility showed up repeatedly in Doug’s life.

But he expressed gratitude for such learning. For example, in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), p. 332, he reflects, “The greatest learning in my life has come from my errors and mistakes. Then I get the opportunity to reflect, repent, and understand how the Lord would have had me do it. In this there is growth.”

Of course, in the middle of making some mistakes, we may get tired. In one learning situation explained in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume Two (2020), pp. 85-86, Doug laments that, “My legs were so tired from jumping to conclusions at that point that if I would have gone to a physician, I would have been diagnosed with ‘TLS—Tired Leg Syndrome’”:

Do You Have TLS? When my daughter Denise was about eleven years old and only a few months after her coma experience, I heard what I assumed was the Savior’s voice telling me that I needed to go to Primary Children’s Medical Center to voice a blessing to a child. As a result my daughter and I headed up to the hospital to voice a blessing to some young child. I knew that with my priesthood and its power she/he would be healed. I just needed to get my hands on the child’s head. I was as sure of this as I was of my own name because God had spoken to me!

When we got to the children’s hospital we walked every floor more than twice stopping in front of each room where I’d ask my daughter if this was the one. I knew I was there to save that child with my big powerful priesthood and my powerful faith! I had even missed a family party because my belief was so strong that I was right.

“No,” she answered every time I asked as we stood in front of each door.

I became quite frustrated after three and one-half hours of doing this, but my ego would not let me leave. Finally I called a friend for some help, so he came up to the hospital. That was when the Lord Jesus Christ provided me with an experience in which He warned me to quit abusing Denise’s spiritual gifts. If I continued to do so, He would take me home. I knew He was serious, and I was in need of some equally serious repentance. It was one of the single worst and most amazing experiences of my life.

My legs were so tired from jumping to conclusions at that point that if I would have gone to a physician, I would have been diagnosed with “TLS—Tired Leg Syndrome.” This from jumping to so many conclusions, especially about how great you are and how you know it is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to you, telling you what to do. When this “disease” hits a person, especially a male member of our species, he tends to become bloated with self-importance. This happens because he injects himself with a huge dose of ego and pride. If we add to this self-bloated pride our conditioned religious institutional behaviors and beliefs, it can really get out of hand fast. I’m talking about how I was taught that we are God’s chosen people, favored people, most blessed people, how we have all truth, and most importantly, we have His authority. To my embarrassment, I had qualified on all accounts. (This experience is told in full in My Peace I Give Unto You, pages 151–161.)

Once I had been brought down to the level of dust, or lower, I realized the importance of doing all things the Lord Jesus Christ’s way and not how I assumed it should be done. Let’s take a look at some ways some of us may still be doing it our way, taking other’s agency away, letting our ego, or religious dogma, get into the mix and not what He desires and how He would do it.

This is important because if we proceed in this direction in our life, it will require a requisite time in hell as we pay the price for the “evil” we produced and inflicted on others in mortality.

Will Ye Hear? Part Two (I See…Awake! Audiobook)

Doug Mendenhall’s book, I See…Awake! (2015) has been recorded and the audio files are now available free of charge from this website.

Go to “Audio-2” at the top of the website. Within that page, click on a chapter title to download an MP3 audio file for one of the 25 chapters in that book. In addition, there is a complete MP3 audiobook in one file of I See…Awake! at the Audio-2 link.

Book Description

I See…Awake! is the second book in the Christian Spiritual War Guidebook series and shares experience-based principles and tools for dealing with dark and negative spiritual entities, weapons, and devices from a Christian perspective. Some of the concepts explored in I See…Awake! include natural law, mind control, frequency, spirituality, earthbound spirits, the baptism of fire, demonic possession, power animals, prayer, and being Christ focused.

This book, and I See…Arise!, present the fundamentals of the Jedi Seminars, which spiritual battle workshops Doug Mendenhall taught 2011-2020. Originally Doug was going to call the book simply, I See! However, while writing I See…Awake! he realized he had enough for two full books and then some, which led to the companion book, I See…Arise! and this blog.

