The Devil's On My Chest

Sleep Paralysis

My Story

To most people, this will sound crazy. When I was in high school, my alarm woke me up at 5:40am for seminary as usual. But this time, I felt paralyzed—like my body was playing a practical joke on itself!  In my early morning dilerium, I thought I must be dreaming and my first reaction was to rollover and fall back to sleep.  But then I realized I was conscious and literally couldn’t move.  I attempted to rationally assess my situation.  It seemed logical that the Devil, who wanted to keep me from attending seminary, had somehow gain power over my physical body and had pinned me down on my own bed.  "GET OFF ME, SATAN!" I cried out in my mind (as I was unable to speak out loud).  The moments following my auto-exorcism are still a bit fuzzy.  But ultimately, I ended up in my bathroom, showering the sleep out of my eyes and praising God.

I shared the experience later with my seminary class.  They probably all thought I was insane, but I didn't care if they judged me because it. At the time, I truly believed that God had helped me dispel the Adversary, just as He had done for Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove (JSH 1:15-17). While I never again experienced immobility and fear to that extent, I have experienced similar episodes.

Years later, I was exposed to WEB MD.

I discovered that some 40 percent of all people have experienced at least one episode of sleep paralysis—disturbed REM sleep in which you feel trapped and unable to move. While the experience can be terrifying, it isn’t actually dangerous, according to sleep experts. Multiple cultures have explained the phenomenon by claiming that demons are pinning down the sleeper (in medieval legends, we know those demons as a succubus or incubus). Apparently, mine isn't the only human brain that wants to explain the unexplainable.

While I now, scientifically, have reason to doubt my supernatural, teenage detainment, my faith remains firm in the fact that God did succor me in my time of need.  Moving my body was the most difficult challenge I had faced up to that point in my entire life!  Despite being a strong, young man, there was no way I was getting out of bed on my own power. So I pleaded with God to help me do the thing I knew He wanted me to do—and it worked.  From this experience and others, I know that God is always ready to hear our prayers, and support us in achieving our righteous endeavors.

May this anecdote remind you who to call out for in your time of need—supernatural or otherwise.  For more personal stories about the crossroads between my faith and real life, check out my Mormon.org profile.