They just don't make miracles like they used to

[Marginal Gains]

10 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

When was the last time you spent a week shadowing a General Authority on their trips around the world and sat in on private blessings? That would be in private, intimate surroundings, to which neither you nor I have access, as Jesus has commanded. 

On the other hand, healing blessings are given many times every day by the Priesthood. Every fast Sunday members in our ward give thanks for them. Perhaps the numbers of healings should be made part of the Church statistical reports? We could even feature them on BYU TV like Benny and others. 

My attempts to heal people through Priesthood blessings are miraculous, as long as I can discount all the times they don’t work and give them in conjunction with the relevant medical treatment. Likewise, I’m a brilliant archer so long as I get to draw the targets after I see where my arrows have landed.

I get that Priesthood blessings can give comfort. Make people’s frame of mind more positive etc. But they don’t grow limbs back.

Edited April 20, 2018 by Marginal Gains

[Stargazer]

2 hours ago, Marginal Gains said:

I get that Priesthood blessings can give comfort. Make people’s frame of mind more positive etc. But they don’t grow limbs back.

Yes, I've seen priesthood blessings give comfort. I've also seen them give more than comfort.  The problem with your attitude, is that even if a miracle actually occurred, and you saw it, you would attribute it to something else.

And if you found that someone had grown a limb back after a priesthood blessing, I have faith that you would want to see that done under controlled laboratory conditions before you would attribute the event to God. And probably not even then.

Does being cynical and bitter give you a great deal of comfort? 

[Stargazer]

22 hours ago, ElPatron said:

I’m glad this topic came up because I’ve been pondering it since an experience I had Just prior to General Conf. I already shared in another post that I was In Utah the week prior to conf on business and was in downtown SLC Thursday night. A training meeting had just let out from the JMB and a flood of General Authorities came out of the building heading to their hotels. As I previously mentioned, Elder Gong was one of them. I was In normal street clothes pretty much swimming up stream against the flow of blue and black suits and noticed that I was Passing about 3 to 4 people on the sidewalk asking for financial assistance. All were able bodied except one. One was an obvious handicapped man in a wheelchair that appeared partially blind. One young man came up to me and asked me for even some change and I turned him away and then it dawned on me what was occurring. (Yes, I’ve been to downtown SLC many times and Temple Square and I’m well aware of the homelessness and vagrancy in the area and the caution of scams as well. I assume there’s probably even instruction in place to be cautious of those asking for assistance.) Amongst all of this church leadership, no one was giving the time of day to those on the street that were in obvious need. Neither was I. My guilt overcame me and I quickly tracked down the man and gave him a couple of dollars and he was very appreciative. That night I ponderd As to why the brethren didn’t do more. Yes, I was Judging. I was Also lumping myself in there. Why couldn’t one of them use the Priesthood and heal the man in the wheelchair. I’m sure Christ would have. Why didn’t I or Why couldn’t I ? I hold the same Priesthood. I know If I would Have taken him by the hand and said with all of my faith arise and be healed, nothing would have happened and all of those General Authorities would have been saying “glad I didnt try that!”. So, do miracles like this happen anymore? I certainly Don’t see them happening if we’re not even paying attention to stopping to even see if someone needs help. Just some thoughts I had. Sorry for the ramble. 

You're sure Christ would have?  Perhaps when new members of the Twelve are called, they should immediately set to work, and go about doing miracles among the people. Is that what the office of Apostle supposed to do?  How many miracles is Peter recorded as having done?  Did he go about looking for cripples to cure, dead to raise, and seas to part?  For that matter, was that Christ's primary occupation, or did he do that only under certain circumstances?  Any time he needed to cross the sea of Galilee, presumably he could have just walked across. He did it partway once, what stopped him from making a habit of it? 

There was the man born blind, about whom the Apostles asked if he or his parents had sinned so that he was born blind. But surely, given the medical treatment available in those days, there were hundreds of blind people in Palestine in those days.  Does the record indicate that Jesus went from house to house healing them all?  No, and in the case of this man, it was apparently set up in advance to be a demonstration of power.  "Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." I suppose that those folks, such as Marginal Gains, Atheist Mormon and the rest of the Committee of Doubt, would say that it was a scam.  The man pretended to be blind, and pretended to be healed.  But if it was genuine, and I am sure it was, it was set up in advance, by God himself, and for a purpose.  I don't doubt that every single one of Jesus's acts in demonstration of his power was done for a purpose, and not just because it was his job to heal everyone's physical ailments and disabilities.