Douglas H. Mendenhall (1957-2020) wrote four books on Christian spiritual warfare. In addition to Conquering Spiritual Evil Volume One, his three sequels are I See…Awake!, I See…Arise!, and Conquering Spiritual Evil Volume Two. These four books are written to Christian and LDS audiences about metaphysical aspects of spirituality. The reader is encouraged to read and/or listen to Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One before starting I See…Awake!

(Note: The audio files for Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), which were made previously available in January 2022 are still on this website in their same location. Their sub-webpage “Audio” has been renamed “Audio-1”.)

These audio files are available because one of the people who attended Doug Mendenhall’s funeral on December 29, 2020 felt prompted at that time to begin a project of recording Doug’s books. Doug had always wanted to have his books in an audio form to open the way for more to receive the teachings in them. This labor of love has been continued by Doug’s friend with another volunteer, and the two individuals have been working together with others to record and make these available to each of us. We are grateful for their work, and for the Mendenhall family’s permission to present Doug’s work in this way.

As was asked in the earlier blog post “Will Ye Hear?” from January 20, 2022 when the audio recording of Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One was first announced, “What and who are we listening to today?”

Doug Tales 126: Humility

It’s been said that in America everyone talks, but no one listens. So many “self-help” authors, and not so many readers. Not many people in enough pain yet in order to even start looking for answers. How does one really become teachable and humble? Doug Mendenhall chose to be humble to God in response to many of his life’s experiences. He discusses such learning in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume Two (2020), pp. 80-82:

Another problem is people who are obviously possessed or have attachments of evil. What do you think puts these things into their hearts? Isn’t that what the Adversary goes after, the heart?

So what is in our core, our heart? Is it light or dark? If we have determined it to be dark and want to change, having a clearing is a great place to start. But not until we begin to set ourselves right before God and repent. We need to understand that just getting a clearing will NOT solve our problems, or change what is in our heart’s core, if darkness dwells therein. That is why we harp and harp and harp on changing our habits, our inner core, and controlling our thoughts and emotions. And actually change isn’t a good word. It is about transformation.

Transformation and change are two different things. We can force change through power and coercion. But will it last being done that way? Isn’t that what man’s laws are designed to do? Force change. If my hammer is big enough I can get you to do many things. I have seen that many times in my life. My own church uses a temple recommend or membership as a hammer to coerce much from its members. But it seldom is very long lasting. Once the threat or fear of the hammer is gone, we will usually return to our vomit, scripturally speaking of course.

Transformation comes from within and is long enduring. But it is made by your choice. It comes about by coming unto our Lord Jesus Christ and Him only. No man, men, women, government, or church can do it for you.

It requires a woman or man to bend their knees in humility and pray. It requires the woman or man to look to Him only, their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not some man-made god Satan has created for us to fool ourselves with, like the god Source. We are to ask our true God, the Lord Jesus Christ for guidance how to live, think, act, and what to do. And no, I’m not talking about getting His permission to go to the bathroom or to wash the stench off our hands. Some things are just common sense.

It requires us getting unto the scriptures, thereby raising our spirituality and frequency, something we are talking about in this book. The means supping on the words of Christ. Years ago I was invited to attend a Friday night class taught by Denver Snuffer in his home. It was sponsored by his Stake and he taught it for years. I thought I knew how to study. But after attending one time I knew that I had no idea how to study, I mean really study. If we went through more than one verse in the hour we were flying! We tore each verse apart and really learned things. It was more than eye opening, it fed the soul. Want to experience it? Read some of his books, especially the ones that study the Book of Mormon. Studying the scriptures like this is essential for our spirituality.

It requires us to have humility and an honest desire to know, really know Him. We must realize we can’t do it without Him, our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s about giving up and going to Him. Many of us do these things according to our supposed wisdom and not the Lord Jesus Christ’s. That is what gets us into trouble. We think we can do it ourselves or we have been taught by some self-improvement course and we know we can do all things ourselves, we don’t need Him.

