What are mormon/lds view on demons and ghosts?

Question

I would like to know a what a mormon lds person thinks on demons and ghosts. I am mormon/lds and I didnt believe in demons until weird things started happening at my old house. My dad also woke up one morning with a man standing over him, with the meanest look on his face. What is the purpose of demons? Can they really go too far and hurt people? Why would God allow that?

Answer 1

As you can tell there are some vague answers to this question however it is a god question. Generally, though, we do believe the spirits that followed Lucifer are around us trying to tempt and maybe scare us. Some people are more prone to see them like my wife and brother in-law. Not to mention many religions believe that evil spirits can pose as angels of light, in which we agree. Joseph Smith once said that a good way to tell if a spirit in your presence is from God or is evil is to ask to shake their hand. A messenger from God would be a perfect being capable of doing this task. An evil spirit, never having a body, can’t; and will disappear. Again my brother in-law had an experience just like this on his mission. Both he and his companion woke up to find a “person” standing between them. I’m not sure if it said anything; but, his companion, thinking of what Joseph Smith said, ask the “person” to shake hands. It disappeared immediately.

As far as devils, demons and ghosts like many people imagine them; we don’t believe that. But there are evil spirits around trying to influence us at every turn.

Answer 2

Hello, I have been a member of the church my entire life. My father was a Bishop while still alive & according to the the LDS faith he still is in the spirit world :) ok, so anyways back to subject at hand- from my personal experiences and my studies of several different religions including the pagan beliefs such as Hinduism, etc. Demonology, Islam, the Occult. I've even studied the Goetia and the Necronomicon ( which is not at all like in the movies & is mostly in Summerian text.) I have unfortunately come into contact with things I wish I had never come into contact with but then again I wouldn't have been able to help some of the people I've known who have had horrible experiences with the paranormal or as I like to refer to as the world commonly unseen. The basics most Mormons know or believe is that Demons are fallen angels and cannot physically hurt us and evil spirits that were human are spirits that have not crossed over to the spirit world yet and are malevolent for whatever reason. We'll that only explain a very tiny piece of the pie, like a itty bitty crumb of the pie. Which for most of us is plenty and better that way too. Anyways my point is Demons can shake your hand too and not all demons are just spirits. The word Demon means God/Deity in Greek. Yes we have one Heavenly Father but that's in our Universe, in our realm. Remember there are worlds without number, universes too. Best thing is to do the best you can in life, stay positive and steal clear of anything negative. These things love attention so Ignoring is best. If that doesn't work get a blessing, always have your home blessed before moving in or having guests (some people bring negative energy with them). Yes burning sage helps and works and so does salt (Heavenly Father put things here for our use, so use them) . Pray, pray, pray and then pray some more. Also some people are more sensitive than others and we see things we do not want to see. There is a reason for that and anyone who has experiences that are upsetting or unexplainable - remember you were a spirit before you were a mortal. Also as far as solid, not solid, spirit, alive, dead, etc. think about science for a second would you please! Lol our bodies are not SOLID! We are tiny molecules bouncing off of one another! We are energy! Everything is even after it dies it changes but is still energy. So there ya have it.

Answer 3

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, much less the whole Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I'm a member of the church, so here's my two cents worth.

A demon is just another word for a spirit. Spirits come in two types. Some haven't been born yet. Others are those who have lived on earth and have died, but haven't yet been resurrected. A ghost is a spirit that has manifest himself (or herself) to man. Thus, we refer to the Holy Ghost, rather than the Holy Spirit, as some churches do. The Holy Ghost has certainly made Himself known to us!

There are certainly evil spirits mentioned in the Bible. Remember that strange tale in Luke where Jesus casts out a group of demons from a man, but they beg Him to be allowed to go into the bodies of swine? Then the swine get all excited, and run into the sea, so they die and the demons wind up without even swine bodies to haunt.

I'm not sure why Luke put that story in the scriptures, but have always thought it was to teach us that having a body is a good thing. Even evil spirits will do almost anything to get ahold of one! After all, Jesus thought having a body was so important that he died so we could be resurrected, and have a permanent, perfect body for eternity.

Why does God allow such things? Well, remember that this is earth life -- not heaven. Bad things can happen here. Remember that Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven. Some spirits, just like some people, don't always keep the commandments.

However, since you HAVE a body, you are much more powerful than any disembodied spirit. Plus, you have the Holy Ghost, which means you can win any struggle with whatever spirit or temptation comes your way.

Answer 4

I honestly don't know what the Mormon beliefs are on demons and ghosts, even though a lot of my family is mormon. I do know some mormons that believe in demons. The experience your dad had sounds like experiences I have. It sounds a lot like sleep paralysis which is usually accompanied by hallucinations. In these episodes, people often see demons and feel that they are a threat. There has been no evidence that these entities have the ability to hurt anyone though. Check out this website about sleep paralysis.

