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Chapter 1 - Introduction

During the summer of 2000, I began an earnest search to understand the gift of healing as described in the Scriptures. Ultimately, it was my desire to see this gift manifested in the Church in a greater way than we were presently seeing.

One night, as I sat on my back patio facing the woods, I prayed to God for direction. After an hour or so, I had the following words impressed on my mind as the presence of the Holy Spirit settled on me: "What is it you desire?" I looked up, and with tears in my eyes, I told the Lord I desired the gift of healing. I told Him I desired it, not for my own glory, but because it seemed to be so lacking in the Church today when so many were in desperate need of it. I told Him I felt it would serve as a tremendous witness of Him.

The voice of the Holy Spirit answered, saying: "It would be no great thing for Me to grant you this gift. But you would seldom have the chance to use this gift within the Church because of the traditions of men and unbelief."

I didn't fully understand what He meant, but I still desired the gift. I thought that if I could walk in this gift, it would surely benefit many. After this conversation, I was led by the Spirit to pick up two different books written by Christian authors on the subject of healing. The last book I read was written by a husband and wife ministry team that had worked in the gift of healing for many decades. The book was filled with one detailed testimony after another of healings that took place. By the time I finished these books, my faith in the ability to heal by faith had expanded tremendously. I felt assured, in great boldness, that I could likewise do these things through the power of Jesus.

As a result of this great faith, and the child-like faith of my wife, her eyes were healed when I laid hands upon them and commanded them to be healed in the name of Jesus. After that, she no longer needed to wear prescription glasses. This healing was confirmed by an optometrist. We were both overjoyed by the workings of the Lord. Almost immediately after this, an opportunity was presented for me to exercise this gift in the Church. And that is when I came face to face with the situation the Lord had warned me about.

I had been asked to travel and preach in a certain branch. There was a woman there who had suffered a long-term health issue. I didn't know the woman and was unaware of her health problems. Toward the end of the service, the pastor was told that this woman was, at that moment, suffering greatly from her condition as she sat in the pew. The preaching service had concluded, and he whispered to me, letting me know about the situation. Right then, the Holy Ghost revealed to me that I could offer her the opportunity to be healed. I was given a perfect knowledge that all she had to do was accept the gift when I offered it to her and she would be healed. Although I was normally timid about talking to people I didn't know, I had complete faith in what was revealed to me. The Holy Spirit was upon me, and I just knew her healing was a certainty - if only she would accept it. But I was also restrained by the Spirit in how I could offer her the healing. I was allowed only to make the offer and go no further if she rejected it.

The pastor gave the closing prayer, and the priesthood began to leave the rostrum. As I stepped down, I did not follow the rest of the priesthood to the back of the Church. Instead, I went directly to where this woman sat. I could see she was distressed. With a sincere intensity, I told her I understood she was suffering from the malady, but that if she desired a healing, I would pray for her right then, and it would be taken care of. She smiled and politely declined, saying that the Elders were going to administer to her shortly.

With horror, I realized what was going through her mind. I was only a Teacher at the time. I was not an Elder. I suddenly understood what the Lord had meant when He told me I would seldom have the chance to use this gift in the Church because of tradition and unbelief. This woman's traditions would keep her from receiving the healing the Lord would give her. She would reject the method by which God would choose to deliver her healing. I wanted to tell her that what she was thinking was wrong - that I had been assured by God that if she would only accept my offer, she would be healed. But the Spirit restrained me from saying anything more than to make the original offer.

I repeated the offer to her once more. "Are you sure, because I can ask for this to be taken from you, right now?" My eyes silently pled with her. Again, she politely declined saying that the Elders were already planning to do an administration for her. She said she could wait for them. I could say nothing more. I was forced to withdraw. My heart ached for her.

And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness with herbs and mild food, and that not by the hand of an enemy. And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for, and lay their hands upon them in my name; and if they die, they shall die unto me, and if they live, they shall live unto me. [RLDS Doctrine & Covenants 42:12c-d]

The woman had the administration, but she was not healed. As far as I know, she may still suffer from her affliction to this day.
I have learned a great many things about healing and the traditions that sometimes get in the way. I felt the time had finally come when I needed to write and share my testimony concerning these things. Also, just as those Christian authors had given me a valuable resource that built up my faith years ago, I feel like we in the Restored Church also need a book filled with testimonies of healings to help increase our faith.

This book will likely challenge some of your beliefs, but I would ask you to set aside what you think you know, and check your traditions against what the Scriptures actually say. I pray this book will be a blessing to many and help set us free from the bondage of ignorance that may be playing a role in quenching this mighty gift.

Chapter 3 - Laying on Hands

Looking more closely at the gift of faith to heal, it is important to realize that the manner by which these healings come are sometimes creative and unexpected. How they occur must be directed by the Holy Spirit and sometimes reflect the faith of the person in need of the healing.

Administration of the sick by the Elders is an ordinance. Ordinances take a specific form, which never varies. In an ordinance, there are certain words or actions that are performed every time. Unlike ordinances, there is no standard form with the gifts of Spirit, including the gifts of healing. There are only principles.

Sometimes the gift of healing involves the laying on of hands. Sometimes it does not. In the modern Christian churches, there is confusion sometimes between the ordinance of the Elders and the gifts of healing. Christians who believe in the gifts will normally lay on of hands, and sometimes even anoint with oil when exercising their faith to heal. However, almost as often as not, examples of the gift of healing found in our Scriptures did not involve laying hands on the person. Sometimes it was simply a command. Sometimes it involved other strange techniques.