Doug Tales 125: Fools Crow and Poppa Johns

On August 16, 2008, Doug Mendenhall spoke in Sandy, Utah, at a seminar he playfully called “the Johnson Family Reunion.” He spoke on various subjects, with part of his focus on what we can learn from the healing and blessing work of two men, Frank Fools Crow (1890-1989) and Allen “Poppa” Johns (1918-2004). Fools Crow was a Lakota medicine man, and Poppa Johns was an English-speaking LDS patriarch in the country of Tonga. Doug learned of Fools Crow through the book, Fools Crow: Wisdom and Power (1991), and he had personally received blessings voiced by Poppa Johns.

Here is a link to a 16 minute audio recording of an excerpt from Doug’s talk:

https://infinitycontent.net/Mendenhall/DougMendenhall8.08BlogEdit.mp3

Doug Tales 124: The Intent of His Heart

“‘Yes,’ she replied to me mentioning all the good he had done, ‘but why did he do those things? What was the intent of his heart?’” Doug Mendenhall had a neighbor who did a lot of service for others. It took Doug awhile to discern the man’s motivations for his good-looking acts of service. Doug shares this cautionary tale in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume Two (2020), on pages 79-80:

It is important that we clear ourselves and stay that way, becoming a new woman or man in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The saddest are those that have had the clearing who then, due to old habits, put out the welcome mat inviting entities back into their cleaned house and have no idea they are back. The new entities seem to convince them of their spiritual superiority or their great intelligence in all things spiritual, that they can’t be deceived, and how they don’t have any demons on or in them. Their revelation is steadfast and sure; they are always right. They will declare how much power they have, not acknowledging, if they have “power” to do anything of a righteous nature, it only came from our Savior.

Some will have the power they desired, but it comes from the wrong source. They will see visions, prophesy, work so called miracles, hear the “spirit” tell them what to do, all in the name of their god and declare it comes from the God of Light. They don’t seem to understand that if they are full of dark, evil entities they will have a hard time doing much of anything of Light. But will still claim the “power” and declare all the good they have done for others.

Some declare that other people are the problem and they seem to have no issue letting them know this and calling them out for it. How sad would it be if these people actually know what they are doing and the entities on them help them to not care.

We have written about a former local religious leader that I had. He had helped me in the past, several times, by loaning me a truck for a week, bringing us food, and always saying hello and waving at us. He was also the one I have on recording telling me that a LDS general authority Seventy made him disfellowship me back in 2007. (Later, I was reinstated to full LDS membership.) In interviews the same religious leader called me a liar, called my wife a liar and insulted my family and friends.

He told me what he would allow me to do in general and what he would allow me to do for a living. He really knocked the crud out of D&C 121, condemning himself continually. In one interview the Spirit told me to ask him to read that section with me. He refused. I then was told to tell him, four times, that because he had used compulsion, control, and unrighteous dominion on me he had no priesthood whatsoever according to what the Savior said in Section 121. I thought for sure he would get angry and throw me out of his office. He just sat and stared into space.

Besides all of this, I really liked the man, feeling that most times he was between a rock and a hard place. When he transitioned and died a few years ago, I asked my sighted friend about him. She mentioned that four dark angels came and took him to meet his god. Little “g” god, not a God of Light like our Father in Heaven. This actually disconcerted me and so I mentioned all the good that he had done for everyone. Realizing he was taken to Hell and was being tortured there was hard to accept. What we are discussing in this chapter is hard doctrine. Yet they seemed to know and understand it anciently, a doctrine which we seem to have no clue about. Back to my sighted friends comments:

“Yes,” she replied to me mentioning all the good he had done, “but why did he do those things? What was the intent of his heart?”

Moroni explains it quite well: “For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness. For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.” (Moroni 7:6–8)

What is our intent? To be seen of men? To “show” God that in reality we are a good person? “Hey God, look at me, I gave the homeless guy a ten spot!” My sighted friend told me to look at the intent of the man’s heart, the same place that God the Father looks at in each of us and see why he did those things. I looked and admitted it wasn’t for the right reasons.