Answer 5

Without dwelling too long on this subject, let me give you a couple of things to think about. When my great-grandmother's family was going to join the Church, I heard that an entire horde of evil spirits tried to surround the house with loud noises and a dark feeling and tried to discourage them physically by making it feel like they were having a heart attack or something similar. I think the spirits knew that there are certain people on earth who have very strong spiritual potential, and they try all kinds of things to distract people or discourage them from sharing what they know with others. I think when you say "demons" you might want to clarify that and say bad spirits who have chosen to follow Satan. It is my understanding that bad spirits are not allowed to kill anyone, but they might try their hardest to get people to kill other people or even kill themselves. It seems their favorite thing to do with Church members especially is to spread depression and discouragement. If you and your family haven't already had a Priesthood blessing it's definitely time to get one - it may not be enough for your father to have the Priesthood - sometimes there are very strong spirits who need to be cast out by two or more men with the Melchizedek Priesthood, and sometimes it has to be done more than once. The closer we get to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the more often these kinds of experiences will probably occur. It just means that something about your family is important, and you have great potential to help those around you. Have a happy day, and I send you some virtual gummy bears.
P.S. Here is a scripture from 2 Nephi 2 and verse 11, when the prophet Lehi was speaking to his son Jacob: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness, nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one..."
It just means that sometimes we come up against very bad things in order to choose the good things and be committed to the good that we choose. I think God is very mindful of you and your family.

Answer 6

Yes, I believe in demons, my youngest brother, when he was 8 years old or so, told my parents that a man dressed in a suit like a skin diving suit was coming after him, to kill him. He was wide awake, so it was no bad dream..

My sister just younger than me, was asleep one night and it just so happen my older sister was in the same room and Jodi said something is choking me. My older sister yelled out and my Dad and brother-in-law came running in there and thru the two of them holding the Melchizedek priesthood, they commanded the evil spirit to leave. My sister was 16 years old at the time.

I had my daughter in the hospital, she was 2 years old, in Salt Lake and when I took her out, I layed down upstairs in my brothers home and looked up at the ceiling and there was a face (like a Shakepherean mask) laughing at me, I thought I was just tired, so I closed my eyes for a couple minutes and then looked in the opposite corner and it was there again laughing at me, when this happened the third time, I called my sister and told her what happened, she told me to get down on my knees and pray like I had never prayed in my life before, because it was satan.

If no one wants to believe these things happened, that's their free will, but it is all true.
Yes, I believe in evil spirits and good spirits.

And yes, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Answer 7

i know i believe that Fallen angels must have corporeal bodies, or else how could the Nephelim be born to women that had children.
I believe demons are spirit beings without a body. so the two may not be the same.
Why does God allow people to be hurt.?
Why do people forsake God?!!!

read what joseph smith says about buffetings of satan to start.
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/104/9-10#9

i had actually forgotten what this says.
but i also know that Jesus was a blameless and sinless person
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/26/67#67

Evil men hate christ, They will hate us too, so it is written. it is also written that The devil is cast down to the earth and three Woes are decreed upon us the inhabitants thereof because of his wrath.
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/12/12#12
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/8/13#13

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/8/13#13

But the following topical guide will show you more about unlcean spirits and various other thing if you look at it, and study through the several links.
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/s/264

i hope these links will help you out. and please keep contact with me. I would like to know how things are going. There is one more verse i would like to share with you. about jesus and suffereing.
While Sin is the #1 cause of suffering and demonic buffeting,

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/19/4,15-18,20#4
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/search?type=words&last=jesus+learned+&help=&wo=checked&search=suffered&iw=scriptures&tx=checked&af=checked&hw=checked&sw=checked

it is automatically KNOWN that suffering does not happen just because of sin. There is Unrighteous dominion practiced by those who have authority, there are tools of wickedness like witchcraft(s) and sorceries that men understand how to cause suffereing. but remember Jesus Learned by the things that HE SUFFERED. Im sure Jesus was never Possessed but at the same time there is evidence that he was Oppressed and persecuted on all sides. Even one of the apostles wrote: We of all men are most miserable. Misery for sure does not come from Sin. and demonic oppression seems to happed because of people or spirits that are Angry and hateful, if not outright criminals. There are practices also of some kinds of witchcrafts that do SEND spectors out to torment their perspective targets.

it is a sad thing that these things do exist. I know you are not alone. I hear hundreds of testimonies world wide of paranormal and supernatural things that are demonic. try considering listening to coasttocoastam.com. its usually broadcast on public am radio everynight for about 4 hrs. You will see what i am talking about.
Remember to stay faithful and keep your prayers. Always ask for protection from evil. because there are some things that happen that DO go beyond what mortal man can endure.

For other references to Demons more specifically, check out individual books like the encyclopedia of mormonism, or Mormon doctrine by Bruce R McKonkie. it is possible that several of the prophets have taught things on thee ideas. reluctantly the church does not reference these books online. in my immediate contact. I hope some of these things help