And as for the man in the wheelchair, does he have the faith to be healed?  I certainly don't know.  Even Christ did not do miracles when lack of faith was the obstacle. When Jesus was visiting Nazareth, the people were amazed at his preaching and his reputation, but were offended at him.  Matthew 13:57-58

57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Did you really expect one of those General Authorities to walk up to the man in the wheelchair and heal him out in the open in front of everyone?  Just like that, on the spur of the moment?  Is that how it's supposed to be done?  "Oh, excuse me, brother, let me just lay my hands on you a moment, if you don't mind!"  Of course, that's the way it's done, to hear some people tell it, and so, since it isn't done, then they say "There are no miracles!"  That's what my father said, once.  He really disliked Kraft Miracle Whip, and told my Mom once when she was going to buy groceries, not to buy a jar of that stuff, because, said he, "There are no miracles!"  This was to serve as a mnemonic device to help her shopping decisions.  He was serious, of course, being very agnostic.  About Miracle Whip and about miracles. Not to mention God.

When my baby granddaughter died of SIDS back in 1999, while the coroner was still at her home I drove to my daughter's home to be with her.  And while driving on the way I asked for permission to bring her back from the dead. I wanted to be able to put her back into her mother's arms, a living breathing baby girl, instead of the cold, stiff corpse that they had found in her crib that morning.  I was told NO.  She was only 3 months old, and I wanted to get to know her, and watch her grow up, but it wasn't to be.  I accept that God's will is not my own, and though my understanding is lacking, my trust is sufficient -- she still lives, and will be brought forth in the morning of the first resurrection, and I will know in that day why things went the way they did.

Trust in the Lord, and lean not unto your own understanding.  It's a good watch word.

[rongo]

4 hours ago, Marginal Gains said:

My attempts to heal people through Priesthood blessings are miraculous, as long as I can discount all the times they don’t work and give them in conjunction with the relevant medical treatment. Likewise, I’m a brilliant archer so long as I get to draw the targets after I see where my arrows have landed.

So, Marginal Gains, I have a question.

When was the last time you attempted to heal people through priesthood blessings?

And wouldn't your archery analogy have been more pertinent had you used a Bazooka instead of a bow and arrow?  

Edited April 20, 2018 by rongo

[Marginal Gains]

2 hours ago, Stargazer said:

Yes, I've seen priesthood blessings give comfort. I've also seen them give more than comfort.  The problem with your attitude, is that even if a miracle actually occurred, and you saw it, you would attribute it to something else.

And if you found that someone had grown a limb back after a priesthood blessing, I have faith that you would want to see that done under controlled laboratory conditions before you would attribute the event to God. And probably not even then.

Does being cynical and bitter give you a great deal of comfort? 

Cynical and bitter? I don’t believe Santa Claus is real either. Sure, the idea of Santa Claus makes people feel better, there’s stories about presents mysteriously turning up out of the blue,  and even eye witness testimony, but a guy from the North Pole delivering presents around the globe in one night? Nope. Not real. Not matter how good the idea of him makes people feel.

[Marginal Gains]

22 minutes ago, rongo said:

So, Marginal Gains, I have a question.

When was the last time you attempted to heal people through priesthood blessings?

And wouldn't your archery analogy have been more pertinent had you used a Bazooka instead of a bow and arrow?  

I admit, it’s been a while since I attempted to heal somebody with olive oil and really good intentions. Doctors seem a way better option.

[bluebell]

5 minutes ago, Marginal Gains said:

I admit, it’s been a while since I attempted to heal somebody with olive oil and really good intentions. Doctors seem a way better option.

Yes, because everyone knows that it's always an either/or proposition.  

[Marginal Gains]

4 minutes ago, bluebell said:

Yes, because everyone knows that it's always an either/or proposition.  

No, you can have both. Medicine seems to work just as well with or without Priesthood Blessing. Whereas Priesthood Blessings tend not to be as effective when used in isolation....

Edited April 20, 2018 by Marginal Gains

[rongo]

11 minutes ago, Marginal Gains said:

I admit, it’s been a while since I attempted to heal somebody with olive oil and really good intentions. Doctors seem a way better option.

Like, how long? Are you still a Church member? Have you removed your name or been excommunicated?

Just curious. 

[Marginal Gains]

12 minutes ago, rongo said:

Like, how long? Are you still a Church member? Have you removed your name or been excommunicated?

Just curious. 

Well that’s a bit creepy...