Is this why God declares that “a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.” (Moroni 7:10) The intent of their heart is off. It isn’t for God or our Lord Jesus Christ, even though outwardly they may declare such. It is for themselves, for their own self-aggrandizement. That is why it is evil. No matter how much you give away or help, if it is to be “seen” or to show how wonderful and great you are, it is accounted evil unto you.

Doug Tales 123: Energy Work, Part Three

What do you “see” spiritually? Doug Mendenhall cautions in I See…Arise! (2016), pp. 50-54 that the terms “perceive,” “sense,” and “feel” are usually more accurate than “see” for most people learning about energy work. The visual terms which are used to describe one’s physical sight sometimes do not translate well in the realm of spiritual sight and perception:

An important aspect of learning to increase spiritual energy is visualization and breath work. It has always been hard for me to “visualize.” Through much hard work I have been able to “see” on many occasions, but to just “do it” has been hard.

Robert Bruce teaches visualization a completely different way. There are steps to becoming “clairvoyant” and being able to truly “see.” I hate to say this, but it involves understanding the concepts and then much, dare I say it—practice. Back to Robert:

“Most people have problems visualizing, and many believe they cannot visualize at all. But visualization is a natural ability that everyone can do perfectly immediately. Visualization is not a visual skill. You do not have to see anything visual in your mind when you visualize. If you do see something, it is a mind’s eye vision (clairvoyance) or an awake, lucid dream-type experience.

“Visualization is pure imagination, pure fantasy. Every child can do this perfectly. A visualization exercise or led meditation is exactly the same as any other fantasy, where memory is used to build a fictional scenario in the mind’s eye. It may be full of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and feelings, but nothing is actually seen visually.

“Memory plays an important part in imagination and visualization. Have you ever replayed past actions in your mind, in your mind’s eye, to help you find a lost item? Replaying or re-creating events—whether real or fictitious—involves the constructive use of imagination. This is perfect visualization, and everyone has the natural ability to do this perfectly—right now!

“The very word visual-ization is a big part of the problem, especially when used to describe inner practices like meditation and energy work. This problem is increased by the visual terms commonly used to describe nonvisual experiences, which includes all nonvisual psychic perceptions. This is compounded by people who psychically perceive things (not actually seeing anything visually) habitually using visual terms like ‘I saw,’ ‘I see,’ and ‘I am seeing.’ This is often misleading to students. More accurate terms like ‘I sense,’ ‘I feel,’ and ‘I perceive’ are less confusing.

“There is a hidden ego component in the above problem. In our competitive society, it sounds far more convincing if psychic perceptions are stated as being visual experiences. It can be related to how eyewitness testimonies are taken as evidence superior to gut instincts and feelings. ‘I sensed this’ or ‘I perceived this’ doesn’t sound as convincing as ‘I saw this!’ I cannot see the popular use of these terms changing, but clearer explanations and instructions can help overcome the problems they cause for students.

“The visualization problem is worsened in any group where the teacher and a few students happen to be naturally clairvoyant. Clairvoyants do see what they visualize in a visual mind’s eye way. They often do not realize that this does apply to the vast majority of people, and so students get the impression that visual visualization ability is the norm. This can lead to students believing that they are deficient in this area. This misunderstanding totally stunts student development. Many students in this situation will pretend that they can see what they are told to visualize, lest the rest of the class think they are deficient. This whole problem can be overcome by giving more accurate explanations.” (Energy Work, pp. 18-19)

I became aware of this “visual visualization” early on in this journey with my daughter. She came out of her coma “clairvoyant,” being able to see in her mind’s eye. Over time we met many others that I would always describe as “like my daughter,” though I knew most didn’t “see” as she did. Then I realized that on days in which her health wasn’t very good, she really couldn’t see and she’d just “fake it.” By that I mean she was still able to hear and perceive things, but would still use the term, “I see.”

