the very jaws of hell
When I was younger, the idea of the devil and his minions scared me to death. As a kid, I was scared of certain parts of the house, let my imagination get away with me, etc. This was worsened by all the cultural representations of the devil, spirits, ghosts, demons, etc in popular literature and movies. In third grade, a friend of mine told me a ghost story about Bloody Mary appearing in the bathroom mirror to some elementary school girls who performed some sort of ritual chant. For years, I couldn't walk into a bathroom without first reaching my arm into the bathroom to turn on the light. I finally had to consciously break myself of the habit when I was nearly an adult. Even as an adult, The Sixth Sense disturbed me. I couldn't be in a room alone for a month.
It was further exacerbated by Mormon teachings. Mormons teach that the devil is real, but also has billions and billions of evil spirits on his side, constantly trying to lead us astray. If the devil is real, if spirits can really interact with mortals in certain circumstances, then who's to say ghost stories are just pretend, I thought.
Add to this stories I heard from my mom and other relatives about so-and-so seeing so-and-so, who is dead. Or hearing voices, whatever. All that had a spiritual-religious bend to it, but it still creeped me out.
While I was questioning, I found out that Jewish theology--the theology of the Old Testament--doesn't even have a devil. The serpent in Genesis doesn't represent Satan at all. There is no Satan in the old church. But JS claimed to have restored the old church. So now why is a devil essential to Smith's plan of salvation--the plan he claimed was laid down from the beginning? Something fishy going on there.
I didn't think much more about the devil until after I stopped believing in God. 'Cause if there's no God, there's certainly no Satan. So now I'm not afraid of spirits or ghosts; it was a great relief when I realized that.
But I haven't gotten around to watching any horror movies. Maybe someday.
(Bonus to anyone who can name where I got the title for this post.)
8 comments:
I heard the Bloody Mary story in elementary school, too. Creeped teh hell out of me for weeks.
Funnily enough, I eventually convinced myself that I was safe because my dad had dedicated our house. That was probably the only part of mormonism I ever derived real comfort from, and once or twice since living alone I've thought it might be nice to have a comforting superstition like that.
Logically, though, I know I'm safer by making my home secure by myself, instead of hiding behind a myth. It was nice as a kid though, I guess.
D&C 122:7 -- Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail and cursing God and God basically said that "if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."
You have to love irony.
I understand that the devil and his minions can reek havoc on tender psyches, but the Mormon devil always seemed rather weak to me. He couldn't really win any souls in the long run, because God pretty much had it rigged so everyone got some degree of glory, but wait -- wasn't that Satan's plan? My Scriptorian performance aside, it has been a long time, so I could be a little fuzzy on the doctrine.
Ironically yours,
TW
(Awaiting my bonus)
I also heard about the Bloody Mary ritual when I was a kid. I've never been able to bring myself to even begin the ritual though I've been tempted many times. What a superstitious fool!
I believe it's time that I pass through this trial by fire. I'm going to invoke Bloody Mary tonight to prove to myself that I'm no longer frightened by superstitious games played at slumber parties. :)
Personally, I learned about Satan's history before I really stopped believing in God. I stopped believing in Satan and felt so good about it that I thought I should give God the boot, too. ;)
cw- I had forgotten all about dedicating houses. My dad did that too, to every place we lived. It provided me with comfort, too. I figured I didn't have to worry about ghosts or evil spirits after that.
After I got married, I mentioned to my husband about him dedicated our apartment, and he looked at me like I was crazy. :)
wanker- Excellent scriptorian work. That section was actually one of my very favorites back in the day. Now, of course, I know why the "very jaws of hell" we chasing after JS.
jonathan- How did the Bloody Mary ritual go? Or were you sworn to secrecy? I have another friend who dropped Satan before the rest. Satan really just doesn't make sense.
I'm with you on the "no horror movies" thang. I can't do it. Not willingly, anyway. In the obscure chance I may have been interested in Alien or the Amityville Horror or Exorcist, then the unfortunate impact meant:
-nightmares (every night for a week)
-completely irrational fear of the dark
-completely irrational fear of basements and stairs
-sleeping with the lights on
I'm an agnostic and cursory pagan - I have nothing to say about devils and angels (unless we're talking about Ann Coulter/Rush Limbaugh or Calvin Klein models).
Hee hee, I hear ya on the Ann Coulter, etc thing. :)
Post a Comment