Below you will find Prince’s research excerpts titled, “Priesthood Healing, 1855.” You can view other years here.
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PRIESTHOOD: HEALING, 1855.
1855: 11 Mar.: Importance of using oil.
“If any are sick among you, let them send for the Elders of the Church to pray for them, and to lay their hands upon them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick. People neglect to anoint with oil when they should and might use it. I have seen the Elders try to cast out devils, and to accomplish it they have fasted, and prayed, and laid on hands, and rebuked the devil, but he would not go out. I have then seen them bring consecrated oil, and anoint the person possessed of the devil, and the devil went out forthwith. That taught me a good lesson–that God Almighty, when He speaks, means what He says; and if a man’s works are right, his faith will be right; and if his faith is wrong, his works are wrong. When a man whose faith is right goes forth to administer to the sick, he will anoint with oil, as well as lay on his hands and pray. Unless you anoint with oil, your prayers will not rise higher than the fog, and you know that it seldom rises much higher than the tops of the mountains.
If I am sick, and send for an administrator, I want him to fulfil every word of the Lord; and if there is any body there you don’t like when you come to me, invite them out of the door. When devils are in the house, and you don’t like them, cast them out, but be sure to administer the ordinances right. When an Elder comes to administer to the sick, and is afraid of greasing his fingers, or of dropping a little oil on his vest or pants, and says, ‘O never mind the oil, there is no virtue in the olive oil; you might as well drink it as anoint with it; besides, I might grease my gloves; I will dispense with in,’ I want such a man to walk off. If I was sick, and he came to me in that manner, I should say, ‘You are a poor, miserable hypocrite.’ That is the way I should feel and talk. Let a man, when he has the right kind of faith, practise the works thereof; and when God says, ‘Anoint with oil,’ anoint; I don’t care if it runs down your beard as it ran down Aaron’s, it will not hurt you. When a man complies with every requisition of heaven, his works and his faith are right. He offers up prayer for the sick, he anoints with oil, and lays on his hands. When his works are right they will correspond with his faith, and men and women will be healed.
This is just as sure as the law of mathematics; I never saw it fail, and it never will fail; I tell you this in the name of the Lord God of Israel. The grand difficulty is, as brother Kimball says, people play with these things as a cat does with a mouse until it is dead; and so it will be with the ordinances of God when a part of them only are performed and a part omitted, for in this way the channel of the Lord’s blessings is stopped up. The Saints who are sick need not expect that they are going to be healthy when only half of the ordinances is administered to them. If a man wishes to be healed, he must be administered to lawfully in that way God has appointed, and live his religion.” (Jedediah M. Grant, 11 Mar., 1855; JD 2:276-277)
11 Mar.: Concerning administering to the sick.
“My faith agrees with that of the ancients I believe and practice the very works which they practiced. I believe in baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and, if any are sick among you, in sending for the elders of the church, in anointing the sick with oil, and in praying for them, that they may be healed.
Now I want to dwell a little upon this point. I do not know but some use the ordinances of God too commonly, and on too slight occasions. Some if they get a sliver in their finger will call for the laying on of hands and for prayer to cure the wound; or if they get a little gravel or dust in their eye they will want you to lay hands on them to eradicate it; and so of other little complaints for which we already have simple and known remedies. I do not wish to teach this, but I wish to teach you the doctrine of the Bible. ‘Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he haved committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.’ This is the doctrine of the Bible, mark the words. If any of the Apostles are sick let them send for some of the rest of the apostles, and let their brethren apostles administer to them, and they shall be healed, the Bible does not read thus. It does not read that only the renowned in the church shall reap the benefits of this institution, but it says, ‘Is any sick among you?’ etc. Suppose God has a true church on the earth in this age, what mode would that church adopt in case any were sick? Says one, ‘if they had the same faith as the ancients, they would perform the same works. How shall we ascertain whether the Latter Day Saints have the like precious faith with the apostles? You know that the apostles said they had the like precious faith. How are we to ascertain that we have it? If any are sick among you, you will send for the elders of the church, and let them anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick.