In my own life I have had a hard time with visualization until I realized I could imagine things, and then I used that process. There have been times when a vision has come, as when our two youngest appeared to me and told me I had “to talk Mom into having more children.” Another time I saw a man with two children who was being prepared to marry one of my daughters and told her about him years ago. When he showed up I recognized him from that vision. Yet most of what I do is perceive, not “see” as Robert Bruce indicates. The Lord has blessed me with a gift of discernment. I have found that this gift does open up the mind’s eye, so sometimes I can see. It is all a process of learning and using the gifts.

The other night when we were discussing the use of a pendulum to help us spiritually, a good friend said that she felt something blocking her. I looked at her and could discern a dark spiritual net or netting over the top of her head. Then I could “see” it. What was seen was hard to describe, so I mentioned it was a spider’s web over her head. We had her use the pendulum to second witness what had been said, and it was right. There are many times now when voicing a blessing, I will be shown in my mind’s eye what the Lord wants said. So I have to then describe what He is showing me. This has been a process. I believe that learning about energy and running energy have been a big part of this process. It clears me out and opens me up.

I have seen what Robert talks about how others feel intimidated when around the sighted. It seems to make them feel totally inadequate, and then they don’t use their gifts. There have been times when I have been in a room with gifted people, and I heard “I see this,” or “I see that,” over and over again. I wondered on more than one occasion if it had become a competition. It is not a competition. It is about becoming aware of our own bodies: physically, mentally, spiritually, and energetically. Will there ever be deception? Absolutely.

What we think of ourselves has a huge bearing on what we are able to accomplish spiritually or energetically, but also on any level. When we had the energy workshop and energetically bent spoons, about 80% of the people were able to do it. I was all excited when I approached one family and asked to see their spoons. All of them said the same thing, “We can’t do things like this.” All of their spoons or forks were perfectly normal, nothing happened because they had declared it to be thus, and God’s natural law states that we get back what we give out.

When I hear people constantly say they can’t see, I now think in my mind, “They are right; they can’t see and never will.” They have declared it to be that way, so it must be. But when they stop making a negative declaration and begin declaring that they can, then they will.

Doug Tales 122: Energy Work, Part Two

Robert Bruce teaches in his book, Energy Work (2007) that individuals need to actually feel the energy flowing through them. This is distinct from and more than only visualizing and imagining the energy moving. Based on his own personal experiences, Doug Mendenhall agrees, and encourages the readers of I See…Arise! (2016), pp. 47-50 to practice, practice, practice. He says, “Want to become proficient at anything? Then practice. Practice long and hard.”

We will discuss later how our DNA is full of photons or light. When those of an Eastern bent say we are “light beings,” they are speaking the truth. We believe we are “solid,” but we really aren’t. It just takes being here in this “coarse” setting to give our real selves the ability to carry this “denser” material around. We are energy and light, which of course is the same thing. Some just vibrate at a higher frequency, like those of a Terrestrial or Celestial nature do. Back to Robert Bruce:

“Vital energies flow through every part of your body. This is every bit as important to life as blood. Just as your physical body will adapt and change in response to lifestyle, exercise, and diet, so will your energy body—for better or worse. When you do energy work, your energy body will be excited into higher levels of activity. And just like working out regularly in a gym improves your physical body, this progressively improves the fitness and functionality of your energy body.

“Psychic and spiritual development are heavily dependent upon energy body activity. Everyone has dormant or partial psychic abilities and everyone has great spiritual potential, but very few people get to realize these things in any significant way. Body awareness-based energy work methods allow for the specific targeting of energy conduits and primary energy centers. By exercising these, they can be activated, developed, and evolved. This translates into actual spiritual development and evolution.” (Energy Work, pp. 6-7)

Robert had told me that Joseph Smith was the greatest American mystic there ever has been. He knows what he is talking about. He understands and has seen in many people that getting off their derriere, practicing, and running energy “translates into actual spiritual development and evolution.” This is why we discussed the concept of going from unconsciously incompetent to unconsciously competent in the last book. Want to become proficient at ANYTHING? Then practice. Practice long and hard. The Lord was no different. He learned line upon line and precept upon precept. He practiced!

