Understanding Spiritual Evil in the Context of PsychotherapyByRonald L. Poulton[1] Sometimeago, mywifeandIattendedadinnerwhichwashostedbythe ssociationof!ormon "ounselors and Psychothera#ists $!"P% in connection with its semi&annual conference. 'e were seated with a #sychiatrist, three clinical #sychologists and a social wor(er.'e shared se)eralminutes of con)ersation getting to(nowone another. It was e)ident that theyall lo)ed their#rofession. *hey #racticed it in a manner that was informed by their belief in +od and energi,ed bytheir testimonies of the restored gos#el of -esus "hrist. Se)eral e.#ressed gratitude for !"P and the)alues es#oused by the ssociation.s the s#ouse of an !"P member I was glad to be with somany #rofessionals and to ha)e the o##ortunity to as( them a /uestion that had been on my mind forsome time, (nowing that I would not ha)e to worry whether they were listed as #referred #ro)iderswith my health insurance com#any. t what I thought was an a##ro#riate time I as(ed my /uestion, 0How do you deal with theproblem of unclean spirits in your practices?1uiet came to the table almost immediately. 2ne ofthe #sychologists loo(ed #u,,led and as(ed me to say more.'hen it became clear to them that theyhad not misunderstoodmy/uestion, their res#onses came /uic(ly. *he o)erarchingconclusioncommon to all the res#onses was that this was a sub3ect outside the domain of their common discourseand #rofessional world )iew.It held no #rominent #lace within their #ractices.I was sur#rised by theirresolute o#inions that there was no such #roblem. !y understanding of L4S doctrine has led me to belie)e that this #roblem is near the core ofmany issues addressed by counselors and thera#ists.I belie)e all counselors and thera#ists are familiarwith the effects wrought by e)il s#irits, but they ha)e failed to attribute those effects to their actualsources, which are the acti)ities of such s#irits in the li)es of their clients.*his failure may be causedeither by an incom#lete understanding of doctrine or by a failure to notice and res#ond in a manner thatwould confirm the doctrine to them. In the first section I will set out their res#onses to my /uestionand #ut them in the conte.t of the scri#tures and the teachings of Brigham 5oung, a #ro#het who wasraised near the roots of !ormonism, and grounded u#on those roots, )igorously taught the saints onthissub3ectintheisolated, butreligiouslyo#enen)ironment ofnineteenthcentury6tah *erritory. *hen in the second section I will address what I belie)e are some of the im#lications of this material forL4S thera#ists and counselors.

I. *he first res#onse was7 0At the time the scriptures were written, the people mistook mentaldiseases and biologically based defects for possession by evil spirits. *his )iewreflects the#redominant )iewof manymodernreligionists andmental health#rofessionals. *here ha)e been significant ad)ances made in #sycho#harmacology which ha)e#roduced remar(able sym#tom relief for de#ression, an.iety and schi,o#hrenia. *hese de)elo#mentsdo seem to strengthen the contention that it was a lac( of so#histication or an inade/uate understandingof #hysiology and biochemistry that led to a mista(en diagnosis that #hysical or mental illnesses werecausedbye)il s#irits. 8owe)er, that conclusionwithout additional e.#lanationisunwarranted9 itma(es the logical error of affirming the conse/uence.0The situation is similar to that of a person whotakes aspirin for a headache. Generally, the medicine will relieve the pain and cure! the ailment. "till, the fact that taking aspirin eliminated the pain hardly means that the pain was caused by a lack ofaspirin in the first place. $Liebert : S#iegler, 1;1=% further #roblem with this res#onse is that it fails to e.#lain the distinction gos#el writersmade between the hea)enly #ower o)er de)ils and the #ower to heal the sic(.lthough these #owersare often enumerated together and a##ear to be e.ercised 3ointly in many instances, there is a consistentand #er)asi)e distinction maintained between freeing the afflicted from e)il s#irits and healing sic(nessthroughdi)ine#ower7 0ndhehealedmanythat weresic(ofdi)ersdiseases, andcast outmanyde)ils9 and suffered not the de)ils to s#ea(, because they (new him? $!ar( 17@A%.nd again, 0#henthe even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils$ and he cast out thespirits with his word, and healed all that were sick $!atthew 9 Girst Presidency 1;;>%.