I had wondered why there are other Christian’s that go around claiming they succeeded in casting out demons or protected others from demon attacks. I wondered how these other Christians, who are not of the Lord’s Church and do not have the Holy Priesthood, can succeed, to any degree, in these efforts? It did not take long for me to see and realize the answer. It is a simple answer and it is how and why Satan does not completely control this world.

The answer is “right” (versus wrong) and free will and choice.

These are basic powers given by God to all people. We are all taught or given the basic understanding of what is truly right and every person has the power of free will and choice. These powers are immutable, meaning they cannot be changed or over ridden. With these powers, evil can be cast out, kept at bay or removed, but only to a degree.

The scriptures proclaim that we must choose the right in order to keep evil at bay. This Church teaches that same principle, constantly advocating that a righteous life keeps evil away and maintains our chastity and righteousness under God. To protect against or ward off temptation, which is evil, we must choose the right and practice that choice each day. For evil to gain a foothold into our life, we must submit to evil, even to the slightest degree.

When looking at the scriptures, I see that evil is pushed away or removed when a person chooses the right and does so freely. I see the power in this and see that basic protection against evil comes when a person chooses the right. An act of kindness, service, temperance and even an act of love, all wards off evil and casts out darkness as “the right” gains the fruits of the spirit.

Yet, there are stories of evil gaining a foothold over others who were perceived as doing rightly. The question is then asked, “How can I be correct in what I have said?”

The answer is because those people were overcome or overpowered by evil because of a very simple thing. It is called fear.

When faced with evil, fear can easily set into the mind and heart of that person who tries to do right. When doubt joins fear, a person who doubts “right” looses power because then the choice for the right is no longer given freely and strongly, but is instead withheld.

Satan and his demons know this. This is what gives them power, generally speaking, over any person who tries to cast them out. Even those members of the Lord’s true Church can loose the power given to them by the priesthood by succumbing to fear, because then they loose…faith. Jesus himself addressed that very issue when his apostles tried to cast out demons and had a hard time doing it. Jesus told them their faith wavered, they doubted and feared.

For the common soul in the world, they must freely choose and exercise the right to have some power against evil. For the member of the Lord’s Church, it is the same plus the member must have and exercise faith. This makes the difference between a common soul versus a faithful member of the Lord’s Church. The first has the common basic power against evil, which is what these other common Christian’s use to “exorcise” demons and the second is far more powerful because the baptised soul has the basic plus faith. With God’s authority of the priesthood, faith is required to use it. This said to me that the common soul in the world may have some success casting out demons or chasing off evil, but when it requires proper faith and the priesthood, they are sure to fail.

Unfortunately, there are many other Christians in this world that seek out exorcists and self-proclaimed demon warriors failing to see that they also have the basic power themselves to cast out demons within their own lives. Unfortunately, too many people fall into the allure of showboat spirituality and religion, thinking that a person needs to be specially called or skilled to protect against demons or evil, so they walk around in ignorance. Which by the way, prompting ignorance is another power Satan uses and with ignorance, fear is easier to instill.

The common level of protection against evil is something that every person can access, whether or not they are in the Lord’s Church. For higher or greater levels of protection, then comes the need of the Holy priesthood and it is only in this Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints that this higher level of protection is found.

When a person combines the common level with the powers of the Holy priesthood, he or she is well protected against evil, …so long has he or she chooses the right and remains faithful.

So learn to protect yourself and please do not seek these “exorcists” on the Internet to do something you can do yourself. For they have less power than you have as a member of the Lord’s true Church. Remember what demons did to the exorcists in the New Testament.

Amen