Whenever I heard the statement that we must come to know ourselves, it was just a bunch of “new age” or Eastern mumbo jumbo and had no significance. That has changed. Now I understand the extreme importance of coming to know myself in several aspects. One of the more important is to know where I am spiritually, which begins with getting my “energy body” right before my God and ready to receive what He needs to send me for myself or for someone who has come seeking comfort or help. If my energy tank is on empty, can I offer that person anything? Yes, I know we bring in Heaven’s or God’s light to effectuate the work, but if my energy centers are so out of balance, going the wrong direction, or I’m so full of sin that God can’t work through me, what good am I? Think about Frank Fools Crow’s story from the last book in this series. He spent his life getting ready for the next person the Lord would send to him. Is that not what our Lord Jesus Christ did? Are we better than He is?

Let’s continue with Robert Bruce:

“Every cell of your body is alive with bioelectrical activity that produces biomagnetic fields. Beneath this activity exist the layers of subtle and spiritual energy fields that comprise the human energy body. This subtle body is every bit as complex as its physical counterpart, even though it’s subtle and spiritual structures are difficult to detect. “…To truly grasp this you must learn how to feel energy for yourself by feeling and moving your own energy.… Only when you feel your own energy will you truly know that you have an energy body. And only then will you be able to truly work with energy…

“The human energy body has multiple layers and energy centers. Energy centers (also called Chakras) are like the vital organs of the energy body. This includes the seven primary energy centers (major Chakras), hundreds of secondary energy centers, three energy storage centers, and dense areas of tertiary centers (tiny energy exchange pores). There is also a central channel (Sushumna) running up the center of the body, with two major conduits (called Ida and Pingala) winding up either side. This structure is traditionally represented by the caduceus symbol (staff of Hermes).” (Energy Work, pp. 2-3)

I really feel Robert’s book is a must read if someone wants to progress spiritually and energetically. I sure wish this had been taught to me when I was a child. Anciently it was taught. The ancients understood energy and used it daily.

Doug Tales 121: Energy Work, Part One

Is energy work the same as spiritual work? Doug Mendenhall explores various aspects of energy work in I See…Arise! (2016), pp. 45-47:

Years ago I read a book about calling down the powers of heaven in order to effectively do God’s work. Is it God’s energy and Light we are calling down? What are the “powers of heaven”? If the Lord went away to charge up His batteries, just as Kitten talked about Joseph Smith doing before he did healing work, should we take notice of both Christ and Joseph Smith doing so? Might it be something that we not only should take a good hard look at, but should also do?

In the previous chapter we related a few of our experiences with using energy to bend spoons, to effectuate healing, and to keep ourselves in balance. Or is all of this talk of energy, meditation, chakras nothing but Eastern religious or New Age malarkey, not worthy of the time of our “spiritually” illuminated Western minds? Why would someone that walks the heavens like Denver Snuffer make a statement in his book Preserving the Restoration: “We need to search the gospel to obtain illumination for our hearts and minds.” (p. 3) Really Denver!? Isn’t “illumination” one of those Eastern “energy” terms we need to stay away from?

But what if it’s true?

What if this kind of thing is important, even perhaps more important than seeking relief in a bottle of pills or a bottle of whatever? Or perhaps more important to our immortal souls than sitting on the sofa with fake and spiritually deadening offerings from Hollywood, or sitting at a sporting event in which our modern day gladiators battle each other as we cheer them on while we imbibe in the local offerings of mild barley drinks? Do any of these things matter? Or is it more important to our eternal welfare to connect to our Lord Jesus Christ in order to become like Him? Does this take work?

