Priesthood blessing of healing

[AmyJ]

The kicker is that we all know it's roulette whether the blessings actually come to pass. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't and its often hard to make the right attribution for why they come to pass if they do.

When I was in the middle of trying to have a miscarriage (we didn't know at the time - we knew something was up, but we didn't know what), I was promised that the the baby would be healthy in a priesthood blessing. Come to find out a few days later that technically there wasn't a baby - just the sac and a bunch of cells. Biologically it was if everything was set up for a baby, but the ignition to transition the process from baby environment growing to growing baby didn't start.

That was really hard to make sense of at the time. I think that my grief about the situation swept the grief about the false answer away though. Eventually I was able to shrug and go "maybe it was that we all wanted the baby to be healthy" or "maybe it was applied to when I was actually growing a baby" (hindsight being 20/20 my rainbow baby was healthy - in fact she has a tendency to be a catalyst and go through experiences that leave her unscathed but cause damage around her). I learned that it wasn't so much about the words being said as it was the feeling and hope that the blessing invoked.

We recently had a not small amount financial windfall and a forgiveness of of some debt we owed after 3-4 months of not paying Tithing (Hubby forgot, and it was not a priority for me). Hubby tried to attribute it to diligence in paying tithing while I made no such claim. I appreciate the windfall that was a side benefit of working for my previous company. The forgiveness of debt was from a family member who was an educator who was excited that I was going back to school. He believes in education and also putting his money behind his beliefs. He is also an atheist.

I like what Brian Johnson said -- they comfort people, in whatever form -- as a comfort or healing blessing. And this is in ways that simple words, unattended by priesthood ceremony often don't. In that sense they have intrinsic value even though there may be no real divine innerworkings under the hood.

[SOAPBOX] Which is another reason why I think it is dumb not to adapt our church culture to allow/encourage women to bless other women in a ritual procedure. [END OF SOAP BOX]

[LookingHard]

I will start by saying that in my half-century on this earth, I have not participated or seen any type of priesthood healing.

This topic reminds me of an interesting podcast I listened to quite a while ago. Chelsea Shields is an anthropologist (BYU then Boston College) went to study spiritual rights in Africa from the "medicine men". She talked about how seeing one of the medicine men "do his thing" on a child that broke their arm. She knew he was not giving the child any "first aid" or anything called medicine. But the act helped calm down the child. So in some ways it was helpful. I find this the same with priesthood blessings. It helps those that want it to help and believe it will help. I can respect that.

[SilentDawning]

I will start by saying that in my half-century on this earth, I have not participated or seen any type of priesthood healing.

This topic reminds me of an interesting podcast I listened to quite a while ago. Chelsea Shields is an anthropologist (BYU then Boston College) went to study spiritual rights in Africa from the "medicine men". She talked about how seeing one of the medicine men "do his thing" on a child that broke their arm. She knew he was not giving the child any "first aid" or anything called medicine. But the act helped calm down the child. So in some ways it was helpful. I find this the same with priesthood blessings. It helps those that want it to help and believe it will help. I can respect that.

the strange part is that I have. I've felt the Spirit come over me and then people got well. Not always, but a couple times...yet my unorthodoxy, lack of belief, lack of commitment remains. It's as if the negative evidence cancels the positive evidence -- or at least, casts doubt on it.

[AmyJ]

the strange part is that I have. I've felt the Spirit come over me and then people got well. Not always, but a couple times...yet my unorthodoxy, lack of belief, lack of commitment remains. It's as if the negative evidence cancels the positive evidence -- or at least, casts doubt on it.

I can relate. I think that sometimes a person gets used to putting things they can't currently make sense of - and put the positive things on the shelf too. I think this is a good thing overall.

I am beginning to think that gaining wisdom, perspective, and individual understanding is a lot like putting on lights on a Christmas tree. You walk the same paths over and over again with different cords and a slightly different perspective. Periodically things burn out and/or need to be tested prior to and during the grand circuits.

[Curt Sunshine]

I can think of three specific times in my life when I participated in healing blessings that were "special" in some way and undeniably included helping of some kind. I also can think of a fairly significant number involving my children that weren't obviously miraculous but that included elements I would consider to be in the broad category of healing.

The first three still are logically unexplainable to me. I truly see them as having a miraculous foundation. The others might or might not have been miraculous in any way. I don't know, and my analytical, logical mind argues they probably weren't - but I do know my children felt peace and were comforted by them in a deep and real way - and I do believe that sort of peace and comfort often leads to faster recovery.

