Blessing the Sick
Dec 17th, 2008 by larrybarkdull
“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church….” Our commission in the Melchizedek Priesthood is the same that Jesus gave to His Apostles when He sent them forth to serve: “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”
Administering to the sick is a powerful ordinance, charged with symbolism and meaning that strike at the heart of our priesthood commission. But there are many questions pertaining to this sacred ordinance. For example, what does the oil represent? Why are two or more elders typically required? How do we become the hands, arms, and voice of Jesus Christ? How should we prepare to bless? This article is an excerpt from a newly published book by Covenant Communications: Priesthood Power: Blessing the Sick and the Afflicted.
Becoming the hands, arms and voice of Jesus Christ
Concerning Elders as representatives of Jesus Christ, Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote, “As the Lord’s agents, they pray and minister in the place and stead of their Master.” When we receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, we receive it with an oath and a covenant, parts of which are to fully receive Jesus Christ [His atonement and His name] and to magnify our calling. Our calling includes our commission to bless the lives of others, which involves administering to the sick and afflicted. Hence the charge: “Lay your hands upon the sick and they shall recover….”
When we lay our hands upon the heads of the sick or afflicted, we become, in essence, the hands of Jesus Christ. For example, Edward Partridge was told by the Lord, “And I will lay my hand upon you by the hand of my servant Sidney Rigdon….” In a similar manner, priesthood holders are the arms of Jesus Christ: “And their arm shall be my arm….”
At another time, the Lord emphasized His willingness to support His servants when they, through the priesthood, minister in His name and thus become His voice: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
Speaking to the subject of our representing the Lord, President Joseph Fielding Smith said, “We are ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our commission is to represent him. We are directed to preach his gospel, to perform the ordinances of salvation, to bless mankind, to heal the sick and perhaps perform miracles, to do what he would do if he were personally present-and all this because we hold the holy priesthood.“ And, as President Howard W. Hunter reminded us, “whatever Jesus lays his hands upon lives.”
A life rescued and reconsecrated to the Lord
Because an associated blessing of the administration ordinance is spiritual healing, the recipient’s asking might include rededicating himself to God. This is not to suggest that the recipient should bargain for deliverance, which would be improper-If you heal me then I will do such and such. Rather rededicating one’s life to God is realigning and recommitting one’s self to one’s covenants.
Elder John A. Widtsoe said, “Everyone who receives an ordinance must make a covenant, else the ordinance is not fully satisfactory…he who is administered to for sickness, and the administrators, covenant to use their faith to secure the desired healings.” Elder Widstoe preceded this statement by saying,
“Ordinances give life to faith because they require a covenant from those who participate. Faith is a principle that demands action. Whether it is faith in a law, doctrine, or plan relative to human affairs, it fails unless it leads to a practice, rite, or ceremony. Otherwise it remains an idle belief, an abstract conviction, a theory. The moment it is used, as in an ordinance, it flames into life, and leaps into the world of practical affairs, becoming a positive power, helpful in the world of men.”
Healing is symbolic of Christ’s power to deliver
Being rescued from sickness and affliction by the power of the priesthood might be viewed as symbolic of Christ’s power to deliver us from all our enemies, including spiritual and physical death. Quoting President Harold B. Lee, gospel writers Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet wrote,
“It may be that all of the miraculous healings performed by Jesus were but tangible symbols of the greatest healing that he alone could perform–the healing of sick spirits and the cleansing of sin- stained souls. ‘The greatest miracles I see today,’ declared President Harold B. Lee, aware not necessarily the healing of sick bodies, but the greatest miracles I see are the healing of sick souls, those who are sick in soul and spirit and are downhearted and distraught, on the verge of nervous breakdowns.’ (CR, April 1973, p. 178).”
A sickness or affliction reminds a person of his fallen state and drives him to recognize his helplessness without the Lord’s intervention. That is, because of the Fall the person is in this weakened situation; but he knows that Christ has overcome the Fall. With that hope, the afflicted person humbly beseeches the Lord for help then calls for the Lord’s authorized priesthood representatives, whom the afflicted person recognizes as those having the power of Jesus Christ, to answer the person’s request. The elders come in response.
In a sincere prayer of faith (by the afflicted person, a friend, loved one, or the elders), the person humbly declares his testimony of the Lord, his belief that the Lord can heal him through His servants from these specific effects of the Fall, and asks the Lord for healing. The elders then perform the ordinance of administration by the laying on of hands and by means of the power of the name of Jesus Christ. Because the administration is sealed, it is recognized in heaven and on earth, and the Lord promises to confirm or validate it.
Through the administration ordinance, powers on earth and in heaven are set in motion, and the Lord now begins the process of healing the person both spiritually and physically. When the healing process is completed, the Fall has symbolically been overcome, and the once-afflicted person is in a position to bear heightened testimony of the reality of the Savior, His power to deliver, and the certainty of the restoration of the gospel and priesthood. In the process, the person has rededicated or reconsecrated his life to the Lord, who has rescued him spiritually and physically. Consecrate means “dedicated to a sacred purpose,” or in other words to be set apart as holy, to be completely be devoted to the Lord, or in this case, to be snatched from the grasp of the Fall. The person is thereby reconsecrated to a sacred purpose, set apart as holy, and completely devoted to the Lord, who has saved him.
Afflictions consecrated to God “for the welfare of thy soul”
Elder Gerald N. Lund taught that the consecrated oil suggests consecrating or reconsecrating a life: “Consecrated olive oil is always used to consecrate or reconsecrate a life-to sanctify.” In the context of consecration as it applies to administering to the sick, Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote, “How aptly Nephi said: … ‘Ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.’ (2 Nephi 32:9.)”
When a covenant person petitions the Lord for a blessing, that person’s affliction is in effect consecrated to him “for the welfare of [his] soul.” That is, “all things [even sickness and afflictions] shall work together for [his] good.” Thus, we can even place our sicknesses and afflictions upon the altar of faith and the Lord will count them as consecrated offerings that will sanctify us and bring us closer to God.
The Administration Ordinance
Perhaps no action speaks to the restoration of the priesthood and the Savior’s power to redeem us than does the administration ordinance. At once, we see the principle of asking in faith to receive a blessing. We recognize that Jesus Christ is both the name of the Son of God and a name used to unleash priesthood power. We experience the honor of being the Lord’s proxy, doing and saying what He would do and say if He were present. We have the privilege of anointing and sealing, whereas otherwise we would have to be set apart to perform anointing and sealings in the temple. We experience the power of the Atonement to rescue and consecrate or reconsecrate a life to the Lord. As much as the power to heal was a sign of the Savior’s divinity, it is a sign of the divine nature of His true Church.
James 5:14
Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 379
Joseph Fielding Smith, “Our responsibility as Priesthood Holders,”Ensign, June 1971
Howard W. Hunter, “Reading the Scriptures,” Ensign, November 1979
John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, p.197, emphasis and comments added
Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol 4, p.41
See Bruce R. McConkie, “Administrations,” Mormon Doctrine, p. 21-22
“Consecrate,” Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Gerald N. Lund, “Old Testament Types and Symbols,” Sperry Symposium, 184-86, emphasis added
Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p.380