You see at once that it is necessary for your works to correspond, and for you to send for the elders of the church. Do you see this practiced among the Latter Day Saints? Some of them must first try the physician, have the head shaved, take a dose of calomel and gamboge, have a blister plaster on the back of the neck, and another all over the bowels, besides one on each hip. In short they must have six or eight large blister plasters on them at once. After trying all this, and running up a bill with the physician of from six to six hundred dollars, they then send for the elders. When James is about dead, having had two quarts of blood taken from him Saturday, and another on Monday, and when the life is nearly drawn out of the poor fellow by physicking and bleeding, why then they send for the elders, and ask them to pray for him. When a man, or woman, sends for me after taking such a course, I feel insulted if I do not act so. I go to the house perfectly good natured apparently, and administer, but there is a frown of indignation within me. I feel that they have insulted the priesthood, trampled upon the order of the house of God, and treated lightly his holy ordinances. I am not anxious to exercise faith for such persons, for I think that they are fools, and let them die the fool’s death.
If the saints of God actually have the faith of the ancients, let them practice the doctrine in their works. A man will tell me that he is a Mormon, that he believes in the faith of the ancients, when at the same time he practices everything else but their religion. My rule is to practice our religion. If I want a drink of catnip tea, or of composition, or of lobelia, it is all right, but I will first practice my religion. You know that it is hardly allowable in Utah to dring any more than five gallons of lobelia at once, for the Assembly of Deseret once had the matter under consideration.
I wish to see the saints practice their religion, and carry it out, and if they cannot live by their religion, then die by it. That is the doctrine. I want my religion if I am going to die. Most certainly that is the time I would not like to lay it by, for it would be unwise to do that, since that is the very time that one needs it the most, and is the time when he should be immersed in it. I want to see the saints actually show by their works that they have the faith of the ancients.
When the elders go forth to preach, and people are healed by the laying on of hands, some have said, ‘we cannot expect the sick to be healed in Zion; we cannot expect to see miracles when we are gathered to Zion.’ That is the very place for the sick to be healed, and the place where the people of God should exercise the most faith, and be the most diligent in keeping the ordinances of the Lord’s house perfectly. You have only heard the theory taught abroad, but you have now come home to practice what you have been taught in other lands.
If any are sick among you, let them send for the elders of the church to pray for them, and to lay their hands upon them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick. People neglect to anoint with oil, when the[y] should and might use it. I have seen the elders try to cast out devils, and to accomplish it they have fasted and prayed, and laid on hands, and rebuked the devil, but he would not go out. I have then seen them bring consecrated oil and anoint the person possessed of the devil and the devil went out forthwith. That taught me a good lesson, that God Almighty when he speaks means what he says; and if a man’s works are right his faith will be right, and if his faith is wrong his works are wrong. When a man whose faith is right goes forth to administer to the sick, he will anoint with oil, as well as lay on his hands and pray. Unless you anoint with oil your prayers will not rise higher than the fog, and you know that it seldom rises much higher than the tops of the mountains.
If I am sick, and send for an administrator, I want him to fulfill every word of the Lord; and if there is any body there you don’t like when you come to me invite them out of the door. When devils are in the house, and you don’t like them, cast them out, but be sure to administer the ordinances right. When an elder comes to administer to the sick and is afraid of greasing his fingers, or of dropping a little oil on his vest or pants, and says, ‘O never mind the oil, there is no virtue in the olive oil; you might as well drink it as anoint with it; besides, I might grease my gloves, I will dispense with it,’ I want such a man to walk off. If I was sick and he came to me in that manner, I should say, ‘you are a poor miserable hypocrite.’ That is the way I should feel and talk. Let a man, when he has the right kind of faith, practice the works thereof; and when God says anoint with oil, anoint; I don’t care if it runs down your beard as it ran down Aaron’s, it will not hurt you. When a man complies with every requisition of heaven, his works and his faith are right. He offers up prayer for the sick, he anoints with oil, and lays on his hands. When his works are right they will correspond with his faith, and men and women will be healed.