If we are not balanced energetically, it is much harder to keep ourselves balanced emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, especially since all three consist of energy, a finer or more subtle substance. The importance of Robert Bruce’s book Energy Work can’t be stressed enough. Yes, there are many volumes that pretend to teach more, but none do it in such simple, easy to understand terms as Robert does. From his book Energy Work:

“My eldest son, Benjamin, is a psychologist. He has practiced tactile imaging energy work for several years, besides studying various systems such as Zen, Tao, Yoga, et cetera. A few years back, he signed up for a course in Iron Shirt Chi Kung. He was told that most students would start feeling significant levels of energy movement if they practiced every day for a year. But during the first day of instruction, Benjamin was feeling major energy movement. (His instructors could not understand such rapid progress, and they were not open to Benjamin’s explanation.) I have heard many similar reports over the years.” (p. 6)

Why did Benjamin feel major energy movement his very first day instead of after a year of practice? Because he did the simple things his father had taught him. He could feel the energy in his body, feel it move in his body, and knew how to clear himself. So why do energy work? Again from Bruce’s book:

“Normally, many of the structures within the human energy body are virtually dormant. They function at a level sufficient for normal physical existence, but on a very low level in a spiritual sense. These structures and energy centers can awaken accidentally, often causing spontaneous psychic experiences, or they can be brought out of dormancy by spiritual practices and energy work.

“The benefits of energy work come on every level. It encourages the physical body to function better, to maintain and repair itself more efficiently, and to resist disease. The ability to work directly with your energy body allows you to stimulate your body’s own self-healing mechanisms in specific ways to target injured or diseased areas.” (Energy Work, p. 6)

Energy work is spiritual work. In the previous chapter when my friend’s kidneys had shut down for three days, the Lord wanted someone to “work” on them. I happened to show up. If I had not been exposed to energy work, learning to clear myself and to send focused energy to her kidneys, nothing would have happened. Could I have laid hands on her head and voiced a blessing to accomplish the same thing? Of course if that is what the Lord Jesus Christ had wanted. He asked that I “run energy” on her. If I had been told to voice a blessing and laid hands on her head, what would the mechanics of that blessing entail? What would the oil do? Does it make for a better spiritual connection? Would I have been calling down the powers of heaven through our combined faith to effectuate the healing? What does that look like? My friend talked about the energy flowing out of my hands (uncontrolled at that point) and into her. That is what the Lord used to “heal” her kidneys. Is that what the Lord did, use controlled focused energy to effectuate the healing He did? Or was it just the mud he put on that man’s eyes that healed his sight?

Doug Tales 120: Sacrifice, Part Two

In his daily life, Doug Mendenhall took seriously Joseph Smith’s teachings about sacrifice. He emphasized that our Savior offers the covenants we need to sacrifice for. We do not initiate or make promises to God on our terms, only on His. Doug quotes Joseph’s teachings on sacrifice in I See…Awake! (2015) on pages 53-55, and then shares his own experience being asked to make a covenant by sacrifice on pages 55-61:

Joseph Smith explained the principle of sacrifice in the Lectures on Faith:

“Let us here observe that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation. For from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things: it was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life, and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know most assuredly that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life.

“It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in sacrifice, and by this means obtained faith in God and favor with him so as to obtain eternal life, unless they in like manner offer unto him the same sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are accepted of him.

“It was in offering sacrifices that Abel, the first martyr, obtained knowledge that he was accepted of God. And from the days of righteous Abel to the present time, the knowledge that men have that they are accepted in the sight of God is obtained by offering sacrifice. And in the last days, before the Lord comes, he is to gather together his saints who have made a covenant with him by sacrifice. Psalms 50:3–5: Our God shall come and shall not keep silence. A fire shall devour before him and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above and to the earth that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

“Those, then, who make the sacrifice will have the testimony that their course is pleasing in the sight of God, and those who have this testimony will have faith to lay hold on eternal life and will be enabled, through faith, to endure unto the end and receive the crown that is laid up for them that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who do not make the sacrifice cannot enjoy this faith because men are dependent upon this sacrifice in order to obtain this faith, therefore they cannot lay hold upon eternal life because the revelations of God do not guarantee unto them the authority so to do, and without this guarantee faith could not exist.” (Lecture Sixth, paragraphs 7–10.)

I need to clarify that it is the Lord that makes covenants with us, we do not initiate them with Him. And as He says above, it is a “covenant with me by sacrifice.”

Several years ago I was plainly told by the Spirit to go outside in my yard and dig a hole. I was directed where to dig it. I wanted a second witness and a good friend happened to come over, and I asked him about dowsing. It just so happened that his father had taught him how to use a dowsing rod. He made one up and went over my yard and found the spot where I was shown to dig. I had my witness.

