It was so many years ago.  It was summer and we were traveling through Utah with the old Saints Alive School bus and a bunch of young Christian volunteers, witnessing in the streets and teaching in Churches and public venues throughout Utah. We were in the [then] small town of Moab.

I was there to meet with the late Keith Greene, wonderful Christian singer and head of Last Days Ministries.  Keith had recently published the “Catholic Chronicles” and we were talking about doing a series called “Th Mormon Manuscript.”

Keith died in a plane crash before we got the project off the ground, but I eventually finished it. Both are available at Saints Alive. Keith was a beloved man of God who led so many thousands to profound new lives in Christ.

While in Moab, I was speaking in a small public venue and just before we began the meeting three bearded men came in with their polygamous wives. I marveled at the pioneer clothes, the hair styles, and the color coordination of the wife groups

They were very attentive to my message and at the end of the meeting, one of the men came up and asked me if he gave his life to Jesus, what would he do with his 8 wives.

I told him that he would keep his first wife and provide for and love his other wives as sisters, but those other benefits would have to cease.  He quietly stood there for some time, visibly shaken and finally told me, “I can’t.”

Around the same time, an older man I knew a while I worked at The Boeing Co. stopped by to visit me. He told me that he was a close childhood friend of the LDS Prophet, Spencer W. Kimball.

He said that he went to Salt Lake and visited his childhood friend at the church headquarters and shared the simple Gospel with him.  He boldly offered to pray with him and asked if he would receive the real Christ in his life. The Prophet shed tears and whispered, “I can’t.”

Now, let’s jump ahead some years to a face-off with the LDS leaders in Tonga. We had gone to the LDS headquarters on my arrival in Tonga and called the LDS leaders to repentance.

I stated that there were two kinds of spiritual leaders, Those who were righteous and led their people to spiritual life in Christ and the unrighteous, who led their people to spiritual death. I said they were unrighteous leaders and I called them to repentance.  

Issy Taukolo, our local leader, spoke to the Tongan head of the Church in their native language, asked him to come to Christ and the man teared up, sobbing. Then he said, In Tongan, “I can’t.”  Issy asked him why. He replied, “They own me.”

I have lost count of the Mormons to whom I have witnessed Christ and asked them to come to the real Christ, only to hear those same exact words, “I can’t.” It’s well in the hundreds who have repeated those two words, often with tears streaming down their faces.

Those specific words are the evidence of demonic control, and the trigger is the witness of the true Jesus.  This is a spiritual battle, and it must be fought in that realm. Logic and truth have no power to break through the “I Can’t.”

But on Ephesians, Chapter Six, you can find that your spiritual weapons are there and ready to use.

Ed Decker