May 29 — Recently, I had a conversation with someone who told me about a time they asked a spirit to leave their home. This made me think of a time when I was sitting in Young Women’s and heard a leader tell the girls that, if they ever encountered an evil spirit, they were to “raise their right arm to the square” and command the evil spirit to leave in the name of Jesus Christ.
If you aren’t aware, Mormons raise their right arms to the square when they sustain a new leader. This is also done in the temple endowment ceremony when making oaths and covenants, when someone is baptized into the Church, and during priesthood ordinances.
Raising your right arm to the square to rebuke evil spirits seems to be more folklore than actual teaching in the Mormon Church. I haven’t found an “official” teaching or quote from a leader, but there are plenty of stories of church members having experiences with spirits. Some welcome them through Ouija boards, while others speak of spiritual encounters in temples or of seeking their ancestors’ help as they do family history work.
I couldn’t tell you how many times someone would return from a trip to the temple, stand up during Fast and Testimony Sunday, and tell a story about feeling their ancestors with them as they did temple work. One man even stood up and told a story about seeing his grandparents in the mirrors on the wall of the sealing room in the temple. That was also the same Sunday the missionaries brought someone who was investigating the religion to church. I never saw that person there again.
In a way, I understand where Mormons are coming from as they look for those “spiritual experiences.” What I don’t understand is why Christians believe they are sensitive to this type of thing and have no fear of it. This isn’t a game, and it’s not something Mormons or Christians should want to engage with. Believing you can or want to talk to the dead is called necromancy, and it is something God forbids us to do.
As we read in:
Leviticus 19:31 “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 18:10 “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or anyone who practices divination, or is an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.”
Isaiah 8:19 “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?”
There have been many popular TV shows in which people go into haunted places and try to communicate with the dead. I honestly think most of the reactions and experiences they claim to have are fake. If any of it is real, we know that anything they encounter is not from God. We know that those who follow Jesus go to be with God. As we read here:
2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
Those “spirits” people claim to encounter in these shows are the familiar spirits spoken of in Scripture, also known as fallen angels or demons. These entities deceive people into thinking they are communicating with someone who has died and has not moved on.
As I think about the Young Women’s leader I mentioned earlier, I’d love to know exactly where she learned to raise her arm to the square to chase away evil spirits. One thing is certain: it is not found in the Bible. God never commanded us to make this sign and demand that a spirit leave.
The only Spirit we are to have anything to do with is the Holy Spirit. We are to seek His protection, guidance, and help for our lives—no Ouija board required.
As we learn in the Bible:
John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”.
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
If you have participated in anything I’ve spoken about, I pray that you repent. Remember, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
In Christ,
Melissa Grimes
Oh my goodness. Thats scary. You shouldn’t be inviting evil spirits into your life. Prayers for all Mormons.
M.j.
Scary is right! I can’t imagine doing this!
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