Hello Gramps!
Just a quick question regarding what the world calls “hauntings”. I’m just curious if you have any comment on how spirits are permitted to occupy residences. I’m not referring to the 1/3 of the heavenly hosts who followed Lucifer to the Earth, but those who have passed from their second estate and seem to create mischief following their death? Does this have to do with the principle of agency? Any ideas?
Matt, from Lehi, Utah

Dear Matt,
There is the scriptural account of the witch of Endor in the 1 Samuel 28, in which, at Saul’s request, she conjures up the prophet Samuel. I doubt very much that this woman who hath a familiar spirit, had the power to conjure up a prophet of God. If Samuel appeared to Saul, which undoubtedly he did, Samuel appeared at his own volition, and cursed Saul for his disobedience to the Lord.
Other scriptural accounts of casting out evil spirits in all probability refer to that 1/3 part of the hosts of heaven who were cast out with Lucifer, and forever denied the privilege of mortality. They try to inhabit the bodies of other people, but are subject to the power of the holy priesthood, and when commanded with faith in the name of the Savior and invoking the authority of the priesthood, they are powerless to resist. In one such case a number of evil spirits that inhabited the bodies of two men, were commanded by the Savior to come out of them. There was a herd of swine nearby and they pled for permission to enter the bodies of the swine, which permission was granted by the Lord. The herd of swine thus possessed immediately ran into the water and drowned themselves (Matt 8:28-32).
But there is yet another group concerning which you ask, the post mortal spirits of those who have lived on the earth. I find no scriptural account of such spirits, nor any specific reference to such in any of the writings of modern day prophets. However, there is much profane evidence of such spirits lingering in the locations of their earthly habitats. The British, for instance, take their ghosts quite seriously. Anne Boleyn, one of the wives of Henry VIII was beheaded by the king on May 19, 1536. Her ghost has been reported to have been seen by several people at Hampton Court, including some of the guards there. Enough credence has been given to these sightings to prompt the British TV stations to post cameras in the halls at Hampton Court in the hopes of filming her ghost. To date, none of the filming has produced any positive images. Certain homes in England are reported by the resident owners to be haunted, and there have been reported verbal interchanges between some of the ghosts and the residents.
Gramps