Do You Believe In The Power Of The Priesthood?

[rodheadlee]

With all of the threads going on about science and miracles and the stance that many have taken that if science can't prove it happened, it didn't happen and is merely a story handed down through the ages or a metaphorical miracle. I was wondering how many, if any, believe in the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood to actually heal somebody. I mean a real live healing, an instantaneous mending of a broken bone, killing a virus that's killing a human being or to change the course of a storm or a river or a planet. Do you believe the Priesthood to have an actual physical power?

 

I'd do a poll but I'm not that smart to get the questions right. Maybe someone else will volunteer to do a poll.

[The Nehor]

I believe it has infinite power, subject only to the will of God and the righteousness of the bearer.

[sunstoned]

I believe there are many things that we still do not have a full understanding of.  In my opinion, the healing power of the priesthood falls into the category of spiritual beliefs.  This category contains many things that have been observed, but cannot (yet) be explained by Science.  We are not the only organization that believes in healings, revelations, manifestations, or other spiritual gifts.  I am fully convinced that there are explanations for these things.  It might well be that there is a higher power that humans can tap into. 

[JLHPROF]

I believe the priesthood is the power to do all things.  I believe that a person excercises that priesthood in accordance with:

1. the will of God

2. their faith

3. their worthiness/recognized authority

 

Science operates by priesthood law, not the other way round.  Gravity exists because God and law command it to be so.  The earth maintains its orbit because God and law make it so.  Basically, science is absolutely nothing more than mans attempt to measure and quantify the eternal laws and will of God.

And we frequently get it completely wrong.

Edited November 29, 2014 by JLHPROF

[JAHS]

Priesthood power is nothing without faith.

"Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the priesthood’s dynamic power source. By failing to put faith first in our callings, we reduce the priesthood’s light and power."  (Elder John K. Carmack)

 

"the Lord worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men” (Moroni 10:7).

“if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them” (Ether 12:12) 

 

So if we are ultimately healed by faith anyway why use the priesthood?   I think the difference might be that a priesthood holder has the right or authority to command a person to be healed. And when a person who uses the priesthood to heal is righteous then nature obeys the priesthood. (See D&C 121:37)

[Stargazer]

I believe the priesthood is the power to do all things.  I believe that a person excercises that priesthood in accordance with:

1. the will of God

2. their faith

3. their worthiness/recognized authority

 

Science operates by priesthood law, not the other way round.  Gravity exists because God and law command it to be so.  The earth maintains its orbit because God and law make it so.  Basically, science is absolutely nothing more than mans attempt to measure and quantify the eternal laws and will of God.

And we frequently get it completely wrong.

 

Very clear statement of fact. 

[Bernard Gui]

Yes, I do.

[mormonnewb]

Priesthood power is nothing without faith.

"Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the priesthood’s dynamic power source. By failing to put faith first in our callings, we reduce the priesthood’s light and power."  (Elder John K. Carmack)

 

"the Lord worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men” (Moroni 10:7).

“if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them” (Ether 12:12) 

 

So if we are ultimately healed by faith anyway why use the priesthood?   I think the difference might be that a priesthood holder has the right or authority to command a person to be healed. And when a person who uses the priesthood to heal is righteous then nature obeys the priesthood. (See D&C 121:37)

 

Edited to be SLIGHTLY less abrasive:

 

One Sunday in sacrament meeting, a dear brother finished singing in the adult choir and collapsed while returning to his seat.  And despite the fact that we had the entire bishopric and a member of the stake presidency in attendance, we all made way for the doctors and nurses in our ward.  In fact, one of the first persons to reach him was a woman who had no priesthood.  But she was the one who was allowed to "lay hands" on our dear brother.  Probably because we wanted him to live.  In that moment, her medical training trumped the combined priesthood power of every holder in the room.

 

Is this an indication of our collective lack of belief in the power of the priesthood (at least, in regards to physical healing)?  Or is our initial reliance of modern medicine as the first option, still consist with a belief in that power?

Edited November 29, 2014 by mormonnewb

[Pinecone]

This might explain why I have yet to see the priesthood work a physical healing.  Because I have yet to meet a Mormon who believed it would.  And, by the way, this isn't unique to Mormons.  When it comes to healing through faith, most Christians (myself included) live by the motto: "In modern medicine we trust."

 

For example, one Sunday in sacrament meeting, a dear brother finished singing in the adult choir and collapsed while returning to his seat.  And despite the fact that we had the entire bishopric and a member of the stake presidency in attendance, we all made way for the doctors and nurses in our ward.  In fact, one of the first persons to reach him was a woman who had no priesthood.  But she was the one who was allowed to "lay hands" on our dear brother.  Probably because we wanted him to live.  In that moment, her medical training trumped the combined priesthood power of every holder in the room.

