Casting Out Evil, Part 4: Dispelling the Myths Behind Casting Out

There are members of the restored church who believe that we can make friends with evil / unholy / impure spirits. They privately teach that we can chit chat with them, council with them, have a court of love with them, forgive them, establish a relationship of trust with them, then send them to the light where they can learn the gospel, accept it and progress alongside us. There’s only one problem with that: There’s absolutely no doctrinal or historical precedent for this teaching. Not one verse. Not one phrase. In fact, the scriptures teach the exact opposite is true: “And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, ***from whence there is no deliverance."*** (2 Nephi 28:22; emphasis mine) Heavenly Father never tried to convert Satan prior to his banishment from the Garden of Eden. Moses never tried to buddy-buddy up with Satan on the Mount. Jesus never tried to convert Satan during his 40-day fast in the desert. In fact, in all the casting out accounts in the New Testament and church history, we are simply told that mortals should cast out evil, period, end of discussion.