It was quite a common thing in early days in the Welsh mission for the power of the devil to be manifested in what were called the Saints' meetings--that is, testimony or sacramental meetings. The evil one seemed to be always on the alert to operate through some one, and the power of the Priesthood invariably had to be exerted to banish the evil influences from the meeting. Although not apparent at the time, experience generally proved that the persons through whom the evil one operated were not serving God as they should do--they were either doubting the divinity of the principles which they had embraced or they had broken the sacred covenants which they had made with the Almighty and gone into transgression. Very frequently, after being relieved of the evil spirits which possessed them such persons would, in a spirit of penitence and humility, acknowledge their faults and ask forgiveness, but occasionally persons would be found who were not willing to do this, but continued in sin and were a source of trouble and disturbance to the Saints whenever they happened to be present at their meetings; and it sometimes occurred that the spirits which possessed them were so stubborn and determined not to yield that the brethren really found it difficult to cope with them. In the latter part of the year 1848, the Elders laboring in the Merthyr Tydvil branch had a great deal of trouble with two young women of that branch who very frequently were possessed of evil spirits. They were such a source of annoyance in the meetings that, on the day of a general conference which was to be held about the close of the year, they were cautioned, by Elder Dan Jones who then presided there, against attending the meeting. To this, however, they paid no attention, and when the meeting was opened, it was only too apparent that they were there. In a short time the meeting was in such an uproar, through the raving and shrieking of those girls, that the speaker could not be heard. Some of the Elders were immediately sent to cast the evil spirits out of them, but they failed to do so, and with difficulty the girls were carried into an adjoining room. When a presiding Elder has the spirit of his office upon him it is his privilege to know the proper course to take in any emergency. It is his privilege to enjoy communion with the Holy Spirit and have the Lord dictate through him that which will be for the best good of the members over whom he is set to preside. It is also his privilege to discern by what spirit the people with whom he is brought in contact are actuated.