 

Now, once again, I'm sure that I am part of a strange ward that is on the fringes of Church orthodoxy, so I look forward to hearing the many stories where the saints have forgone modern medical procedures to instead receive a priesthood blessing.

Elder Oaks spoke on this topic in General Conference. Look it up.

[lds-convert-sw]

Matthew 17:20  "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

 

Yes, I believe in the literal healing power of the priesthood. I have witnessed miracles. My wife was seriously ill, and when the bishop came to our house and gave her a blessing, and also based upon my wife's faith, which was far stronger than I'll ever have, she was healed of the illness. It bothered her no more. Gone within a short time.

As it says in Matthew, our power is only limited by the amount (or lack thereof) of faith we have. Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead, because He had infinite faith in God the Father. Peter did not have enough faith, and therefore began to sink into the sea, before Jesus caught him. 

[Brian 2.0]

Does anyone believe that the LDS population as a whole would have a higher instance of cancer going into remission compared to non-LDS... if the data ever could be compiled?

[mormonnewb]

Does anyone believe that the LDS population as a whole would have a higher instance of cancer going into remission compared to non-LDS... if the data ever could be compiled?

 

Here is a chart showing the new cases of cancer and deaths by cancer separated out by state.  Interestingly, Utah has one of the lowest death/new cases ratios, which would seem to indicate that the Utah remission rate is higher than most.  In fact, its death / new cases ratio would put it at the 49th least deadly state (just a few fractions of a percentage point above Alaska).

 

http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@research/documents/document/acspc-041774.pdf

 

That being said, it appears that Utah's higher remission rate is due less to religion than it is to other factors.  One such factor is race.  Whites in ALL states have higher survival rates than, say, African-Americans and Latinos.  As a result, the states with the lowest rates of racial minorities are going to have, all things being equal, higher survival rates.

 

And, in this case, all things aren't equal by virtue of the types of cancers that non-smokers will likely avoid (e.g., lung and esophageal cancers).  These cancers are flat out killers, regardless of state.  For example, while the death rate in Utah for all cancers is about 27%, it is 89% for esophageal cancer and 71% for lung/bronchus cancer.  Therefore, to the extent that Utah Mormons avoid these cancers, the overall death rate from cancer will be lower in Utah as opposed to those states in which a greater percentage of residents are smokers.

 

In fact, as I look at the numbers again, it appears that most (if not all) of Utah's "advantage" is attributable to its greater avoidance of the "bad cancers."  For example, its death rate with regards to breast cancer is actually on the high side and surprisingly, even greater than racially-diverse states, like Texas, California and New York.  Of course, in this case, the "high side" is just 18%, so that skews the overall numbers in Utah's favor.  However, on a cancer-by-cancer basis, Utah's numbers don't appear to be any better than others states and perhaps, actually worse.

[Avatar4321]

I believe the priesthood is the power to do all things.  I believe that a person excercises that priesthood in accordance with:

1. the will of God

2. their faith

3. their worthiness/recognized authority

 

Science operates by priesthood law, not the other way round.  Gravity exists because God and law command it to be so.  The earth maintains its orbit because God and law make it so.  Basically, science is absolutely nothing more than mans attempt to measure and quantify the eternal laws and will of God.

And we frequently get it completely wrong.

so if we had priesthood power and commanded the law of gravity to stop for us, we could fly?

to answer the question I have no doubt priesthood power is real. I've been healed by it. I've been taught by it.

problem is we don't live up to our privileges because we aren't as obedient as we should be.

[Hamba Tuhan]

Does anyone believe that the LDS population as a whole would have a higher instance of cancer going into remission compared to non-LDS... if the data ever could be compiled?

 

I may repeat here my response from when you earlier asked this question:

 

The value of a priesthood blessing is in assisting people to tap into the will of God via their faith--remember that God respects our agency and will not tread on it--and in revealing that will to them, providing comfort and peace.

As I've shared in this forum before, I was as a missionary called upon to give a priesthood blessing to the grandfather of a woman whom I had earlier taught. Her family had given her endless grief over her conversion, but one of her elder sisters had relented and agreed that allowing the Elders to give a blessing couldn't hurt, so the two of of them rang us one night to let us know that they would be travelling up to the hospital the next evening for this purpose. That gave my companion and me 24 hours to prepare ourselves, and we prayed mightily and fasted in the hope that we could be instruments, not only in saving this man's life but in revealing God's power to this very non supportive family.

