The Power of Healing

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people…and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:23).

As the New Testament clearly illustrates with story after story of miraculous healing for diverse diseases and afflictions, the power to heal is a clear sign of the true church of Jesus Christ. This power to heal was only given to those whom Jesus Christ had called and given the priesthood power. Sadly, the priesthood was lost from the earth when all the apostles were killed, due to the wickedness of men in ancient times. However, the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through a man called of God in our day, Joseph Smith.

The priesthood power was restored to the earth by those who had last held it: John the Baptist restored the Aaronic (or lesser) Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and Peter, James, and John restored teh Melchizedek (or higher) Priesthood to the same to men a few days later. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly misnamed the Mormon Church) believes in this priesthood power. All worthy male members of the church are able to receive the keys of the priesthood, though they are only able to use it to serve others and the Lord.

One of the great blessings of the priesthood is the power of healing. There are countless instances in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where its members (and sometimes those who are not members) have been served by worthy holders of the priesthood and have been miraculously healed through the power of God. The major limiting factor to this power is that it cannot be used contrary to the will of God. A sick person may have faith that Jesus is the Christ and that He has the power to heal them (a requirement for any priesthood blessing), but if it is not God’s will for an individual to be healed, that person will not be healed.

On the other hand, when it is God’s will, miracles truly happen. Following are some personal experiences people have had with the power of healing.

Elder Matthew Cowley related the following healing incident:

I was down on the Indian reservation when I met a sister who had just joined the Church, a beautiful Navajo woman…After I had met this sister, one of the missionaries called me off to the side and said, “A few months ago my companion and I went into a hogan and that lady, that Indian sister, was lying on the ground on a sheepskin. She had been lying there for six long years. We called on her, and when we were leaving she called us back and said in broken English, ‘Isn’t there something you do for sick people?’ And we said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘Please do it for me.’ So they got down on their knees and administered to her, by the authority of the priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they left, and they weren’t away fifty yards when she came out of the hogan after them and said, ‘Come back and see what you have done for me.’ She walked (Matthew Cowley, BYU Speeches of the Year: April 5, 1966).

Another miraculous and well-documented experience from the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After the Saints were driven from Missouri, they were living in camp-like conditions in Illinois when a choelra epidemic swept through their numbers. Wilford Woodruff shared the following experience:

On the morning of the 22nd of July, 1839, [the Prophet] arose reflecting upon the situation of the Saints of God in their persecutions and afflictions. He called upon the Lord in prayer, and the power of God rested mightily upon him. And as Jesus healed all the sick around Him in His day, so Joseph, the Prophet of God, healed all around on this occasion. He healed all in his house and dooryard, then, in company with Sidney Rigdon and several of the Twelve, he went through among the sick lying on the bank of the river, and he commanded them in a loud voice, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come up and be made whole, and they were all healed.

When he healed all that were sick on the east side of the river, they crossed the Mississippi River to Montrose, where we were. The first house they went into was President Brigham Young’s. He was sick on his bed at the time. The Prophet went into his house and healed him, and they all came out together. As they were passing by my door, Brother Joseph said, “Brother Woodruff, follow me.”

These were the only words spoken by any of the company from the time they left Brother Brigham’s house till we crossed the public square and entered Brother Elijah Fordham’s house. Brother Fordham had been dying for an hour, and we expected each minute would be his last.

I felt the power of God that was overwhelming His prophet. When we entered the house, Brother Joseph walked up to Brother Fordham and took him by the right hand; in his left hand he held his hat.

He saw that Brother Fordham’s eyes were glazed, and that he was speechless and unconscious.

After taking hold of his hand, the Prophet looked down into the dying man’s face and said, “Brother Fordham, do you not know me?”

At first he made no reply; but we could all see the effect of the Spirit of God resting upon him.

Joseph again said, “Elijah, do you not know me?”

With a low whisper, Brother Fordham answered, “Yes.”

The Prophet then said, “Have you not faith to be healed?”

The answer, which was a little plainer than before, was, “I am afraid it is too late. If you had come sooner, I think I might have been.”

He had the appearance of a man waking from sleep. It was the sleep of death.

Joseph then said, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ?”

“I do, Brother Joseph,” was the response.

Then the Prophet of God spoke with a loud voice, as in the majesty of the Godhead, “Elijah, I command you, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, to arise and be made whole!”

The words of the Prophet were not like the words of man, but like the voice of God. It seemed to me that the house shook from its foundation. Elijah Fordham leaped from his bed like a man raised from the dead. A healthy color came to his face, and life was manifested in every act. His feet were done up in Indian-meal poultices. He kicked them off his feet, scattered the contents, then called for his clothes and put them on. He asked for a bowl of bread and milk and ate it. Then he put on his hat and followed us into the street to visit others who were sick.

As soon as we left Brother Fordham’s house, we went into the house of Joseph B. Noble, who was very low and dangerously sick. When we entered the house, Brother Joseph took him by the hand, and commanded him, in the name of Jesus Christ, to arise and be made whole. He did arise and was immediately healed.

While this was going on, the wicked mob in the place, led by one Kilburn, had become alarmed, and followed us into Brother Noble’s house. Before they arrived there, Brother Joseph had called upon Brother Fordham to offer prayer. While he was praying, the mob entered, with all the evil spirits accompanying them. As soon as they entered, Brother Fordham, who was praying, fainted and sank to the floor.

When Joseph saw the mob in the house, he arose and had the room cleared of both that class of men and their attendant devils. Then Brother Fordham immediately revived and finished his prayer.

This shows what power evil spirits have upon the tabernacles of men. The Saints are only saved from the devil by the power of God.

This case of Brother Noble’s was the last one of healing upon that day. It was the greatest day for the manifestation of the power of God through the gift of healing since the organization of the Church.

When we left Brother Noble, the Prophet Joseph went with those who accompanied him from the other side of the bank of the river, to return home. While waiting for the ferryboat, a man of the world, knowing of the miracles which had been performed, came to him and asked him if he would not go and heal his twin children, about five months old, who were both lying sick nigh unto death. They were some two miles from Montrose.

The Prophet said he could not go, but after pausing some time, he said he would send some one to heal them. He then turned to me and said, “You go with the man and heal his children.”…I went with the man, and did as the Prophet commanded me, and the children were healed (Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, They Knew the Prophet, p. 82–84).

Faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know that there is true power in the priesthood and that the power of healing is real.

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