The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-07-17
THE 0BsESSION OF Newell KNIGHT.

The Deseret News, in an interesting editorial
spirit Possession" cites the case of Newell
Knight, in the early days of the Mormon Church,
as a striking instance of satanic obsession The
News tees US:
THE affection came upon him when he refused
TO hearken to the voice of the Spirit calling him
TO pray When the Prophet Joseph came to him.
be found him suffering very much in his mind
and his body acted upon in a very strange man.
ner. His visage and limbs we're distorted and
twisted in every shape and appearance possible to
imagine, and finally he was caught up off the floor
OF the apartment and tossed about most fearfully"
1t is evident that natural sickness could pro-
ducc these symptoms.
The Prophet caught the sufferer by the hand
rcb,ked the evil spirit and in the name of Jesus
commanded him to depart Then:
The scene was now entirely changed, for as
as the devil had departed from our friend,
his countenance became natural and the dstor-
tons of the body ceased"
We have no hesitation in accepting this re-
corded fact as an instance of diabolic obsession.
Naterialists, higher critics and men who affect
the name Of scientists pretend to ignore the exist
ence of nIalevolent spirits and depore the stupid
lily of the ignorant minds that profess to believe
in the reality of a devil. But they have method
in their laughter. Abolish Satan. hell and evil
spirits and you do away with Savior, Jesus
Christ for, from whom and from what did Christ
die to save us! Do away with Jesus Christ and
Christianity dies, and there is then no Christian
people. Such likewise is the transparent sense Of
St. John the Evangelist. Let us repeat his Ian
guage and his threats addressed to the higher crit
les of his day. for they will apply to the materiasts
of our own time.
who is liar, but he that denieth that Jesus
is the Christi He is of Antichrist who denieth the
Father and the Son"
For this purpose the Son of God appeared
that he might destroy the works of the devil"
Dearly beloved believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits whether they be of God"
Every spirit that confesseth Jesus Christ come
in the flesh is of God"
For many seducers have gone out into the
world who deny that Jesus Christ has come in the
fesh-1, II, Ep
To deny the existence of dabolc spirits, and
their malign influence on certain men and women
Of race, at all times and in all countries. is
to argue against the facts of secular and sacred
history.
Il am convinced" writes the physician Dupo-
let in an article contributed to the journal du
Magnatieme," that agents of mighty and invisi-
bic power exist independent of us; that they can
take possession of us, dominate us and compel our
organs Of speech to utter their thoughts =
Moreover, this belief was the belief of our fathers.
All religions admitted and admit the reality of
spiritual agents.'-N III. p. SIS One of the
greatest of Londons physicians, Dr. Frederick
Strange. said TO the late DR.. George Lee that he
persuaded from his own observation and eS-
perience that many singular cases of epilepsy and
madness could only be attributed to agencies for
eipn 10 race, and could only be explained nv
the Christian doctrine of demonology.
AT about the time that Joseph Smith was con.
structing the spiritual edifce of the Church of
Jesus Christ Of the Latter Day Saints" tidal
wave of Spiritism flooding the eastern states.
Spiritism became epidemic and not until the
number of the insane and epileptic aarmingly in
creased did thoughtful men awake to the reality
Of the danger threatening American social life.
Never again in all probability will our country
experience such CONFUSION of spiritism The
shelves Of publishing houses were loaded with