This is just as sure as the law of mathematics; I never saw it fail, and it never will fail; I tell you this in the name of the Lord God of Israel. The grand difficulty is, as br. Kimball says, people play with these things, as a cat does with a mouse until it is dead; and so it will be with the ordinances of God when a part of them only are performed, and a part omitted, for in this way the channel of the Lord’s blessings is stopped up. The saints who are sick need not expect that they are going to be healthy, when only half of the ordinance is administered to them. If a man wishes to be healed, he must be administered to lawfully in that way God has appointed, and live his religion.
A great many people partake of the sacrament, and at the same time are thinking, ‘how many teams can I get to-morrow to haul stone? I wonder if that sister has a bonnet like mine, or if I can get one like hers? I wonder if it is going to be a good day to-morrow or whether it will rain or snow? etc.’ You can sit in this stand and read such thoughts in their faces. When a sick person has sent in a request for the prayers of this congregation, many are permitting their thoughts to wander all over creation. Do we not see this right here? Yes, and a man of God feels indignant at it. No matter who is called upon to pray, all the assembly should unite in one; every person in the congregation who has an interest at the throne of grace should engage in prayer, and raise their hearts, as the heart of one man, to the Almighty for the blessings desired,m and in offering thanks for the blessings enjoyed.
We talk about being one, now if our faith is right let our works correspond. If you have faith to pray, and prayers is offered up in the stand pray too, and if you cannot confine your thoughts in any other way, mentally repeat the prayer of the one who is praying aloud, word for word, and let every saint of God pray when the hour of prayer comes. When prayer is offered up in this manner to the God of high heaven for the sick and afflicted, you will find that the sick will be healed, for the prayers of the people of God ascend as incense before him, and he has decreed that he would answer their prayers because they are united. When a sick person sends a request here for the benefit of our prayers, it is not sent that one man alone may pray for that person, but that the prayers of the assembled saints, individually and collectively, may be offered up for that person. Hence every one in the Tabernacle of the righteous should lift up his voice and pray for that sick person, it is your duty to do it.” (Jedediah M. Grant, 11 Mar., 1855; DN 5:34-35, 11 Apr., 1855)
6 May: Healings can also be done by power of the devil.
“Persons may see miracles performed; may see the sick healed, the eyes of the blind opened, the lame made to leap and even the dead raised, and may acknowledge that it is all done by the power of God, but will all this enable them to discern whether it is the power of God or not? No, it will not. They must have the Spirit by which the dead are raised, by which the sick are healed and the eyes of the blind opened, or they cannot tell whether it is done by the power of God or the power of the devil, or whether there is a mist over their own eyes.
. . . .
If we read right, in the last days we expect the power of the enemy to have a great influence among the people, and to succeed in deceiving very many. Do you expect the eyes of the blind opened by the power of the devil? I do, and I expect to see the lame made to leap and the ears of the deaf unstopped by that power.
Have any of this congregation ever seen, witnessed, or had any knowledge of such a thing? Yes. Have the sick been healed? Yes, both by the power of God and by the power of the devil. We say that we can witness that the power of God has healed the sick. Are ther individuals here who have seen the wick healed when they did not know by what power they were healed? Yes, a great many; mesmerism has healed many persons in the world. Do you know whether that works by the power of God, or by the power of the devil? You do not, unless you have the light of revelation. You may believe the testimony of others, but unless you get a revelation for yourselves you do not know whether it is by the power of God or by the power of the devil. Have we witnessed persons apostatizing from this people, from the kingdom of God, to go into the world and become wicked, and give way to swearing, drinking, gambling and horse-racing, and become as they formerly had been, only more wicked than they were previous to coming into this church, and that too, through the principle of mesmerism?
I know of many whom mesmerism has led out of this church; they would see the sick healed and attribute it to the power of God; would fall under its influence, embrace and practise it, and thus give the devil power over them to lead them out of the kingdom of God. They could not tell whether it was the power of God or the power of the devil. What is the reason? They had not the light of revelation within hthem; they had not the knowledge of God. Are you not aware how easily we may be deceived? A neighbor comes along and tells you a story, and you are ready to believe him, for you say, ‘That man is a man of truth; I must believe his statement. That sister is a woman of truth; I cannot but believe her statement.’
