Depression is of the Devil?

Dear Readers,

I am going to put up a bunch of warning flags on this one....
Firstly: This is just an hypothesis I have. It is not a personal belief, personal knowledge, nor is it                    doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Secondly: I think that this could happen, but I strongly desire more information, especially from my              readers, as to doctrine that could support or even disprove this hypothesis.
Thirdly: I have not prayed about this subject, so again, I have no confirmation from the Holy Ghost                as to whether or not this is true, or even partly true.
Fourthly: I have not even discussed this subject with religious leaders, so if any read this, I would                 love their input.
Lastly: I am mostly writing this as a means to get people thinking about depression and other mental disorders in a different way. From what I have seen, the way the world, and even members of the LDS faith, view and treat this subject is obviously not working.

So, let me describe my initial reasoning behind this hypothesis. I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had had a very bad episode of depression a few months back, and was talking to an investigator (someone investigating and learning about the church). He was having difficulty with our, and the world's, view on feelings. Particularly praying to know the Book of Mormon was true, and receiving the "burning in the bosom" testimony or confirmation from God. His philosophy was that "I am in control of my feelings and emotions. If I want to make myself 'feel' good, I can make myself feel good. I can also make myself feel bad."

This is indeed a hard subject to try and teach, because too often we feel that we do not know if a prompting or inspiration from the Holy Ghost is just "from us" that we are just "convincing ourselves" of something, whether it is doctrine, or something we should do like service or charity. The official stance on this subject is that, anything and everything "...that which is from God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." (Moroni 7:13) So, when it comes to doing good, it does not matter if it is from you or from God, because it is still God's will. If it is you, then you have more fully aligned your will with God's will. If it is from God, then acting upon it will bring you closer to God.

If that is how knowing for promptings to do good works, then what about confirmations of truth? The fruit of the Spirit is "...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:" (Galatians 5:22-23) So, if we feel these things, then we are doing something according to God's will, because the Holy Ghost is confirming that to us.

Simply put, if these good feelings are from God, then then the painful, wicked, sorrowful, wrathful feelings are from the Devil.

Now, from the scientific perspective, emotions like love, anger, joy, and sorrow are all caused by chemicals in the brain. Technically, no one knows why these chemicals are released, other than as a result of stimuli. Sometimes, that stimuli can be our focusing on something sad, or remembering a happy time. But, as most of you know, this is only a temporary change in emotion. Quite often, these emotions come from outward stimuli: something someone said, or did, some event that has transpired. These we accept and understand, someone dies, we are sad, because that outward stimuli triggered chemical responses in the brain, or thoughts that then triggered the chemical responses.

What I am trying to say, is that we forget that the Holy Ghost and Satan are actual people, beings of spirit that we cannot see. They too can have give us stimuli. How?... I do not know, but as reason dictates, if it takes a spirit, whether our own or the Holy Ghost, to make us feel good, then another spirit (Lucifer, his angels, or spirits trapped in prison) could affect us as well.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Have I ever felt happy, joyful, or good for no reason?
Have I ever felt loved or at peace for no reason?
Have I ever felt sad or depressed for no reason?
Have I ever felt angry or upset for no reason?

Scientists would look at someone's emotional state and say, oh look, those chemicals were in your brain, that is why you felt that way. If you don't want to feel that way, let us fix it with these other chemicals to counteract it. This does not fix the source of the problem, just treats the symptoms.

I am hypothesizing that depression in particular, but possibly other mental illnesses that doctors consider a "chemical imbalance" might actually be caused by spiritual beings, and might actually be "outside of our control". I put "outside of our control" in quotation marks, because there are little things we can do to help... but as I myself know, they don't always work.

The scriptures say that "...God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Doctrine and Covenants Institute Student Manual also talks a little about this subject. In Section 76 sub-section Who Has Satan Singled Out As His Enemies? it says: "...All men have power to resist the devil. They who have tabernacles, have power over those who have not." (Teachings, pp. 189-190). Tabernacle is a term referring to a body. From these references we see that we are not exempt from temptation or the buffetings and attacks of Satan, but we can "resist" and "escape" them.

The manual goes on to quote President George Q. Cannon from Gospel Truth, 1:19-20. He said, "...It is true that some have greater power of resistance than others, but everyone has the power to close his heart against doubt, against darkness, against unbelief, against depression, against anger, against hatred, against jealousy, against malice, against envy.... We can help giving way to the" important phrase here "spirit of theft, and we can resist the spirit of lust." (italics, underline, and bold added).