[rongo]

On 4/20/2018 at 7:33 AM, Marginal Gains said:

Well that’s a bit creepy...

Why creepy? You've just always been completely stone silent on your membership status, while delighting in trashing the Church in all aspects. post edited and poster removed for using personal information; that you are a different person to them while doing your Church-trashing activities online. 

I just wondered. You mention from time to time things like what I referenced: well, when I give priesthood blessings, etc. But it's pretty obvious that you're just saying things like that as a "fishing expedition" tactic online, as you troll for comments and reactions.

[bluebell]

52 minutes ago, Marginal Gains said:

No, you can have both. Medicine seems to work just as well with or without Priesthood Blessing. Whereas Priesthood Blessings tend not to be as effective when used in isolation....

Not in my personal experience.  

[Duncan]

One thing to keep in mind about giving money to panhandlers, is that we are quickly moving to a cashless society. For all we know these leaders had debit or credit cards and couldn't give them cash OR if they came out of a building they had to go in and maybe they forked over any change they had then, who knows!

[JAHS]

13 minutes ago, Duncan said:

One thing to keep in mind about giving money to panhandlers, is that we are quickly moving to a cashless society. For all we know these leaders had debit or credit cards and couldn't give them cash OR if they came out of a building they had to go in and maybe they forked over any change they had then, who knows!

Yes. Like I said earlier I don't carry any cash with me now. I can even use my debit card to get things from vending machines.
Homeless people are going to have to have to get credit card scanners attached to their smart phones; assuming they can afford a smart phone.

[Bernard Gui]

6 hours ago, Marginal Gains said:

My attempts to heal people through Priesthood blessings are miraculous, as long as I can discount all the times they don’t work and give them in conjunction with the relevant medical treatment. Likewise, I’m a brilliant archer so long as I get to draw the targets after I see where my arrows have landed.

I get that Priesthood blessings can give comfort. Make people’s frame of mind more positive etc. But they don’t grow limbs back.

Perhaps you need to see someone cut  off a limb and restore it again?

Edited April 20, 2018 by Bernard Gui

[HappyJackWagon]

13 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

Perhaps you need to see someone cut  off a limb and restore it again?

There's been a lot of talk of powerful miracles on this thread and others. I see Marginal Gains stating that he has never witnessed a truly miraculous healing. I've given numerous blessings during my life, some for major health issues but most for minor ones. I generally felt pretty confident giving a blessing of healing that a cold would be overcome, even if it would take a couple of weeks.

Yet I've never seen a deaf person be healed nor have I witnessed a blind person receiving sight. I've definitely never seen an amputee be healed and have a limb restored. Has anyone witnessed that? I'm willing to hear your first hand accounts if you have them, but I seriously doubt they exist. Is one of the good fruits of healing blessings in these serious cases actually that the person is healed? Where is the evidence of that? I've experimented on the word and exercised faith, yet the ill still die, the deaf remains deaf, the blind remain in darkness. IF the gift of healing really existed beyond the theoretical I think we'd be seeing these things. I think people would be flocking to the church if it was demonstrated that healing blessings worked. Yet that doesn't seem to be the case. Healing blessings seem to bring comfort in some cases, but little else.

[stemelbow]

1 hour ago, Marginal Gains said:

No, you can have both. Medicine seems to work just as well with or without Priesthood Blessing. Whereas Priesthood Blessings tend not to be as effective when used in isolation....

I do think for every "miraculous" healing someone tells and attributes to a priesthood blessing there is the same degree of healing going on somewhere on the planet at the very same time someone is relating the story of the priesthoods magical powers.   I don't say this to mock and deride, though.  I'm just agreeing with your point.  Everytime a priesthood blessing is said to have healed or contributed to someone being healed of cancer, someone else without such a blessing is also healed.  It also seems for every healed cancer patient who had a blessing, there was one blessed to be healed but died.  While that works as further explanation in my mind, it also feels like a different topic--priesthood blessings only work sometimes, and it's far better faith we're told to have faith to not be healed then healed--also bringing up the big question of should we even ask for blessings at all and just accept whatever fate comes out way?  

Oh the world.  and oh the Mormonism that seems to complicate it.  

Edited April 20, 2018 by stemelbow

[Jeanne]

My husband was blessed many, many times.  There was one where I intervened before hand because he was worried about what happens when he dies and was concerned about mistakes he may have made.  When his brother came to give him a blessing..I asked him to help him with this.  In his  blessing, he gave Shane the assurance of the spirit world.  That was the greatest thing..his spirit was more determined and hopeful..but this was not God...this was his wife and his brother.  Blessings can soothe..and I love that..but life/death is what it is..