In other words, I have a very few personal experiences with miraculous elements of healing blessings, but I have numerous experiences that teach me healing blessings can be a wonderful thing (while also understanding how painful and even damaging they can be when they are unfulfilled and obviously wrong). My own approach is to speak words of comfort always but to clear my mind and be open to saying things I don't expect to say. I think the issue is when someone goes into a blessing assuming the other person will be healed simply if the blesser and/or blessee has enough "faith" (which usually is defined incorrectly as "believes enough").

[LookingHard]

I am glad some of you have had experiences with this. This still leaves me quite puzzled why I have never, why I have never felt anything positive about the temple (other than "nice decorations"), never felt an indication that a calling was for someone. It is nice to quote the scripture "for some it is to know ...". But if God does not give me some basic guidance when I try for half a century, it just doesn't make sense.

[dande48]

I am glad some of you have had experiences with this. This still leaves me quite puzzled why I have never, why I have never felt anything positive about the temple (other than "nice decorations"), never felt an indication that a calling was for someone. It is nice to quote the scripture "for some it is to know ...". But if God does not give me some basic guidance when I try for half a century, it just doesn't make sense.

It sounds like bad luck, LH!

But I'm in the same boat. I've heard many people claim miraculous healing, both in and outside of the Church. I've seen explicit priesthood blessings by exemplary men, which did not come to pass. And I can explain both healing (including miraculous healing) and comfort, through a combination of confirmation bias and the placebo effect.

I also think it's kind of funny, and also kind of sad, we live in a world where, if 1 in 10,000 people recover from an "incurable" disease, it's lauded as a miracle from God. But what of the faithful among the 9,999? Or how we pray to a God for help getting a promotion, or to get over a cold, when there are children kidnapped daily and sold as sex slaves. It's why I have a hard time holding onto a literal belief of a God I can understand, let alone feel is "good" and has our best interests at heart. But on the other hand, I see the immense value and peace that comes from believing in a good and just God, a God of miracles, healing, and lost car keys... even if He doesn't really exist (or at least, not in that way). I'm glad we have priesthood blessings.

[Curt Sunshine]

That is the conundrum, dande48. It works for me only if I believe in a generally non-interventionist God - but I can't explain the times I feel like God has intervened in some way in a very few of my own experiences.

I can explain it, perhaps, if I posit that there is some kind of essence that some people can tap into (regularly or occasionally) that points toward a degree of fate or unchanging future - but I don't believe in that idea anywhere close to fully, so I am left with uncertainty and the choice simply to believe what I want to believe within the constraints of my own experiences.

That's how I reconcile a whole lot of things - by accepting that privilege for myself and everyone else (while retaining the right to view some people's choices as horrible, misguided, incorrect, etc. and allowing them the same privilege as they view mine). That isn't completely relativistic, since I do believe Truth exists, but I believe it is charitable toward the people, even in cases where I can't be charitable toward the beliefs (and, in some cases, can be highly critical of the people). It's another one of those pesky paradoxes I have had to accept.

[gospeltangents]

As far as biblical precedent for anointing with oil, there was a tv show called "the Bible", narrated by the woman from Touched by an Angel. Anyway, the episode when Samuel anointed Saul, he poured oil all over his face. It was definitely not what LDS do, but it demonstrated anointing with oil from a biblical precedent.

[JAC]

We teach that there's two halves of the priesthood: Authority and Power.

The authority part is the automatic part. It is given to anyone that is ordained by the laying on of hands. Or we also teach that doing some things in the name of Jesus Christ is sufficient authority (think temple video). However, this is not what heals people.

The power part is not automatic. In fact, the power isn't even ours. It's God's power and is the source of what we call miracles. He doesn't let mere mortals wield it to do their will. Thank goodness! It can only be used to do His will. Oft times a blessing is given and the mouthpiece has not prepared himself to know the Lord's will. He then states whatever pops into his head, or whatever he thinks the person wants to hear, and gets it wrong. Certain outcomes are declared that end up not occurring. This happens a lot.

So why do we have blessings if the Lord is going to do His will anyway? Well that's a question that also calls into question the purpose of all prayers. I have had a hard time understanding this myself, but I am slowly understanding it more and more as I get older.

Side note: Did you ever wonder why the word "priesthood" is not used at the beginning of the sacrament prayer or the baptism prayer? All other ordinances require declaration of priesthood authority by name (Aaronic or Melchizedek). It has something to do with the fact that the word "priesthood" was not used very much in Joseph Smith's time like it is today. I read a book on it once, but forgot the name.

My opinion: What we consider a "Priesthood" blessing, in reality is just a blessing. A priesthood ordination was not always a requirement for a blessing of the sick, and shouldn't be today. It is a shame that my wife can't, or rather won't, help me bless my kids when they are sick. I hope this changes in the church in the near future.