+od, seeingtheneedfor his childrentoha)e tabernacles toesca#eo##ressionandtogrowinrighteousness, #ro#osed a #lan whereby his children would enter mortality, obtain #hysical bodies andbe #ro)en in their faithfulness in all things $braham @7FA&FB9 Hhat : "oo(, 1;7;%. nadditionalconse/uence of this #lan, understood by +od and all his children in the #remortal realm, was the factthat there would be some children who would fail in this #robationary state and thereby lose the right toreturn to their #remortal glory $4:" F;7F=&F, theGirst Presidencyandthe1uorumof the*wel)eissued, 0The:amily, A6roclamationtothe #orld,whichasserts7 0Gender is anessential characteristic of individualpremortal, mortal, andeternal identityandpurpose$#. 1DF%.*heattributeof#remortal genderdescribes e/ually the children that rebelled against the Gather as it does his more faithful children that#roceededintomortality. 'ouldit note.tendourunderstandingto(nowthat confusionofse.ualorientation could be brought about and sustained by the influence or #ossession of an unclean s#iritwhich itself has gender, #erha#s the o##osite gender from the #erson afflictedK latent trigger in RobertEs life a##ears to ha)e been the molestation which occurred as a child. It isasife)il inflictedu#onachild, doesindeed0teareththechildande.#oseshimtogreateraffliction as he grows older. *his can be seen in the )ictimL#er#etrator cycle so common in cases ofabuse.It also e.#lains why the Lord was so )ehement in his rebu(e of anyone that would cause achild to stumble7 0And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better forhim that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea $!ar( ;7AF%. lthough casting out e)il s#irits brought immediate and lasting change in the case of Robert, Iam not urging that all client #roblems are fully resol)ed by casting out e)il s#irits."ertainly all of thetas(s of #sychothera#yremaintobecom#letedafter e)il has beendis#elled. *he s#iritual andemotional wounds will remain to be healed.*he roots which first ga)e e)il its hold may remain to bedealt with in counseling.*he understanding, acce#tance and forgi)eness which come from the s(illfuland em#athetic guidance of a thera#ist must be #ursued.*he nurturing and education which restore asoul to health, #ower and freedom will be needed. 2f course eachclient, beinginde#endent, alsocanbe the source of muchself&inflictedsuffering.*he de)il is often re/uired to gi)e close instruction on how to sin only once9 from then onone (nows the way and may need little assistance. 8owe)er, thera#ists must be (eenly aware that theo##osition of the ad)ersary is renewed whene)er a ca#ti)e sets a course to freedom.'al(ing the #athof change and healing can be fore)er frustrated if thera#ists are ignorant of the enemy or allow its#resence to remain near their wor(. #hysician always cleans a wound first, and thereafter as often asnecessary to allow healing to come.*he #ractice is e/ually a##licable in the conte.t of #sychothera#y.

Inadditiontosee(ingthegift of discernment of s#irits, theremaybeadutyu#onL4Sthera#ists to s#ea( intelligently and o#enly, at least among themsel)es, not only about our Gather in8ea)en and his Son, but also about the ad)ersary encountered on a daily basis. Brigham 5oung urged,0#e should not only study good, and its effects upon our race, but also evil, and its conseEuences $51,F7 ;A%.Pec( $1; [1;;A], >1D%. By mid&1;;>, the worldEs #o#ulation was estimated at >.=B billion. 2)er time, as many as 1D> billion #eo#le may ha)e li)ed on the earth. $Hstimates courtesy of Po#ulation Reference Bureau, 'ashington , 4.". 9 see "arl 8aub, PHow ]7 AJ>%.? $#. =@% [@].*here is some difference of o#inion as to the identity of the 0woman. Some writers ha)e belie)ed H)e was the woman s#o(en of in the scri#ture $!c"on(ie, !illet : *o#, 1;ne Jolume 4ible ;ommentary. Cew 5or( 7 !ac!illan Publishing "om#any.Hhat, ndrew G., and "oo(, Lyndon '. $Hds. and "om#s.%. $1;