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I think one of the reasons Priesthood blessings "work" less and less in the Mormon Church is because we have come to believe they will "work" less and less.

At no point was this more clearly manifest than during a talk by Elder Eyring during a recent conference, when he related being called to a man's house to give him a blessing.

The man was dying of cancer and virtually bedridden, but when Elder Eyring arrived, this man was lying in his bed completely dressed for work, including a tie and coat, and even his shoes on.

Elder Eyring asked why he was dressed that way, and the man replied, "Because after you give me the blessing, I am going to get up and go to work."

The problem with this story is that this was not used as a manifestation of the dying man's faith that would be rewarded with a miraculous healing, but rather it was a laugh line.

More troubling, the people at the conference center immediately recognized it as such and dutifully chuckled.

Elder Eyring confirmed this was a laugh line by finishing the story with the seemingly inevitable fact that the man died of cancer.

I honestly don't know what message Elder Eyring was trying to convey with this story, but the point seemed clear to me, "Don't expect miraculous healings when you receive (or give) priesthood blessings or you will end up being a punch line in a general conference talk."

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

P.S. I posted this at the end of a thread that is now at the bottom of the page and wanted to see what people think.

When I heard this story, I had a similar feeling; it reminded of the story of the farmers who asked an apostle to pray for rain during a period of drought, and when they went to the fields, only one farmer had brought an umbrella. That story garners a hearty chuckle every time it is told.

This is sad, because a priesthood healing blessing is the kind of blessing that should generate the most hope and faith. Yet if those administering the blessing don't have the faith that it will work, what is the point?

This is a sore point for me - I truly believe that the administration of a priesthood blessing was a contributing factor in a man's death, and it infuriates me that those who administer such blessings can often say things like, "It was the will of the Lord".

:(

H.

LDSToronto wrote:This is a sore point for me - I truly believe that the administration of a priesthood blessing was a contributing factor in a man's death, and it infuriates me that those who administer such blessings can often say things like, "It was the will of the Lord".

:(

H.

That is awful, LDST. I am presuming it was a man who chose to not seek medical treatment in reliance on the blessing?

My first experience with priesthood blessings was not very good. My friend's mother had fallen and hurt her leg and she asked the missionaries over to give her a blessing. She hobbled over to the chair and sat down while they administered to her.

When they were done, she got up and hobbled away.

There was no sign of improvement. I asked my friend about it and he said maybe her leg could have been broken without the blessing.

That didn't sit right with me, either.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

On the other hand, several months after I joined the Church, in the summer of 1978, I had a good experience with a priesthood blessing.

We were over at a friend's house for young adult FHE and her chihuahua ran out in the road and got hit by a car.

All we heard from the front yard was a screech of tires in the evening air and we ran out and found the little dog lying there. He looked pretty near dead.

I was just a priest (shades of "only an elder") and I called the elder's quorum president who wasn't too happy about having to drive over after 9:00 on a work night, but he got out of bed and met us at the vet's.

He gave the dog a blessing and he did recover. Obviously, I don't know if he would have recovered anyway, and my recollection is he still walked with a limp after that, but at least it wasn't a story where the elder's quorum president came into the vet's emergency room and the chihuahua was dressed in a suit and tie ready to go to work.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

consiglieri wrote:

LDSToronto wrote:This is a sore point for me - I truly believe that the administration of a priesthood blessing was a contributing factor in a man's death, and it infuriates me that those who administer such blessings can often say things like, "It was the will of the Lord".

:(

H.

That is awful, LDST. I am presuming it was a man who chose to not seek medical treatment in reliance on the blessing?

It's a sad story, really, and I will recount it in full in an hour or so. First I must go to run an errand and put supper in the oven so that I am not distracted.

H.

Having dealings with Mr. Eyring, I can "TESTIFY" that the man in the story probably thought a "spirit" was visiting him, given that Mr. Eyring is translucent.

Mr. Eyring's skin is so transparent you can see all the blood vessels, veins, arteries, sinews and other anatomy. Casper the Ghost has more color and texture than Mr. Eyring.

The lowering of expectations for miracles is a direct result of them never actually showing up. I think until recently people were more comfortable sharing tall tales about miraculous healings. I knew a missionary who flat out said that all those miraculous stories you hear in sac meeting are made up, and told us (in the MTC) that he was going to make one up the next Sunday (he did).

Funny, in a sad way.

Anyway, now miracles and healings have been downgraded to finding money on the ground or getting better after - gasp - medical treatment. But giving God the credit. That's where the miracle is.

consiglieri wrote:On the other hand, several months after I joined the Church, in the summer of 1978, I had a good experience with a priesthood blessing.

We were over at a friend's house for young adult FHE and her chihuahua ran out in the road and got hit by a car.

All we heard from the front yard was a screech of tires in the evening air and we ran out and found the little dog lying there. He looked pretty near dead.

I was just a priest (shades of "only an elder") and I called the elder's quorum president who wasn't too happy about having to drive over after 9:00 on a work night, but he got out of bed and met us at the vet's.

He gave the dog a blessing and he did recover. Obviously, I don't know if he would have recovered anyway, and my recollection is he still walked with a limp after that, but at least it wasn't a story where the elder's quorum president came into the vet's emergency room and the chihuahua was dressed in a suit and tie ready to go to work.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

Um ... the quorum president met you at the vet's, where the dog was being treated?

You cite this story as 'a good experience with a priesthood blessing'. Well, at least no-one said that said there was no need to take the dog to the vet's office. since the blessing would be enough. That was good, certainly.

The Mighty Builder wrote:Having dealings with Mr. Eyring,

Can you tell us about your dealings with Mr. Eyring without blowing your cover?

I wish they'd work too, but they don't.

They could cure cancer, but they don't.

They could solve mental illness, but they don't.

They could fix heart problems, blindness, genetic disorders and all manner of disease and infection.

But they don't.

The Church explains this by saying that if a blessing doesn't work then it's because He wants the sufferer to suffer to learn or to grow from the suffering. So all these illnesses and diseases and conditions are for the persons benefit. I guess they should be grateful they've got them...