In these times of worldwide turmoil, more and more persons of faith are turning to the Lord for blessings of comfort and healing. To get the maximum effect and properly understand the outcomes all the tools, or weapons of light, it’s imperative we properly understand the relationship between medical science, faith, prayers, priesthood blessings and power.
Have you done all you can?
When a person requested a priesthood blessing, Brigham Young would ask, “Have you used any remedies?” To those who said no because “we wish the Elders to lay hands upon us, and we have faith that we shall be healed,” President Young replied: “That is very inconsistent according to my faith. If we are sick, and ask the Lord to heal us, and to do all for us that is necessary to be done, according to my understanding of the Gospel of salvation, I might as well ask the Lord to cause my wheat and corn to grow, without my plowing the ground and casting in the seed. It appears consistent to me to apply every remedy that comes within the range of my knowledge, and [then] to ask my Father in Heaven … to sanctify that application to the healing of my body. We shouldn’t wait until all other methods are exhausted before we pray in faith or give priesthood blessings for healing. In emergencies, prayers and blessings come first. Most often we pursue all efforts simultaneously.”1
Summary
- A Priesthood blessing is according to the will of the Lord
- Our faith will cannot trump the purpose and plan of God
- The words of a blessing do no dictate the outcome of the blessing
- Don’t shy away from giving blessing if you don’t know how or what to say.
- The faith of the person being blessed is required for God’s outcome, not the faith of the person blessing
- Our faith should be in Jesus Christ, not in outcomes (do you have the faith not to be healed?)
- The prayer of faith in many instances is sufficient to heal
- Repeated blessings is not necessary. It displays a lack of faith and inconsistent reliance on the priesthood (brethren or power)
- Consistent faith is doing all we can, all that is available and within our power
References & Resources
- Healing the Sick, Elder Oaks, April 2010
- To be Healed, Richard G. Scott, April 1994
- Accepting the Lords will and timing, David A. Bednar, August 2016
- That we might not shrink, David A. Bednar, March 2013
- Lord I believe, Jefferey R. Holland, April 2013