. . . .
Mesmerism is an inverted truth; it originated in holy, good and righteous principles, which have been inverted by the power of the devil.” (Brigham Young, 6 May, 1855; DN 5(37):290, 21 Nov., 1855)
2 Jun.: Anointing with oil, among non-Mormons.
“ANOINTING WITH OIL.–In England the custom of anointing the body with oil seems to be entirely abandoned. The present cry is ‘Baths and Washhouses,’ ‘Hydropathy,’ ‘Water-cure,’ ‘Fountains,’ ‘Street watering,’ ‘Scrubbing out the house,’ &c.; and these are now so much the fashion that the bare mention that these things may be done in excess will, we fear, render us liable to be drowned in a flood of watery effusins from the modern hydromaniacs. Nevertheless, at the risk of such a watery grave, we will assert that our belief is in oil. Yes, we actually believe St. Mark (vi. 13) when he says, ‘And they anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.’ The fact is, that the use of some pure unction or oil on the surface of the skin is in many instances of infinite service, and can with great advantage be used instead of water. In this country, children are perpetually ‘watered,’
as though they were amphibious animals. In the East Indies children are rarely washed in water; but they are oiled every day. A child’s head can be kept much cleaner if oiled than without it. Many young people with hectic cheeks would probably never know the last days of consumption of their parents would insist on having the chest, the back, and limbs anointed with sweet oil two or three times a week. The Hebrew physicians seem to have considered oil as more efficacious than any other remedy for the mitigation of various disorders of the human frame. The sick were always anointed with oil as the most powerful means that was known of checkng the progress of disease. One of their medical prescriptions is this: ‘he who is afflicted with pains in his head or eruptions in his body, let him anoint himself with oil.’ In the Epistle of James (v. 14) we read, ‘Is any sick among you? Let him call for the Elders, and let them anoint him with oil.’–Family Herald. {Just finding out that the Latter-day Saints have actually been teaching Scripture and sense, in calling the Elders to the sick, and anointing with oil! The world will find out by and bye that the Saints are a-head of them altogether.–Ed. Star.}” (MS 17( a22):350-351, 2 Jun., 1855)
30 Jun.: Sister set apart to lay hands on the sick.
“[Parowan] Sister Meeks, Sister West and Sister Fish were set apart as nurses and teachers to the females, to teach them organization, the taking care of children etc., and to nurse according to revelation, that is, by laying on hands, anointing and with mild herbs.” (JH 30 Jun., 1855)
6 Oct.: Why are there still sick among us?
“Suppose that I had faith like a grain of mustard seed and could do the things which Christ has said are possible to be done through that faith, and that another man on the continent of Asia had the same faith, we could not accomplsih much because but two would have all the power of satan to combat. Do you suppose that Jesus Christ healed every person that was sick, or that all the devils were cast out in the country where he sojourned? I do not. Working miracles, healing the sick, raising the dead, and the like, were almost as rare in his day as in this our day. Once in a while the people would have faith in his power and what is called a miracle would be performed, but the sick, the blind, the deaf and dumb, the crazy and those possessed with different kinds of devils were around him, and only now and then could his faith have power to take effect, on account of the want of faith in the individuals.
Many suppose that in the days of the Savior no person was sick, in the vicinity of his labors, but what was healed; this is a mistake, for it was only occasionally that a case of healing a sick person or casting out a devil occurred.–But again, suppose that two thirds of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the regions round about had actually possessed like faith in the Savior that a few did, then it is very probable that all the sick would have been healed and the devils cast out, for there would have been a predominance of a good power over the evil influences.