As we prepared, I felt the Spirit of the Lord rest upon us in a significant way, and I was fully prepared to walk into the hospital room and command the unconscious but suffering man to be made whole. I had that much faith. My companion annointed, and then it was time for me to seal the annointing. I laid my hands on the recipient's head, spoke the opening formalities, and then stopped. In a way I still can't adequately explain, I 'saw' the man's impending death and clearly understood when it would happen. I had no idea what to do next. The words I had saved up in my mind all had to do with healing, not death. What does one say to a dying man? The silence worried my companion, who started tapping his fingers on the backs of my hands to urge me to proceed. Inside, I was praying like mad: 'Father, what do you want me to do since he's going to die?'

Then the inspiration came. I blessed him that he would pass away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family--all of whom lived about 300km away--and that he would be free from the agonising pain he'd been experiencing up til that time.

When we'd finished, the four of us stepped out into the corridor, and the non-member sister asked, 'What the hell was that? N---- told me that you were going to heal him. Instead you blessed him that he'd die peacefully.' I tried to explain something about the will of God, but it was awkward. Then her demeanour changed, and she asked, 'When is he going to die?' For some reason, she thought I'd know that--in retrospect, I'm still impressed by her trust!--and, miraculously, I did. I told them that they had exactly one week and encouraged them to gather the family and get them to the hospital on the appointed day.

Amazingly, the entire family responded to this request and travelled up to the hospital to be there the following week. As they surrounded the bed of their loved one, he passed away peacefully as promised. The member granddaughter rang to tell us...and to inform us that the nurses had said that they'd stopped the morphine injections the night we'd been there because her grandfather had stopped writhing in pain. He was still unconscious when he passed away, but he was comfortable and at peace.

The blessing my companion and I gave in no way altered the will of God, but it did reveal it and connect people with it, and THAT was a tremendous blessing to everyone involved. I talked to the member granddaughter just a few months ago. After many years, none of her family members have ever become members of the Church, but they all ceased giving her grief over her choice to become a Latter-day Saint. My companion and I were even invited to the funeral and treated as special guests of honour. In the end, all of our righteous desires were granted, but they were granted according to the Lord's wisdom, tailored to this specific situation.

Edited November 29, 2014 by Hamba Tuhan

[HairBear]

With all of the threads going on about science and miracles and the stance that many have taken that if science can't prove it happened, it didn't happen and is merely a story handed down through the ages or a metaphorical miracle. I was wondering how many, if any, believe in the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood to actually heal somebody. I mean a real live healing, an instantaneous mending of a broken bone, killing a virus that's killing a human being or to change the course of a storm or a river or a planet. Do you believe the Priesthood to have an actual physical power?

 

I'd do a poll but I'm not that smart to get the questions right. Maybe someone else will volunteer to do a poll.

 

When I was about 6 or 7 I caught chicken pox. The doctor came to my house in the afternoon and diagnosed me and said he would come back and check on me a few hours later as I was very ill with it, at about 5pm the Missionaries came over and gave me a blessing, an hour later the doctor returned and checked me over, he was very surprised that the virus had now gone, and I only came out in a few small spots for the next few days.

 

That just one of the examples I've witnessed of the power of the Priesthood it heal. I know it's real and works if it's God's will.

[Boanerges]

No, I don't believe the MP has any specific power in healing. It's much more about faith, and even then I doubt it.

[LinuxGal]

When I was about 6 or 7 I caught chicken pox. The doctor came to my house in the afternoon and diagnosed me and said he would come back and check on me a few hours later as I was very ill with it, at about 5pm the Missionaries came over and gave me a blessing, an hour later the doctor returned and checked me over, he was very surprised that the virus had now gone, and I only came out in a few small spots for the next few days.

 

That just one of the examples I've witnessed of the power of the Priesthood it heal. I know it's real and works if it's God's will.

 

So, uh, did the missionaries get chicken pox?

[JAHS]

Elder Oaks spoke on this topic in General Conference. Look it up.

 

In case someone doesn't want to look up the talk here's a portion of what he said:

 

"The use of medical science is not at odds with our prayers of faith and our reliance on priesthood blessings. 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.” (Oaks, April 2010)

[JLHPROF]

so if we had priesthood power and commanded the law of gravity to stop for us, we could fly?

to answer the question I have no doubt priesthood power is real. I've been healed by it. I've been taught by it.

problem is we don't live up to our privileges because we aren't as obedient as we should be.