When I went out to dig, I said a prayer and consecrated my efforts to my Father. Please understand I had no idea why I was to dig this hole. As you will read in this book, the Spirit has directed me do many “different” things in the past and this was just another one, though I did hope to “find” something in the hole. (I once dug a hole and found a seer stone.) I was told the hole needed to be 4’ X 4’ in width and then ten feet deep. I kind of freaked, but started to dig anyway. I knew this wasn’t going to be a one day effort.

For many days I went out into the “hole” at about 4 pm and finished at 1:00 am. After many days of digging I encountered a rock that stuck straight out into the hole, and I couldn’t get it to drop. I’d jump on it, dig around it, and jump again. All to no avail. Then I heard the Spirit tell me: “I have received your sacrifice of sweat and labor. Now I require the sacrifice of your blood.”

“Really?” I said, quite incredulous.

Denise happened to come into my room later, and I asked her about this “requirement” of my blood in this hole I was digging. She witnessed that I’d heard right. So for two weeks I wouldn’t go outside and dig in the hole. Somehow I knew that this just wasn’t going to be a “small thing”, and it would be painful.

I actually went and asked Denise for her blood testing kit. I wanted the “finger poker” so I could go outside and poke my finger and drop several drops of blood into that hole.

“That won’t work Dad,” she replied.

A day or so later all of this escaped my mind somehow and I went out into the hole. I still had that rock sticking out way down there and wanted to get rid of it. I jumped on it again and again. Nothing happened. Then I sat under it with my legs crossed and was going to dig around it where it went into the side of the wall.

“Don’t sit under the rock,” I heard the Spirit say.

“Really?” I replied, “I will show you what this rock won’t do. It won’t budge.”

I got up and stood on the rock and jumped up and down again.

“See, Lord,” I said looking up, “it won’t move!”

I got back down and knelt beside this rock. I put the tool I was using to dig the dirt into my left hand and put my right hand onto the ground. I tapped once into the side of the wall and that rock came down onto my right hand.

It squashed my right index finger on both sides of the big knuckle, cutting it to the bone on each side. I pulled my glove off, and blood was going everywhere. The pain was intense. I crawled out of the hole, grabbed my finger with my left hand and went into the house, leaving a trail of blood in the snow on the ground. I was breathing quite hard.

I immediately went to my bathroom sink and started washing it with cold water to stop the flow of blood. Denise came in and asked if I was all right.

“Is this what He wanted,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Yes,” she said.

I was quite mad, since it just wasn’t two cuts I was dealing with; my finger was also broken at the knuckle.

I said, “I hope He’s happy.”

After I had calmed down, I realized that He had made a covenant with me. It did require pain and my blood. The Lord Jesus Christ makes covenants with us. My daughter would later tell me the Lord told her that I was going to come into the house breathing quite funny, but that I was all right.

Oh, I did find something in digging that ten foot deep hole. I found that Lord came with a covenant for me from Him. My reminder? Every time I point with my right index finger I see scars and how it is now bent.

There have been several people that have heard this story and have decided that they were going to make a covenant with the Lord. They went up the mountain or wherever and cut themselves so they would bleed a lot. That is not the way He does it. As I have stated, He makes the covenant, not us. It is done His way and on His time schedule….

My point with these examples is that God makes the covenant, not us. And yes, sacrifice is necessary. I related in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One about going to Kitten’s house and being involved in a “spiritual” battle that took place there. What I didn’t mention was the question the Lord asked before I agreed to go. “Are you willing to give your life for her?” I thought about it for a few seconds and said “yes,” knowing that He wasn’t joking around.

The law of sacrifice works in all aspects of our lives. He probably will require food, service, money, time, blood, pain, suffering, and all you have. Whether we will receive new knowledge or light, make a covenant with Him, teach things, or give light, there is always sacrifice involved. If there is no sacrifice, there is not enough faith generated to show us that what we are doing is pleasing in the sight of God.