Let two persons be on the continent of America having faith like a grain of mustard seed, and let one of them be situated on the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific coast, and most of the sick would remain sick around them, the dying would die, and those possessed of devils would continue to be tormented, though once in a while a sick person might be healed, or a blind person be made to see. Now let each one of those individuals have another person of like faith added to him, and they will do as much again work; then let there be four persons in the east and four in the west, all possessing faith like a grain of mustard seed, and there will be four times as much done as when there was but one in each place; and thus go on increasing their number in this ratio until, by and bye, all the Latter Day Saints have faith like a grain of mustard seed, and where would there be place for devils? Not in these mountains, for they would all be cast out. Do you not perceive that that would be a great help to us?
If I had power of myself to heal the sick, which I do not profess to have, or to cast out devils, which power I have not got, though if the Lord sees fit to cast them out through my command it is all right, still if I had that power, and there was no other person to help me, the people would do as they do now, they would hunt me almost to death saying, ‘won’t you lay hands on this sick person? Won’t you go to my house over yonder?’ and so on. I am sent for continually, though I only go occasionally, because it is the privilege of every father, who is an elder in Israel, to have faith to heal his family, just as much so as it is my privilege to have faith to heal my familiy; and if he does not do it he is not living up to his privilege. It is jjust as reasonable for him to ask me to cut his wood and maintain his family, for if he had faith himself he would save me the trouble of leaving other duties to attend to his request.” (Brigham Young, 6 Oct., 1855; DN 5(34):267, 31 Oct., 1855)
21 Oct.: Blessed her with life; 1 hour later she died.
“Some are much tryed because all are not healed that they lay hands upon but I do not feel so. I had a Case during Conference concerning the case of Sister Baris. She was sick & I laid Hands upon her & blessed her with life & helth & went to meeting. In an hour I had word that she was dead. It did not try me. The Lord saw fit to take her & all is right.” (Wilford Woodruff diary, 21 Oct., 1855)
1856: 4 Jan.: Dressed thumb with consecrated oil.
“Bro. Samuel Kerr called to have his thumb dressed. (the end of it was mashed off in Glasgow by being caught in a cog wheel) this was the third time I dressed it, found it mending nicely. I used Holy Consecrated oil, made so by the Power of the Priesthood and by the laying on of hands.” (J. D. T. McAllister diary, 4 Jan., 1856, p. 69)
11 Jan.: Washed/anointed w/whiskey/oil for health.
“A.M. felt a little better. Bro. Gibson wrote some business letters for me to Matthew Thompson, Edwd. L. Sloan & Hugh Shepherd. He sent the ‘Stars’ and ‘Journals of Discourses’ to my subscribers, and Branch Agents. Mrs. Herron brought me a Bottle of Port wine, and some oranges and lemons. Several of the Sisters brough me some very nice cakes and crakers &c &c. all of the saints were very kind. in the evening Bro. Ferguson arrived from Dublin, brought me a Bottle of Port sent by Sister Bermingham. about midnight he washed me with water, then bathed me with whiskey, after which administered to me by anointing my body all over with consecrated oil. went to bed and slept well.” (J. D. T. McAllister diary, 11 Jan., 1856, p. 72)
3 Feb.: Washed/anointed w/whiskey/oil for health.
“accompanied Br. Jones to his house he was afflicted with inflamatory rumatism. I washed him with cold water, whiskey, and anointed him with oil, about half past eleven I returned to Bro. Godsalls.” (J. D. T. McAllister diary, 3 Feb., 1856)
4 Mar.: Woman anoints with consecrated oil.
“I went to Sister Bentley’s for lobelia as I realized the chief difficulty lay in her brething and not in the canker; but, having given her canker medicine that had blue vitriol in it, it was not wise to give her the lobelia. I gave her castor oil and anointed her plentifully with consecrated oil and gave her some inwardly.” (Martha Spence Heywood journal, 4 Mar., 1856; in Our Pioneer Heritage, 2:72, 1959)
