Healing
Thou shalt adore God, and serve him, and obey him.
1. IF Satan afffict thee that thou be sick, thou shalt send for the Elders, and they shall anoint thee with oil, and pray for thee, and rebuke the power of the adversary, and bless thee that thou recover of the disease.1
41 words,
170 letters.
2. But if thy sickness continue, and God deliver not thee therefrom, thou shalt confess thy sins to them, and they shall forgive thee; and thou shalt come to the assembly of those who have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.2
47 words,
199 letters.
3. If an evil spirit enter into any of thine, and torment him, or lead him about, thou shalt send for the Elders or High Priests, and they shall put their hands upon him, and look upon him, and rebuke the evil spirit, and cast him out.3
46 words,
179 letters.
Total—3 sec., 134 words, 548 letters.
1. An errour has got afloat, that if any one has the gift of healing, he can heal whosoever he will, and that a failure to
[1 Jas. v, 14, 15. Mark vi, 13. Matt. viii 2-16 iv, 23, 24. xii, 10, 11, 15. xiv, 14. Luke xiii, 11-13. Acts iii, I-I1. xiv, 8-11. [2 Jas. v. 16. John xx, 21-23. Matt. ix, 2. [3 Luke vii, 21. Acts xix, 12. Mark xvi, 17. Luke ix, 1. x, 9, 17. Matt. iv, 24. viii, 16, 28-32. Mark i, 32-34.
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heal in any instance is evidence of the lack of that gift. With this, commonly prevails the further errour, that the chief object of healing and of all other miraculous gifts is to convince unbelievers.
2. The healing of the sick is a gift for the benefit of believers; and unbelief alone is sufficient to defeat its operation. (Matt. xiii, 58. Mark vi, 5, 6.) And those who have the gift are not sent to all the sick, but only such as the spirit will. (Luke iv, 27.) The gift is spiritual, not personal.
3. When the sick receive the ministration of the Elders, no ostentatious display ought to be made; and if any unbelievers are present, they ought first to be removed, especially if they are numerous. Such was always the rule.
4. Not unfrequently unbelievers say, if they could see the sick healed, or any other miraculous work, they should be convinced, and embrace the faith. But this is not true. All experience shows that the exercise of miraculous gifts induces persecution, rather than faith. (John xi, 53, 54. v, 15, 16. Matt. ix, 34. Ex. x, 28. 1st Kings xviii, 38. xix, 10.)
5. Some thousand healings have occurred in the United States and Great Britain, in the midst of Gentile communities, where the infirmities and the healings were well known to them, and never questioned in the neighbourhoods in which they occurred, and it is not known that they have all been the means of bringing one person into the faith.
6. The fact that the Saints, in their own families, generally call for the Elders, and very seldom for a physician, in case of sickness; and all agree that the ministration of the Elders is attended with the best effects, is conclusive; for they cannot deceive themselves, and can have no inducement to practice a selfdelusion. The administration of the Elders does not forbid, though it generally supersedes all medicinal remedies.
1. IF Satan afffict thee that thou be sick, thou shalt send for the Elders, and they shall anoint thee with oil, and pray for thee, and rebuke the power of the adversary, and bless thee that thou recover of the disease.1
41 words,
170 letters.
2. But if thy sickness continue, and God deliver not thee therefrom, thou shalt confess thy sins to them, and they shall forgive thee; and thou shalt come to the assembly of those who have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.2
47 words,
199 letters.
3. If an evil spirit enter into any of thine, and torment him, or lead him about, thou shalt send for the Elders or High Priests, and they shall put their hands upon him, and look upon him, and rebuke the evil spirit, and cast him out.3
46 words,
179 letters.
Total—3 sec., 134 words, 548 letters.
1. An errour has got afloat, that if any one has the gift of healing, he can heal whosoever he will, and that a failure to
[1 Jas. v, 14, 15. Mark vi, 13. Matt. viii 2-16 iv, 23, 24. xii, 10, 11, 15. xiv, 14. Luke xiii, 11-13. Acts iii, I-I1. xiv, 8-11. [2 Jas. v. 16. John xx, 21-23. Matt. ix, 2. [3 Luke vii, 21. Acts xix, 12. Mark xvi, 17. Luke ix, 1. x, 9, 17. Matt. iv, 24. viii, 16, 28-32. Mark i, 32-34.
[Page 161]
heal in any instance is evidence of the lack of that gift. With this, commonly prevails the further errour, that the chief object of healing and of all other miraculous gifts is to convince unbelievers.
2. The healing of the sick is a gift for the benefit of believers; and unbelief alone is sufficient to defeat its operation. (Matt. xiii, 58. Mark vi, 5, 6.) And those who have the gift are not sent to all the sick, but only such as the spirit will. (Luke iv, 27.) The gift is spiritual, not personal.
3. When the sick receive the ministration of the Elders, no ostentatious display ought to be made; and if any unbelievers are present, they ought first to be removed, especially if they are numerous. Such was always the rule.
4. Not unfrequently unbelievers say, if they could see the sick healed, or any other miraculous work, they should be convinced, and embrace the faith. But this is not true. All experience shows that the exercise of miraculous gifts induces persecution, rather than faith. (John xi, 53, 54. v, 15, 16. Matt. ix, 34. Ex. x, 28. 1st Kings xviii, 38. xix, 10.)
5. Some thousand healings have occurred in the United States and Great Britain, in the midst of Gentile communities, where the infirmities and the healings were well known to them, and never questioned in the neighbourhoods in which they occurred, and it is not known that they have all been the means of bringing one person into the faith.
6. The fact that the Saints, in their own families, generally call for the Elders, and very seldom for a physician, in case of sickness; and all agree that the ministration of the Elders is attended with the best effects, is conclusive; for they cannot deceive themselves, and can have no inducement to practice a selfdelusion. The administration of the Elders does not forbid, though it generally supersedes all medicinal remedies.