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Hi again…I haven’t been here for sometime. This forum really helped me a lot on finding a reason to Stay LDS. I’m coming across a situation though that I need advice quickly. My teenage son has been pretty sick with a lot of pain. Long story short…he was misdiagnosed months ago and has had severe back pain. We’ve seen many doctors with no luck. A good friend (whose is in another Ward’s Bishopric) came by and told my son that he had a similar problem and was healed immediately by a priesthood blessing by a blessing for a similar back problem. He told my son that he should prepare himself spiritually and he could be healed too. The key, he MUST believe 100% he will be healed or it won’t happen. This includes all of those who participate in the blessing. My son wants me to anoint him with oil, with our friend pronouncing and sealing the anointing. I’m ok with that. My problem, is that I don’t believe that he absolutely, positively will be healed by this blessing. I believe he can be healed but that a blessing isn’t like rubbing a magic lamp and all prayers are answered 100%. I want to participate, but I don’t think God answers ALL prayers all the time, just because righteous people say them.
My question…is my friend wrong in telling my son that if he is 100% sure he will be healed by the blessing if my son is 100% sure he will be healed? Or am I correct in my interpretation. One of my concerns is that if he’s not healed, my son will doubt his faith.
It is wrong to tell him the blessing is 100% dependent on everyone’s faith. It provides a safe “out” if it doesn’t work, but you can also say it depends on the Lord’s will. I would proceed with the blessing even if I personally had little faith in its efficacy, as it comforts people. And it is a way you can help people without having all the answers or a shred of medical training…but don’t raise his expectations that he will be healed if he is 100% faithful…if I WAS to go that route, if he asked me about it, I would indicate its an obscure formula of Healing = Faith of the sick + Faith of the people giving the blessing + Will of God.
Lots of outs there to avoid hurting anyone’s faith.
Give lots of support if the blessing does not work either. And keep pressing for a medical solution.
That’s such a tough position to be in. My main concern would be that if the back pain doesn’t go away that my child would come out feeling deficient in some way. From a 100% secular standpoint:
There are a myriad of reasons why someone’s back may be hurting. People that have experienced back pain may think that someone else’s experience with back pain is the same as theirs but that isn’t necessarily the case.
Scenario 1:
Someone pulls a muscle in their back. It hurts intensely in the lower back. They receive a blessing. The muscle repairs itself. Faith is rewarded.
Scenario 2:
Someone develops a herniated disc. It hurts intensely in the lower back. The person in scenario one comes by and says “I know exactly how you feel, I had terrible back pain too. A blessing worked for me.” Except the two scenarios are very different. The person with the herniated disc receives a blessing. The herniated disc is still herniated. A few months go by where several blessings are offered. A miraculous healing doesn’t take place.
We might chalk up the difference to who had the most faith but the real issue was that the cause of the back pain was very different. One can get by with little to no medical intervention, the other cannot but our limited perspective has caused us to conflate two very different scenarios.
I don’t mean to say that I don’t believe faith healings are possible or that I don’t believe in them. Just that we should expect different people to have different experiences because the variables are different.
Ball_of_Confusion wrote:My question…is my friend wrong in telling my son that if he is 100% sure he will be healed by the blessing if my son is 100% sure he will be healed? Or am I correct in my interpretation. One of my concerns is that if he’s not healed, my son will doubt his faith.
I wont beat around the bush, I don’t like what your friend said. If it’s a simple matter of belief what does it say when your friend is providing an excuse for why a blessing wouldn’t work before the blessing has even been given?
I’m glad you asked this question. I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of blessings that didn’t “take.” Some for conditions that have stretched on for years. I’ve also been on the receiving end of a blessing that “took.” I’d be interested to hear what people had to say on the matter.
Does your son now have an accurate diagnosis? Do you mind sharing?
I like what SD said: Quote:Healing = Faith of the sick + Faith of the people giving the blessing + Will of God.
The Will of God always trumps the Faith of the participants. IMHOI hope & pray for God’s help & blessings as you help walk your son through this experience.
Keep us informed of your progress.