17 Aug.: We must do our part.
“You may go to some people here, and ask what ails them, and they answer, ‘I don’t know, but we feel a dreadful distress in the stomach and in the back; we feel all out of order, and we wish you to lay hands upon us.’ ‘Have you used any remedies?’ ‘No. We wish the Elders to lay hands upon us, and we have faith that we shall be healed.’ That is very inconsistent according to my faith. If we are sick, and ask the Lord to heal us, and to do all for us that is necessary to be done, according to my understanding of the Gospel of salvation, I might as well ask the Lord to cause my wheat and corn to grow, without my plowing the ground and casting in the seed. It appears consistent to me to apply every remedy that comes within the range of my knowledge, and to ask my Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ, to sanctify that application to the healing of my body; to another this may appear inconsistent.” (Brigham Young, 17 Aug., 1856; JD 4:24)
29 Oct.: Set apart with power to heal the sick.
“Elder Shadrack Driggs and John G. Wheeler were set apart and blessed with power to heal the sick, to make the blind see and the lame walk; great were the blessings pronounced upon their heads.” (Minutes of a quarterly conference held in Pleasant Grove City, beginning October 25, 1856; [included Home Missionaries] DN 6(36):285, 12 Nov., 1856)
26 Nov.: Women set apart to administer to sick.
“I called the women together and organized a female benevolent society. Gave them much instructions, and set apart Sister Lydia Hopkins, Annabla Haight, and Sister Whittaker to preside, and blessed Sisters Hopkins and Willis as midwives, and to officaite in administering to the sick.” (Isaac C. Haight diary, 26 Nov., 1856)
1857: 1/2 Mar.: Anointing by woman.
“As I left meeting I met mother Sessions who invited me to visit a sick woman the wife of Dr Richards deceased. I went She wished to be washed and anointed believeing that she would recover her health. she was just reviving from one of her distressed turns and expressed a wish for us to come again tomorrow.
March 2d I called again to day on Susannah in company with Precendia found her more comfortable, She was washed and anointed after which she sat up untill dinner was prepared She sat at the table and ate with us. I felt gratified to see her eat pork and potatoes and harty food and hear her say I feel well. I felt to rejoice with her for I shall never forget the time when I was healed by the power of God through faith in him which power has again been restored with the priesthood. But after I returned home I thought of the instructions I had received from time to time that the priesthood was not bestowed upon woman[.] I accordingly asked Mr Kimball if woman had a right to wash and anoint the sick for the recovery of thier health or is it mockery in them to do so. He replied inasmuch as they are obedient to their husbands they have a right to administer in that way in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ but not by authority of the priesthood invested in them for that authority is not given to woman. He also said they might administer by the authority given to their husbands in as much as they ware one with their husband.” (Mary Ellen Kimball diary, 1 & 2 Mar., 1857) [Mary Ellen was wife of Heber C. Kimball.]
2 Mar.?: Power of healing through relics.
“He [Heber C. Kimball] remarked that the relicts of departed friends were held dear and if we had a cane which belonged to the Savior would we not prize it above any other earthly object. Said he had a cane made from the coffin in which Joseph was conveyed from Carthage and he would keep it as long as he lived and then give it to his heir. He then spoke of the saints in England said while there he was often sent for to administer to the sick, and if he could not go he would bless his cane or pocket handkerchief and send it, and they ware healed by their faith in the priesthood of the God of Israel and they would sometimes get his cloak and put it on the bed and often find immediate relief & recover He thus showed the necessity of our living our religion that we might be in possession of that faith which the ancient saints possessed and thereby become joint heirs with them.” (Mary Ellen Kimball diary, 2 Mar.?, 1857–entry preceding 5 Jul., 1857 entry)
15 Mar.: Sisters will often lay hands on their children.
“I will take my own experience. When men and women bring their sick to me, if I had the power I would heal all that should be healed. And if I had perfect confidence in myself, and the Lord had that confidence in me which I should then have in Him, no power beneath the heavens could prevent the power of God from coming on them and healing them through me. But I have not yet attained to perfect confidence in myself in all circumstances, neither has God in me, for were such the case, He would answer every request I made of Him, every wish of mine would be answered to the letter. And this is the difficulty with the people, they have not attained to perfect confidence in themselves, neither have we as yet sufficient grounds for that degree of confidence.