The following are some examples of healing principally by command.

And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole; arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord. [Acts 9:33-35]

And a certain man was there, who had an infirmity thirty and eight years. And Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time afflicted; and he said unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool; but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked; and it was on the Sabbath day. [John 5:5-9]

The following examples of healing involve some sort of touch.

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up; and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. [Acts 3:6-8]

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose and ministered unto them. [Matthew 8:14-15]

And all wept and bewailed her; but he said, Weep not; for she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and he called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway; and he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished; but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. [Luke 8:52-55]

And, behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus passes by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, saying, they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion, and touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. [Matthew 20:30-34]

Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise straighten up. And when Jesus saw her, he called and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmities. And he laid hands on her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. [Luke 13:11-13]

The following are examples of healing that involved not only a physical interaction, but a command requiring obedience on the part of the person desiring a healing. They had to do according to the instructions given before the healing could take place.

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. …. Jesus said …. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. [John 9:1-7]

And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. [2 Kings 5:10-14]

In the verses below, Jesus ends up healing some blind men by helping them exercise their own faith - or their gift of faith to be healed.

And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and straightly he charged them, saying, Keep my commandments, and see ye tell no man in this place, that no man know it. [Matthew 9:34-36]

Jesus did not lie. He said, "According to your faith, be it unto you." Therefore, Jesus did not simply heal these men according to His own will. Even though all healing ultimately comes from Jesus, the reason they were able to receive this healing is because they believed, or had faith that He could heal them.
The question may arise: If they were healed by their own faith, why did Jesus touch their eyes? I believe it was because that action met the precise criteria of their faith. They had likely heard from others how He had touched the eyes of others who were blind, and how they were then able to see. I don't believe Jesus must physically touch the eyes of the blind in order to heal them. But because they believed they would be healed if He touched them, He did so and let their faith take over from there.

Below is yet another example of persons being healed according to their faith. Notice also the requirement for them to obey the commandment Jesus had given them.

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off; And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priest. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering, said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. [Luke 17:12-19]

It causes me to wonder how many of the healings that Jesus did were the direct result of the faith of those who believed He could heal them. In the hometown of Jesus, where they all knew Jesus from the time He was a child, it was said that He could do no mighty works there.

… Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. …. And he marveled because of their unbelief. [Mark 6:6, 8]

I sometimes wonder how many of us suffer from unbelief, and are therefore not healed because we knew the people who would bring the ministry too well, Perhaps we have had disagreements with them in the past, or see their human flaws and weaknesses. I believe it is sometimes easier to have faith in a healing if it comes through a complete stranger, who we take to be a servant of God, rather than from someone familiar, like our spouse, or members of the local congregation, and its priesthood.

Laying hands on someone, or more precisely touch, can be an important element used in healing. It is not just within the prevue of the priesthood alone. To properly understand the Scriptures we use to justify our present traditions (that only Elders can lay hands on someone), we must examine those verses within their proper context. Here is a verse of scripture that has been quoted to me in order to support the tradition.

… but neither teachers nor deacons have authority to baptize, administer the sacrament, or lay on hands; [RLDS Doctrine & Covenants Sec 17:11e]

It seems simple enough when looking at this verse all by itself. Since Teachers and Deacons can't lay hands on someone, then it stands to reason that neither can the general membership of the Church. But does this revelation actually say they can never lay hands on anyone for any reason? To believe this way would be to take this verse out of context, and in effect, wrest the Scriptures to fit our traditions.

If this verse were talking about praying over the sick, then why doesn't it also mention priests? Priests cannot perform the ordinance of the elders for the administration of the sick by anointing with oil. But the above verse only speaks about Teachers and Deacons not having this authority. That is because this verse is not even talking about healing the sick. We must read the previous verses to know what it is talking about. Here are the previous verses that set the context of the verse we read above.

An apostle is an elder, and it is his calling to baptize, and to ordain other elders, priests, teachers, and deacons, and to administer bread and wine--the emblems of the flesh and blood of Christ- and to confirm those who are baptized into the church, by the laying on of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, according to the Scriptures; [RLDS Doctrine & Covenants Sec 17:8b]

There are two forms of laying on of hands spoken of here. One is the ordination of priesthood, and the other is the laying on of hands for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Neither of these things spoken of in the preceding verses are a part of the gift and callings of the Teacher or the Deacon.

Additionally, we can deduce from other revelations that the Elders are appointed to perform a third form of laying on of hands. They are to anoint with oil, lay on hands, and pray over the sick who lacked the faith to be healed. How would they have been healed otherwise? They could have been healed through the gifts of healing - either the gift of faith to heal, or the gift of faith to be healed.

Altogether, we have three different forms of laying on of hands that are meant for certain priesthood offices only. But are these the only forms of laying on of hands? The answer to that question is most definitely no.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. [Mark 16:14-19]

God is not the author of confusion. He spoke very plainly here, and it is the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples before ascending into the clouds. Those who believed on the words of the disciples regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ and were baptized would be saved and would do the things spoken of, including laying hands on the sick and healing them. Not only does He plainly say it in the New Testament, but He repeats it precisely in this same manner again in the Book of Mormon [Mormon 4:86-88] and the Doctrine and Covenants [Sec 83:10c].

And now behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of the Christ? [Mormon 4:89-90]

In case you do not yet understand the difference between the administration of the sick by the Elders and the gift of faith to heal, we will cover that briefly in the next chapter.