Edited April 20, 2018 by Jeanne

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, Duncan said:

One thing to keep in mind about giving money to panhandlers, is that we are quickly moving to a cashless society. For all we know these leaders had debit or credit cards and couldn't give them cash OR if they came out of a building they had to go in and maybe they forked over any change they had then, who knows!

In SLC, we've had news stories over and over pleading with us to not give them cash, because so many will turn around and spend it on drugs/alcohol. But a better way is to buy food and give it to them, or give them info on shelters, etc. So maybe this is on their minds. But it's so difficult to just walk by especially if you think they truly are in need of a job and food, cash.

But I've seen one woman who was situated right by the temple entrance on the north side that once her shift was over, she was picked up in a nice enough truck and driven away. She was able bodied etc. and according to one news show, they make a great income doing this. So it's really too bad that these kinds of people ruin it for others.

I love it when I see able bodied men/women that carry a sign that says they will work for pay, these kinds of people I think need to be given an opportunity. Or even someone disabled...I remember pulling off to the side of the road and him giving me a window cleaning or something. Can't remember. But at least someone that wants to work for it, and are not after their next fix. 

That is probably why these leaders walked right by, most likely. Also, a way to help the homeless is to donate to the shelters.

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865684803/Hughes-Biskupski-make-plea-not-to-give-to-panhandlers-say-begging-abets-lawlessness.html

http://fox13now.com/2017/07/13/new-campaign-urges-you-to-stop-giving-panhandlers-money/

[JAHS]

39 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

There's been a lot of talk of powerful miracles on this thread and others. I see Marginal Gains stating that he has never witnessed a truly miraculous healing. I've given numerous blessings during my life, some for major health issues but most for minor ones. I generally felt pretty confident giving a blessing of healing that a cold would be overcome, even if it would take a couple of weeks.

Yet I've never seen a deaf person be healed nor have I witnessed a blind person receiving sight. I've definitely never seen an amputee be healed and have a limb restored. Has anyone witnessed that? I'm willing to hear your first hand accounts if you have them, but I seriously doubt they exist. Is one of the good fruits of healing blessings in these serious cases actually that the person is healed? Where is the evidence of that? I've experimented on the word and exercised faith, yet the ill still die, the deaf remains deaf, the blind remain in darkness. IF the gift of healing really existed beyond the theoretical I think we'd be seeing these things. I think people would be flocking to the church if it was demonstrated that healing blessings worked. Yet that doesn't seem to be the case. Healing blessings seem to bring comfort in some cases, but little else.

Text from The Robe movie:

"Miriam is another on whom Jesus looked.
Another miracle?
If you want to use the word.
When she was 15, she was struck down by paralysis.
It left her hopelessly crippled, and hopelessly bitter about life.
She ate herself away with hate and consumed everyone with her envy and malice.
- But she's still a cripple. She can't walk.
- No, she can't.
If he was such a magician, why didn't he cure her?
He did.
I don't understand.
One day there was a wedding here in Cana.
The whole village took part in it, all but Miriam.
She stayed home and wept.
A wedding, you see, when no man would look at her and her twisted body.
But when her parents returned to the house, they found her, as she is now,
as you saw her, smiling and singing."

So Jesus didn't heal her body. Sometimes the miracle is changing a person's heart so they can learn to live with their infirmity and be happy and be an example to others.
We all need to live by faith and I would think that a person who sees a missing arm suddenly appear back onto someones body, would put them out of the realm of needing to have faith anymore.

 

[Duncan]

2 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

In SLC, we've had news stories over and over pleading with us to not give them cash, because so many will turn around and spend it on drugs/alcohol. But a better way is to buy food and give it to them, or give them info on shelters, etc. So maybe this is on their minds. But it's so difficult to just walk by especially if you think they truly are in need of a job and food, cash.

But I've seen one woman who was situated right by the temple entrance on the north side that once her shift was over, she was picked up in a nice enough truck and driven away. She was able bodied etc. and according to one news show, they make a great income doing this. So it's really too bad that these kinds of people ruin it for others.

I love it when I see able bodied men/women that carry a sign that says they will work for pay, these kinds of people I think need to be given an opportunity. Or even someone disabled...I remember pulling off to the side of the road and him giving me a window cleaning or something. Can't remember. But at least someone that wants to work for it, and are not after their next fix. 

That is probably why these leaders walked right by, most likely. Also, a way to help the homeless is to donate to the shelters.

