A Wish for Priesthood Blessings that Work

[_LDSToronto]

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?

I'll tell the full story, noting that most of this I saw happen and other parts were filled in later during PEC meetings.

About 8-10 years ago, a member of my ward, Br. M, was sitting in Sunday School when he suddenly stood up and announced he was not feeling well and left the chapel (we hold SS in the chapel in my ward). I saw him come into the hallway and sit down on the sofa in the foyer. A few members came out to interrogate him, and he told them he was experiencing chest pain and dizziness. I saw the conversation but at this point, I was unaware of what the conversation was about and why Br. M. had left the chapel.

About a minute later, Br. P and Br. B came out of the chapel and Br. P, Br. B, and Br. M all went into an empty classroom. About 15 minutes later, they came out of the room and Br. M. sat down on the sofa and Br. P approached me (I was down the hall, chatting with a friend, out of earshot). Br. P told me that Br. M is probably having a heart attack and I should find my wife to assist (she is a medical professional). I ran to her classroom, got her, and she ran to Br. M. who was on the sofa. Br. P. dialed 911 during this time.

My wife called out to Br. M., but he was just sitting on the sofa, dazed and unresponsive. She had a couple of men assist her in putting Br. M. to the floor, and she administered CPR - he was still alive, and she managed to get a pulse but no reaction.

Paramedics arrived about 5-7 minutes later, and took over. After working on him in the foyer, they put him in the ambulance. Unfortunately, Br. M did not make it to the hospital. He had died in the ambulance in the church parking lot.

The following week, in PEC, we found out that Br. P and Br. B had taken Br. M to the classroom to administer a blessing to him. They admitted they knew he had chest pain and dizziness, and they'd also discovered that Br. M had not taken his diabetes medications that morning and had not eaten. Rather than alerting 911 and my wife immediately, they administered a blessing and then waited to see if the pain would subside. After 7 or 8 minutes, they decided the pain was not getting better, and they brought him out of the room.

The bishop reported this to us in PEC. I don't recall my exact words, but I do recall that I was extremely angry and very vocal about the stupidity of these two men. The room was pretty much silent. When my wife found out what had happened, she wanted to report this to the police. I talked her out of it.

So, when I hear of people placing too much faith in the power of priesthood blessings, I occasionally recount this story. It still makes me angry to this date - if Br. M. had received medical care immediately, he could have lived - the heart attack was brought on by his neglect of medications that morning and that could have been reversed in the 15 minutes that these nitwits spent in the classroom.

H.

[_Stormy Waters]

Thanks for sharing this story LDST.

The bishop reported this to us in PEC. I don't recall my exact words, but I do recall that I was extremely angry and very vocal about the stupidity of these two men.

This is the problem I have with priesthood blessings. The church teaches that these blessings are real. So naturally in a moment of desperation a member may administer a priesthood blessing instead of medical care, because the member fully believes that they are helping. in my opinion the church is morally obligated to teach members that actual medical care should always precede any priesthood blessings. Of course, that might be viewed as an admission that priesthood blessings don't actually work.

[_moksha]

" ... for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

[_The Dude]

...and they'd also discovered that Br. M had not taken his diabetes medications that morning and had not eaten.

Why did the diabetic skip his medication and alter his diet? Was it fast Sunday?

[_LDSToronto]

...and they'd also discovered that Br. M had not taken his diabetes medications that morning and had not eaten.

Why did the diabetic skip his medication and alter his diet? Was it fast Sunday?

I can't remember if it was Fast Sunday - I vaguely recall that it might have been. This guy was an uber-Mormon and it sounds like something he'd do because of Fast Sunday.

H.

[_Polygamy-Porter]

I would bet my last tithing slip that this story as most of the stories told over the GC pulpit are pure fabrications, à la Dunn, to "convey the Spirit®".

I am sure there is a rise in tithes after each semi annual General Conference.

"convey the Spirit®" is a nice way of saying "suck em dry".

[_why me]

Why did the diabetic skip his medication and alter his diet? Was it fast Sunday?

Sometimes a person can forget that they didn't take their medication or they may believe that they took it already. For a diabetic it becomes natural to take the medication that they think they did but didn't. This can occur with people taking insulin.

However, or he took his medication and forgot to eat. Most diabetics on medication of insulin will be in more danger when this happens because there is no food to offset the insulin. Or he ate too little to offset the medication or he took a double dose of insulin forgeting that he took it already. All can this can happen to a diabetic and does.

[_why me]

. A few members came out to interrogate him, and he told them he was experiencing chest pain and dizziness.
H.

I love the use of language for connotation. Maybe question him would be more correct.

[_Drifting]

I'll tell the full story, noting that most of this I saw happen and other parts were filled in later during PEC meetings.

About 8-10 years ago, a member of my ward, Br. M, was sitting in Sunday School when he suddenly stood up and announced he was not feeling well and left the chapel (we hold SS in the chapel in my ward). I saw him come into the hallway and sit down on the sofa in the foyer. A few members came out to interrogate him, and he told them he was experiencing chest pain and dizziness. I saw the conversation but at this point, I was unaware of what the conversation was about and why Br. M. had left the chapel.

About a minute later, Br. P and Br. B came out of the chapel and Br. P, Br. B, and Br. M all went into an empty classroom. About 15 minutes later, they came out of the room and Br. M. sat down on the sofa and Br. P approached me (I was down the hall, chatting with a friend, out of earshot). Br. P told me that Br. M is probably having a heart attack and I should find my wife to assist (she is a medical professional). I ran to her classroom, got her, and she ran to Br. M. who was on the sofa. Br. P. dialed 911 during this time.

My wife called out to Br. M., but he was just sitting on the sofa, dazed and unresponsive. She had a couple of men assist her in putting Br. M. to the floor, and she administered CPR - he was still alive, and she managed to get a pulse but no reaction.

Paramedics arrived about 5-7 minutes later, and took over. After working on him in the foyer, they put him in the ambulance. Unfortunately, Br. M did not make it to the hospital. He had died in the ambulance in the church parking lot.

The following week, in PEC, we found out that Br. P and Br. B had taken Br. M to the classroom to administer a blessing to him. They admitted they knew he had chest pain and dizziness, and they'd also discovered that Br. M had not taken his diabetes medications that morning and had not eaten. Rather than alerting 911 and my wife immediately, they administered a blessing and then waited to see if the pain would subside. After 7 or 8 minutes, they decided the pain was not getting better, and they brought him out of the room.

The bishop reported this to us in PEC. I don't recall my exact words, but I do recall that I was extremely angry and very vocal about the stupidity of these two men. The room was pretty much silent. When my wife found out what had happened, she wanted to report this to the police. I talked her out of it.

So, when I hear of people placing too much faith in the power of priesthood blessings, I occasionally recount this story. It still makes me angry to this date - if Br. M. had received medical care immediately, he could have lived - the heart attack was brought on by his neglect of medications that morning and that could have been reversed in the 15 minutes that these nitwits spent in the classroom.

H.

Do Bro M's family know about this sequence of events?

[_why me]

I can't remember if it was Fast Sunday - I vaguely recall that it might have been. This guy was an uber-Mormon and it sounds like something he'd do because of Fast Sunday.

H.

I doubt it. Heart and chest pains are not symptoms of a diabetic overdose or low blood sugar. They are usually symptons of something else. Diabetics with a low blood sugar usually go into a coma. Diabetics with a high blood sugar suffer from dry mouth, over urination, blurred vision etc. It takes quite a while to reach that stage.