Spiritistic Practices Abandoned

Some years ago, on the island of Ometepe in the middle of Lake Nicaragua in Central America, there lived a young girl whose father was a practicer of occult arts, spiritistic healing and witchcraft. He had a reputation for healing cases of paralysis by calling on evil spirits. After his death, however, his daughter herself became paralyzed and bedridden.

The woman received treatment from a person who also dabbled in spiritism. But one day a traveling Christian overseer called at her home and presented her with a gift​—a copy of the “New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.” Reading it, the woman discovered God’s command against spiritistic practices, as recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 18. At that, she stopped the treatment that she had been receiving from a practicer of spiritism.

Another Witness followed up the initial visit on this woman and a home Bible study was started with her. Eventually, she was asked if her deceased father had left any books or papers associated with his spiritistic practices, and the woman replied that several desk drawers were full of such material. So they burned these items. (Acts 19:18, 19) Also, the woman was urged to pray to Jehovah for aid. Shortly thereafter, she began walking again.