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865684803/Hughes-Biskupski-make-plea-not-to-give-to-panhandlers-say-begging-abets-lawlessness.html

http://fox13now.com/2017/07/13/new-campaign-urges-you-to-stop-giving-panhandlers-money/

poverty and panhandling is so multifaceted, it could be what was on their minds! We used to have the "squeegee kids" doing the window washing but it's died down now i've noticed

[HappyJackWagon]

2 minutes ago, JAHS said:

Text from The Robe movie:

"Miriam is another on whom Jesus looked.
Another miracle?
If you want to use the word.
When she was 15, she was struck down by paralysis.
It left her hopelessly crippled, and hopelessly bitter about life.
She ate herself away with hate and consumed everyone with her envy and malice.
- But she's still a cripple. She can't walk.
- No, she can't.
If he was such a magician, why didn't he cure her?
He did.
I don't understand.
One day there was a wedding here in Cana.
The whole village took part in it, all but Miriam.
She stayed home and wept.
A wedding, you see, when no man would look at her and her twisted body.
But when her parents returned to the house, they found her, as she is now,
as you saw her, smiling and singing."

So Jesus didn't heal her body. Sometimes the miracle is changing a person's heart so they can learn to live with their infirmity and be happy and be an example to others.
We all need to live by faith and I would think that a person who sees a missing arm suddenly appear back onto someones body, would put them out of the realm of needing to have faith anymore.

 

I agree that if a "healing blessing" isn't actually about healing the physical body, then it is likely to be viewed as being much more successful than if it being measured against a tangible, verifiable result. But if the healing blessing isn't really about healing the body maybe it should be renamed or at least change the expectation from physical healing. I suspect that most people who receive a blessing for the purpose of being healed from an ailment are actually expecting to be healed from that ailment.

I disagree with your assertion that witnessing a miraculous healing would negate the need for faith. The miracle would point in the direction to which a person should place their faith; Jesus. But just because he healed them wouldn't necessarily mean everything else he said and did was true. A person would need to choose to follow and exercise faith, using the evidence of his works as a reason to motivate the faith.

[bluebell]

43 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

There's been a lot of talk of powerful miracles on this thread and others. I see Marginal Gains stating that he has never witnessed a truly miraculous healing. I've given numerous blessings during my life, some for major health issues but most for minor ones. I generally felt pretty confident giving a blessing of healing that a cold would be overcome, even if it would take a couple of weeks.

Yet I've never seen a deaf person be healed nor have I witnessed a blind person receiving sight. I've definitely never seen an amputee be healed and have a limb restored. Has anyone witnessed that? I'm willing to hear your first hand accounts if you have them, but I seriously doubt they exist. Is one of the good fruits of healing blessings in these serious cases actually that the person is healed? Where is the evidence of that? I've experimented on the word and exercised faith, yet the ill still die, the deaf remains deaf, the blind remain in darkness. IF the gift of healing really existed beyond the theoretical I think we'd be seeing these things. I think people would be flocking to the church if it was demonstrated that healing blessings worked. Yet that doesn't seem to be the case. Healing blessings seem to bring comfort in some cases, but little else.

You admit that you don't have faith in healing blessings but then say that you've exercised faith? I'm not sure how that even makes sense?

I've never witnessed those kinds of healings but I've had some in my own life that I consider miraculous.  I won't share them though.  My best friend growing up has experienced a few and the family has shared them before so i feel comfortable sharing them as well.

My best friend's brother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in his teens after struggling with some serious health issues led to the discovery of a lump in his neck.  Surgery and chemo were set to start within weeks.  He had a blessing before he went in for his final tests before surgery and during the tests it was discovered that everything was completely normal.  No lump, no hormonal issues, no thyroid issues in any of the blood work.  The doctor flat out said that the results were not medically possible.  Her brother received no further treatment and is now in his late 40s and has never had another problem with it.

That same family recently had another miraculous healing when the father (in his late 70s) went into septic shock after a shoulder surgery.  He was unconscious and had little heart function before he was given a blessing in the local ER in which he was promised that he would live and suffer no permanent damage.  He was then airlifted to a regional hospital with an I.V. line directly in his aorta.  When they were taking him out of the helicopter the line got caught on a wheel and was yanked out.  The doctor later told his family that he should not have survived that (the flight nurse also came in to talk to the family about how he couldn't believe he was still alive and that it was a miracle his aorta was not damaged at all).  The placement and size of the needle should have guaranteed that it shredded his aorta as it was pulled out and he should have bled out on the landing pad.  And the septic shock should have killed him in it's own right.  At the very least, the doctor said his heart should have lasting damage (septic shock attacks organs). But instead he was conscious and talking 12 hours after he went into shock in his home and only a few hours after being admitted to ICU in the regional hospital. He was out of the hospital and back home with no lasting effects (not even a prescription for pain meds) 2 days later. 