 

Yep.  Christ walked on water.  Angels stand above the floor.  Christ will return in the sky.  Peter walked on water (briefly).  After having a devil cast out of him, the spirit of the Lord rose Newel Knight to the ceiling.

Gravity is a law, but one that can be set aside if God required it.

[JLHPROF]

No, I don't believe the MP has any specific power in healing. It's much more about faith, and even then I doubt it.

 

Then the scriptures, the word of God, and the instructions of the prophets are all wrong.  If they are wrong about that clearly laid out doctrine, then most all alternative ideas about religion are probably wrong too.  Whenever we start pulling on one thread of the scriptural gospel the whole tapestry unravels.

[Brian 2.0]

Here is a chart showing the new cases of cancer and deaths by cancer separated out by state. Interestingly, Utah has one of the lowest death/new cases ratios, which would seem to indicate that the Utah remission rate is higher than most. In fact, its death / new cases ratio would put it at the 49th least deadly state (just a few fractions of a percentage point above Alaska).

http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@research/documents/document/acspc-041774.pdf

That being said, it appears that Utah's higher remission rate is due less to religion than it is to other factors. One such factor is race. Whites in ALL states have higher survival rates than, say, African-Americans and Latinos. As a result, the states with the lowest rates of racial minorities are going to have, all things being equal, higher survival rates.

And, in this case, all things aren't equal by virtue of the types of cancers that non-smokers will likely avoid (e.g., lung and esophageal cancers). These cancers are flat out killers, regardless of state. For example, while the death rate in Utah for all cancers is about 27%, it is 89% for esophageal cancer and 71% for lung/bronchus cancer. Therefore, to the extent that Utah Mormons avoid these cancers, the overall death rate from cancer will be lower in Utah as opposed to those states in which a greater percentage of residents are smokers.

In fact, as I look at the numbers again, it appears that most (if not all) of Utah's "advantage" is attributable to its greater avoidance of the "bad cancers." For example, its death rate with regards to breast cancer is actually on the high side and surprisingly, even greater than racially-diverse states, like Texas, California and New York. Of course, in this case, the "high side" is just 18%, so that skews the overall numbers in Utah's favor. However, on a cancer-by-cancer basis, Utah's numbers don't appear to be any better than others states and perhaps, actually worse.

Great stuff. Thanks for posting this.

[Brian 2.0]

I may repeat here my response from when you earlier asked this question:

Really nice experience. And I fully agree there are benefits to the healing blessing that can come beyond actual healing. Such a study as I was talking about would not be measuring the efficacy of hearings in whole (because there are a number of non-quantifiable benefits that can occur).

[Garden Girl]

I believe the priesthood is the power to do all things.  I believe that a person excercises that priesthood in accordance with:

1. the will of God

2. their faith

3. their worthiness/recognized authority

 

 

 

Priesthood power is nothing without faith.

"Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the priesthood’s dynamic power source. By failing to put faith first in our callings, we reduce the priesthood’s light and power."  (Elder John K. Carmack)

 

"the Lord worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men” (Moroni 10:7).

“if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them” (Ether 12:12) 

 

 

I, too, like HairBear, am a miracle...

Almost 7 years ago now, I received a priesthood blessing the Sunday before going in the next Tuesday for a medical test that was to be followed by surgery (heart)... I had suffered from angina through the years, suffering accute pain and symptoms since I was in my late 20's when the "episodes" increased from occasionally to once or twice a month to, finally, two to three times a week... which sent me running back to the cardiologist... preliminary tests confirmed the diagnosis... the doc showed me which part of my heart was affected, and I was scheduled for an angiogram/surgery.  I entered the hospital and signed all the paperwork, etc., so the doc could take me right into surgery after testing.  At the conclusion of the test the doc says... Good News!  Your arteries are just fine!!  Bewildered, I asked... but what about all the years of pain, particularly these past months and weeks... the testing and your diagnosis... The doc gave a long schrug of his shoulders and said... I dunno...

Still groggy from the anethesia for testing, I said... Oooohhhh, I know... I had a priesthood blessing... The doc looked me right in the eyes and said... Well, it worked.

And since that Sunday that I had the blessing until this day as I sit here writing this, about 7 years, I have not had another episode... it is with wonder that I think about this... wonder and gratefulness...

 

GG

[Kenngo1969]

I have been healed by power of the Priesthood.

 

Instantaneously.

 

And I have seen others healed by power of the Priesthood.

 

Instantaneously.

Edited November 29, 2014 by Kenngo1969

[thesometimesaint]

Yes.