HOW TO APPROACH SOMEONE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND POSSIBLE EVIL SPIRITS

 This is a good question that was in the comments:

How do you approach a family member struggling with mental illness, and you think evil spirits are having their way with her?

Shannon, I do not have a solid answer.  And I wish that this would be addressed by way of a Conference talk or something more authoritative so that we are not just left with speculation and anecdotal case histories to derive a course of action from.  It is a murky and even a sensitive topic; not too different than how to deal with someone with suicidal ideations.  Maybe just a little raw to be dealt with in a public forum like Conference.  But, at the same time, I think it is more common than we think.  It is analgous to what we used to call in the airline industry, a "hidden latent failure mode" (or something hidden that can manifest itself spectacularly and bring down the airframe in a catastrophic manner).  Hidden problems all around that we are largely unaware of that are bringing our children, spouses and others down relatively unbeknownst to us, sometimes in a spectacular manner.  It really does take discernment.  Having dealt with the past mental health symptoms of my wife (and having attempted on multiple counts to cast out of her, with no apparent success), I have been baffled but not deflated over where that "line" is between mental health issues and actual demonic influence, all the way up to full demonic possession.

If you are overt in dealing with it, the evil spirit that prefers to remain entrenched in the person can lash out even violently against your attempt to cast out, as illustrated in the Bible account.  The person who is afflicted with an evil or familiar spirit may be reluctant to have you squelch their "friend" or "friends", as I suspected was the case with what appeared to be a mentally ill guy at the Wendy's in Calgary (previous blog topic), whom I cast out of surreptitiously.  And successfully, I might add.  That was meant to be a learning experience for me, I am sure.  To not give up in my "curiosity" on the topic.  The Lord threw me a bone, so to speak.

The one thing I am sure of is that, as we ease our grip on the Iron Rod (gospel), we begin to open ourselves up to demonic interplay just as we are warned of in the Temple.  Those with a greater knowledge, having an increased measure of responsibility towards this interplay.  The person, having done so, typically can only be rescued by another who can cast the influence away long enough for the person to think clearly enough to repent, begin to read scriptures, pray regularly and to basically keep what they opened themselves up to, at bay.  The path back will be much more difficult than the ascent into the abyss.  BUT, the person who makes it back from something like that (drugs, demonic control, etc) will likely never release that grip again.  They will almost cling to what brought them relief in a maniacal way.  Alice Cooper's revival comes to mind.

So there is the overt way (let them know what you are doing and then just carry it out).  And then there is the covert way (in the same room, commanding in the name of Jesus either under your breath or in your mind).  This probably should be accompanied by fasting and prayer over the course of several days or even weeks.  Especially if you have not done it before.  Doing it as a couple is also a good thing or with other faithful Priesthood holders, or even your Bishop or EQ President.  They must be people who have true faith and not just posers (people who are social Mormons) and the like.  It may take multiple sessions.  It IS dependent on personal worthiness and power in the person's Priesthood as my Brazilian experience demonstrated (previous blog article).  It is possible that it is not the person's time and that they need to experience the buffeting in order to be more humble.  I believe this is the case with my daughter.  She is one of the most stubborn/headstrong/willful people I know with a good case of Oppositional Defiance Disorder (will do the polar opposite of what seems logical, if a person is suggesting the logical course).  She basically has to have her arse soundly kicked before she will proceed to do the right thing (the same rebellious spirit that satan took on when he and 1/3 of the host opposed Father's plan, even though Father kind of had the whole 'being a God' thing down...).  No duh, minions...

In the end, just remember that it is God's design to save everything that will allow themselves to be saved.  Anything with just a flicker of divinity in it.  One thing I have learned is that all of my children have that flicker within them.  Not all are going to act on it.  It was painful to read my daughter's journal where, for the first time in her life as a 16 year old, she was beginning to have spiritual experiences that would have led her to a good place.  But then she back-pedaled and has never looked back.  So sad.  It has been painful to watch.  I find comfort in knowing that a perfected Being has dealt with the loss of 1/3 of His progeny.  It is part of the eternal cycle and those who did not even consent to an existence predicated on Agency, will never have a body, likely to have their matter recycled (we really do not know their end or final state).  Those who did qualify for a body, but have not progressed spiritually, will not qualify to reproduce.  It seems perfectly fair, given you do not want to propagate spiritual mediocrity (survival of the spiritual fittest).  And those who have the spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear will move forward and eventually receive the right and privilege of being as God is, where He is and how He is.  All of the rights, privileges, domains, powers shared co-equally with qualifying children, if only they would look up and live.  I look at what has been recently exposed by the space telescope and am in awe of what He is capable of harnessing and wielding as a Perfected Being.  I pity those who cannot comprehend, who have shunted and stunted themselves by their lack of belief and stubbornness of heart.

So, there you have it, Shannon.  That is my answer.  Hope it helps in some way.