But, it's a given that those who are convinced that blessings do not heal will not be swayed by stories like this  That's one of the reasons they hear about them so infrequently.  

[stemelbow]

1 minute ago, bluebell said:

You admit that you don't have faith in healing blessings but then say that you've exercised faith? I'm not sure how that even makes sense?

I've never witnessed those kinds of healings but I've had some in my own life that I consider miraculous.  I won't share them though.  My best friend growing up has experienced a few and the family has shared them before so i feel comfortable sharing them as well.

My best friend's brother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in his teens after struggling with some serious health issues led to the discovery of a lump in his neck.  Surgery and chemo were set to start within weeks.  He had a blessing before he went in for his final tests before surgery and during the tests it was discovered that everything was completely normal.  No lump, no hormonal issues, no thyroid issues in any of the blood work.  The doctor flat out said that the results were not medically possible.  Her brother received no further treatment and is now in his late 40s and has never had another problem with it.

That same family recently had another miraculous healing when the father (in his late 70s) went into septic shock after a shoulder surgery.  He was unconscious and had little heart function before he was given a blessing in the local ER in which he was promised that he would live and suffer no permanent damage.  He was then airlifted to a regional hospital with an I.V. line directly in his aorta.  When they were taking him out of the helicopter the line got caught on a wheel and was yanked out.  The doctor later told his family that he should not have survived that (the flight nurse also came in to talk to the family about how he couldn't believe he was still alive and that it was a miracle his aorta was not damaged at all).  The placement and size of the needle should have guaranteed that it shredded his aorta as it was pulled out and he should have bled out on the landing pad.  And the septic shock should have killed him in it's own right.  At the very least, the doctor said his heart should have lasting damage (septic shock attacks organs). But instead he was conscious and talking 12 hours after he went into shock in his home and only a few hours after being admitted to ICU in the regional hospital. He was out of the hospital and back home with no lasting effects (not even a prescription for pain meds) 2 days later. 

But, it's a given that those who are convinced that blessings do not heal will not be swayed by stories like this  That's one of the reasons they hear about them so infrequently.  

The issue is, these types of miracles happen for those who receive priesthood blessings as well as those who don't. Also, miracles do not happen for those who get priesthood blessings and those who don't.  Some may say the priesthood blessings that work, work because the giver and receiver had faith enough.   While for those for whom the blessing did not work did not have faith enough.  Sadly we can't measure that.  What we can measure is anecdotal stories and call them data--how many people claim miraculous healings, often because a doctor said something opposite of what happened?  How many of those received lds priesthood blessings?  I'd guess an imaginably small percentage (like the in less than 1 percent range).  

in the cases above, was it priesthood that caused the miraculous sounding healings?  If so, priesthood only accomplishes a very tiny amount of these miraculous sounding healings, so what other power is causing these healings?  If something else is doing the majority of the work for the healings, then what good is the priesthood blessing?

[HappyJackWagon]

1 minute ago, bluebell said:

You admit that you don't have faith in healing blessings but then say that you've exercised faith? I'm not sure how that even makes sense?

I've never witnessed those kinds of healings but I've had some in my own life that I consider miraculous.  I won't share them though.  My best friend growing up has experienced a few and the family has shared them before so i feel comfortable sharing them as well.

But, it's a given that those who are convinced that blessings do not heal will not be swayed by stories like this  That's one of the reasons they hear about them so infrequently.  

I'm not sure why it's confusing. I've exercised a significant amount of faith throughout my life, including the giving and receiving of healing blessings. I no longer do simply because the exercise of that faith (or test) didn't yield any results. There were no positive fruits from the healing blessings given over decades so I no long believe them to be any kind of miraculous bestowal of power. They are generally nice words aimed at helping a person feel more hopeful.

I've never witnessed them either. I've had good experiences but nothing I'd rate as miraculous in any way.

I disagree. If I witnessed a healing blessing that miraculously worked in a tangible way, like regaining sight or limb, then I would definitely be swayed. But after a lifetime of exercising faith and seeing no miracles, then I'm left to wonder why that is. I think that is a legitimate question.