Elder F. A. D. and others, Deliverance from an Evil Spirit
Published October 12, 2026 at 6:17 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
On their way to a meeting, Elders F. A. D., W. H. P., and G. S. Spencer felt an evil power afflicting a brother. They discerned he was possessed by an evil spirit seeking to prevent him from attending conference. Upon returning, Elders D., B., and S. anointed him. As hands were laid on him, the man writhed in pain and screamed, but the evil spirit was rebuked in the name of Jesus Christ and departed. The man remained speechless for a time due to the reaction but was subsequently able to attend the conference meetings.
In Their Own Words
“On our way to meeting, Elder F. A. D. and the writer felt instinctively the presence of an evil power. On reaching the bed we looked the brother in the eye and the feeling that we were in contact with an evil spirit who was trying to prevent him from attending conference and performing his duties was confirmed. There was but one chance of removing it and that was by having the Elders administer to him; but, being averse to this he suffered intensely. On our return from meeting Elders F. A. D., W. H. P., D. B., and G. S. Spencer administered to the brother by anointing. Just as soon as the last named took his hands off the man to writhe to assume a rigid position, and with a terrible expression of pain, the patient gave groans or screams. Soon the evil spirit was rebuked in the name of Jesus, and in a few minutes the man was as calm as a child. The re-action was so great, that he did not move nor speak for some time, but after a short rest he arose, felt well, and was enabled to attend the conference meetings the following day.”
— W. H. P., The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 19 November 1896 (Vol. 58, No. 47). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1896-11-19_58_47 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 58, No. 47, 19 November 1896, p. 748 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1896-11-19_58_47
Every published account is vetted against its sources — read our editorial standards.
Filed under
Related Miracles
Similar miracle types and stories from the 1890s.
Questions about this account
Who was involved in this account?
When did this account take place?
Where did this account take place?
What kind of miracle is this?
Where does this account come from?
Miracle of the Week
One remarkable, documented account in your inbox every Monday, drawn from the full archive.