From this we find that depression is along the other temptations of the devil, and that, at least in the case of theft and lust, can be attributed to spirits. The manual quote ends with this, "Whenever darkness fills our minds, we may know that we are not possessed of the Spirit of God, and we must get rid of it. When we are filled with the Spirit of God, we are filled with joy, with peace and with happiness no matter what our circumstances may be; for it is a spirit of cheerfulness and of happiness." Thus drawing the argument, if I am being possessed by a spirit, and it is not from God, then where is it from? If it is not of God, then it is of the Devil, especially if it is dark. So how can we try to fight it and "get rid of it"?

First, we can try thinking of good things, happy times, loved ones.... but as I said, this is a temporary fix, one that, often times, we have to use all of our strength to fight for. This is the equivalent of our spirit trying to impress or express more influence on our bodies to counteract whatever other influences might be struggling for control. In essence, the spiritual side of giving medication, trying to treat the symptom, while the cause is still there.

Sometimes, it may discourage the "cause", but quite often, it is an upward struggle that wears us down. To the point that we can give in and be swallowed up by these emotions.

If my hypothesis were to be true, it would explain so much. It would explain why, when you are trying to live your life as best as you can, following God and serving Him, you still feel crummy, lonely, sad, depressed, or even miserable. Satan wants to usurp God's power and influence wherever he can, and though you are heeding the counsels and promptings of God, you are still "buffeted" by Satan and his influence.

This reminds me of the metaphor Helaman spoke to his sons, Nephi and Lehi, in Helaman 5:12 of the Book of Mormon.  Paraphrased: build a foundation upon the solid rock, which is Christ, and when the Devil shall send his whirlwinds and mighty storm, they will not drag you down.

If we have that foundation of Christ, hold to it, draw strength from it, we will be able to stand. It does not say that the Devil will no send his wrath upon you, just that it will have no victory over you. Just as with Christ's parable in Matthew 7 about the wise man and the foolishman. The rains and floods came upon both houses, depression, despair and sorrow come upon us all from time to time, but the wise man, who hearkened unto the words of Christ, was not swept away.

Also, I noticed that when I am depressed, that my environment has quite a bit of influence. During that particular episode on my mission, I was living in a basement, with the stone walls, and windows that did not allow in direct sunlight. The ceiling was bare with the support beams visible. It felt like being in a prison. I also noticed, that being around good people, especially friends, even if I did not want to interact with them, that merely being around them would make me feel better. There is something about being in the right place, especially a holy place, like the temple, or at church, that helps. If this hypothesis is true, it could mean that being around so much good influence either drowns out the bad, or discourages the source of the bad. If the hypothesis is not true, it could mean that just being around other people helps keep your mind off of things.

Again, going back to science, because truth is not just found in religion, but also in the world around us. Scientists have found that several mental disorders are linked with genes that can be passed on from one generation to another. Depression is one of those. Now, this fact alone could disprove my hypothesis, in that depression is actually just caused by the faulty genes of our mortal bodies in this fallen world. But, should my hypothesis be true, it could mean that there are genes that influence the body into being more susceptible to spiritual interactions. This would explain how some people could be more "spiritual" than others, like those who claim that they are mediums and psychics. I used the word claim, because I neither confirm nor deny that they could have those powers, but I do acknowledge that there are many forgeries of such gifts out there. This is also substantiated by my earlier quote from President George Q. Cannon, "...that some have greater power of resistances than others..."

Lastly, the best thing we can do is heed President George Q. Cannon's council, as well as the counsel of Prophets of God throughout the ages, and pray. "God has give this power unto all of us, and we can gain still greater power by calling upon Him for that which we lack." (Gospel Truth, 1:12-20). "Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work." (Doctrine and Covenants 10:5)

So, in conclusion, having not really proven or dis-proven anything, I shall restate my hypothesis: that maybe chronic depression, anger or any similar emotional states, might be caused by influences of beings from the unseen world. I strongly desire your comments as to whether or not you think this could be, or if any of the Prophets or Apostles have spoken on this matter, words that might help me, and others, to find more light on this subject. Thank you, I hope that this has got you thinking. I am looking forward to your comments.

Love,
Jacobugoth