I also like what SD said. This is one of the teachings of some members of the church that really bugs me and was related to my faith crisis. If your son is not healed he is going to be be in a position where he wonders if God loves him, or if he’s not “good” enough, or if he doesn’t have enough faith, etc. It’s pernicious, and were it my son I would correct. You are right, all prayers are not answered and SD is also right – God’s will plays a part. I would also participate because my son asked me to, not because I believe. Do you not then get in the situation where you believe that it is the will of god that you suffer chronic pain? Or do the other conditionals create enough doubt that you don’t know where to assign blame? nibbler wrote:Do you not then get in the situation where you believe that it is the will of god that you suffer chronic pain? Or do the other conditionals create enough doubt that you
don’t know where to assign blame?Ah, Nibbler, you have hit a nail on the head! Strong with the Force you are! That’s a huge part of the problem – assigning blame/fault.
Some things just are.DarkJedi wrote:Some things just are.
Oh, I agree but that’s not a very satisfying answer for people that expect a miracle. Especially in this case – it worked for Brother SoAndSo, if it doesn’t work out the question will likely be why didn’t it work for me? The person suggesting the blessing has primed the pump for assigning blame should things not work out for the best.
So how do we advertize blessings in a way where if the healing doesn’t occur people won’t be looking for reasons? Or is looking for reasons just a part of what everyone has to work through?
I suppose that’s where those of us who don’t believe prayers are answered are at a bit of an advantage…. 
Thank you all for comments. The blessing occurs tonight at 7pm with many friends coming over to participate. Right now I feel pretty sick to my stomach about the whole thing as my son is very spiritual and believes he will be healed no matter what. A little more background…he was misdiagnosed with epididimytis 10 months ago. Only a recent MRI showed MULTIPLE herniated discs. A recent EMG showed no nerve damage. Which is not what we expected. I still believe just because 1 EMG test showed no nerve damage doesnt mean there is NO NERVE DAMAGE. Perhaps it just didnt show up on that test. My son is scheduled to go to the Y in Provo in a few weeks so we were hoping to get this resolved by a surgeon before he went. He has had blessing before for this but tonight is going to be the Mother of All Blessings. Dont get me wrong. I do believe in miracles, but I also know that many times they dont occur the way we want them to no matter how much faith we have.
Of course many in the Church will say if he is not healed then he did not have the faith needed, or he didnt read his scriptures or didnt do his hometeaching or some other blame game nonsense out of the mormon book of blame.
I do hope we have a miracle tonight.
To be continued…
The most amazing thing has just happened to me. I clicked on one of the links on staylds.com and ended going to a video interview with Edward Kimball, son of Spencer W Kimball. If you get a chance you may want to listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4pmYZwf-i8 . At 12:35 Brother Kimball is asked about his need for crutches. Apparently he had polio as a small child. He then states that he had a priesthood blessing by one of the General Authorities that he would be healed completely. That never happened. Brother Kimball’s response to that question is amazing…you may want to listen as I believe it validates what I believe and what all of you have been saying. I’m somewhat overwhelmed right now as this is something I needed to hear.It is better to teach your child to have faith, and to seek to know the will of God. He can be healed if it is God’s will. It should not be worded to put pressure on the individual or if he is not healed it will cause self-guilt and unnecessary stress. He is your son. Others are nice to offer advice, but they don’t have the authority to teach or declare blessings that you don’t agree with. You have authority for receiving revelation forb you family.
Teach your kids how you honestly believe. Even if that is…”God doesn’t get involved with some things. God helps those that help themselves. We need to find good doctors to help get the right diagnosis.”
Or whatever you believe and think is best to teach your son and keep him from future pain, and keep expectations realistically for life, regardless of what others experience in life.
There is no 100%.
Those are unrealistic expectations and setting your son up for cognitive dissonance.
Better to keep it real. Have a blessing. Seek better doctor care and 2nd and 3rd opinions. And accept God’s will as it becomes manifest.
Wow. You were inspired to find a link to give you the words you needed to hear in the very moment you needed it. That sounds like a prompting to me. God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, in ways that make you wonder if He is really there or not. Such is faith.
Ball_of_Confusion wrote:The most amazing thing has just happened to me. I clicked on one of the links on staylds.com and ended going to a video interview with Edward Kimball, son of Spencer W Kimball. If you get a chance you may want to listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4pmYZwf-i8 . At 12:35 Brother Kimball is asked about his need for crutches. Apparently he had polio as a small child. He then states that he had a priesthood blessing by one of the General Authorities that he would be healed completely. That never happened. Brother Kimball’s response to that question is amazing…you may want to listen as I believe it validates what I believe and what all of you have been saying. I’m somewhat overwhelmed right now as this is something I needed to hear.Thanks for sharing. I watched the part you mentioned, I would like to watch more later. As I said previously, some things just are.
Thanks for the link. I’m still interested in knowing how the blessing goes.
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