We lay hands on the sick and wish them to be healed, and pray the Lord to heal them, but we cannot always say that He will. We do not always know that He will actually hear our prayers and answer them. Sometimes the Elders will get that faith, and the sisters will often lay hands on their children and have faith and confidence in themselves that God will answer their prayers, and say to fevers and pains, ‘Be ye rebuked and stand far off from this the afflicted,’ and it is done. But you hafe to attain to this power by your faithfulness and confidence in yourselves, that God will answer your prayers. We know that the Lord often heals the sick; and we believe all the time that He is able to do so, but will He because we ask Him to? That is the question, and we are often doubtful about it.
Do you think that I would have let my brother die, if I had the power the Lord has? Would I have let Jedediah [M. Grant] gone behind the veil, had I had that power? No; though in that I might have gone contrary to the wishes of the Almighty. For want of the knowledge which the Lord has, if I had power I might bring injury upon myself and this people.” (Brigham Young, 15 Mar., 1857; JD 4:283-284)
15 Mar.: Your administration is liable to fall to ground.
“If you cannot have confidence in God, try and have it in yourselves. If you lay on hands for the recovery of the sick, or for the reception of the Holy Ghost, or to bless or curse, unless you know that God hears you and will answer you, your administration is liable to fall to the ground.” (Brigham Young, 15 Mar., 1857; JD 4:288)
15 Mar.: Healing through relics.
“How much would you give for even a cane that Father Abraham had used? or a coat or ring that the Saviour had worn? The rough oak boxes in which the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were brought from Carthage, were made into canes and other articles. I have a cane made from the plank of one of those boxes, so as brother Brigham and a great many others, and we prize them highly, and esteem them a great blessing. I want to carefully preserve my cane, and when I am done with it here, I shall hand it down to my heir, with instructions to him to do the same. And the day will come when there will be multitudes who will be healed and blessed through the instrumentality of those canes, and the devil cannot overcome those who have them, in consequence of their faith and confidence in the virtues connected with them.
Some do not appreciate these things nor the counsels of their leaders. And then again many do appreciate brother Brigham; they love him and his counsels, and his words are jewels to them. When persons do not care anything about his words, what do they care about mine? And if they do not care for his words, they will not care for those of any righteous man.
If I had those relics of Abraham and the Saviour which I have mentioned, I would give a great deal for them. In England, when not in a situation to go, I have blessed my handkerchief, and asked God to sanctify it and fill it with life and power, and sent it to the sick, and hundreds have been healed by it; in like manner I have sent my cane. Dr. Richards used to lay his old black cane on a person’s head, and that person has been healed through its instrumentality, by the power of God. I have known Joseph, hundreds of times, send his handkerchief to the sick, and they have been healed. There are persons in this congregation who have been healed by throwing my old cloak on their beds.” (Heber C. Kimball, 15 Mar., 1857; JD 4:294)
29 Mar.: I would not heal them even if I had the power.
“We will now turn right round, and ask, are there afflictions? Yes. People are taken sick and die, and we have not the power to keep them alive; and I do not think I would, if I had power; and I do not think I will when I have power, because I then shall have more wisdom than I have now. Knowledge is power; and as I gain knowledge I gain power. If we will consider these things, we will see that the visible hand of the Lord is with us continually.” (Brigham Young, 29 Mar., 1857; JD 4:300)
25 May: Healing power of Joseph’s handkerchief.
“My daughter Phebe had a vary Severe attack of inflamation on the Lungs or sumthing like plurisy. She Could not Breath ownly with great Difficulty. We holstered her up in the bed & she would ketch for breath like a person Strangling. She was so for several hours. We annointed her, laid hands upon her, & rebuked the desease. I finally got Joseph Smiths silk Hankerchief which He gave me in 1839 and said it should ever remain as a League between us as long as I would keep it. I laid it upon her stomach. Broth Dunyon Came in to see her in the evening she became some better & slept some. . . .
26th Phebe is better this morning.” (Wilford Woodruff diary, 25 & 26 May, 1857)