Priesthood healing blessings.... somewhat pointless, yes?

[Walter Sobchak]

{ redacted }

[Donuthole]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who thought there was a bit of a logical disconnect in the premise and the conclusion of Oaks' talk. (FTR, I actually alluded to this in a text to TriplePapi during the PH session. He can vouch.)

Ultimately, I came away with the same impression that you did: frilly and lengthy priesthood blessings for the anointing and healing of the sick are an exercise in futility, as ultimately it is the faith and will of the Lord that matter most.

But in my mind I was left to take it a step further, as I have long since been troubled with my understanding the will of the Lord as it relates to prayers, blessings, etc. If the prayer/blessing will only be answered if we have faith and if it is the will of the Lord, is the blessing/prayer merely a demonstration of our faith? In other words, if the blessing/prayer doesn't change the will of the Lord, does it invoke the Lord's ability to act? Or, phrased another way, is the Lord sitting back waiting to exercise His will, but is unable to do so unless we ask via the blessing/prayer? Otherwise, why the need at all for the prayer/blessing.

These are late-night, insomniacal ramblings, so my apologies if they don't make sense.

[falafel]

Interesting thoughts SG. I think you're probably right about a lot of that.

I do think that the words of a healing blessing can be important, however, if for no other reason than to given comfort to the recipient. Whether or not it makes a difference in the efficacy of the blessing, I think it often benefits the sick to hear something specific words of encouragement.

[myboynoah]

SG, I've been trying to wrap my head around this one for years.

Obviously not every P blessing results in healing, otherwise Mormons would cease to die. Perhaps part of the process is to try to discern the will of God, and then bless accordingly. I'm still working through this.

Until I come to some satisfactory conclusion, I bless for healing, have faith, and then wait and see what the Lord has in store.

[wuapinmon]

My father was blessed that he would be healed and return to his calling as Ward Clerk.

Yeah, that didn't work out. My faith in blessings is only Japanese-stationary thin at times.

[DrumNFeather]

This has been a topic of some interest to me ever since Elder Oaks addressed it during a Priesthood leadership session at our stake conference last year. At first, I was quite befuddled that he openly said that the words you say in a blessing are not nearly as important as the "official" part of the blessing.

As I have thought about it over the months, I can see the merit in that perspective. However, I don't think that this makes the words meaningless to the individual who is receiving the blessing and I think that you as the blesser can still give the person receiving the blessing inspired instruction from the lord. Sometimes people still need to hear certain things and be instructed, even if it is just technically filler.

[mUUser]

As I have thought about it over the months, I can see the merit in that perspective. However, I don't think that this makes the words meaningless to the individual who is receiving the blessing and I think that you as the blesser can still give the person receiving the blessing inspired instruction from the lord. Sometimes people still need to hear certain things and be instructed, even if it is just technically filler.

For some, particularly when couched in a priesthood blessing.

For example, my MIL would be FAR more receptive to to words of comfort & counsel if given under the hands of priesthood authority, as opposed to a simple face-to-face conversation.

[SoonerCoug]

About 10 independent randomized controlled trials (the best kind of evidence) have demonstrated that prayer doesn't help people heal. I suppose it's possible that blessings would help despite the fact that prayer doesn't. I'm skeptical about the idea that blessings actually heal people.

That said, one of my sweetest childhood memories was of my dad giving me a blessing while I was in a feverish delirium at age 8. (I had severe mono and missed school for an entire month, and was delirious and peeing in strange places around the house. It was really really really bad.)

[ERCougar]

I'm not sure how you differentiate blessings from prayer. Aren't the results of prayer also completely dependent on faith and on the Lord's will, thus rendering prayer somewhat pointless? This can't be the first time you've thought about this.

It seems to me the point of priesthood blessings, like prayer, is to channel or affect our faith, to bring our minds into tune with the will of God, and not vice versa. The point of a priesthood blessing would be to bring the patient's (for lack of a better term) mind some comfort, some inspiration (thus affecting his/her faith), maybe some gentle reminders. It's a sort of communication, but I agree that there is no significant power in the blessing itself.

Now, there is an interesting phrase in the BD that says the Lord has blessings in store that are waiting for us, conditional upon us asking for them. That seems to me a reasonable possibility, a means that God would use to condition us to turn to Him in times of need.

Finally, I may have posted about this before, but practicing medicine in Utah has been a bizarre experience with regards to blessings. It always seems that the least sick person in the ER is the most likely to request a blessing (and I'm sure testifies about it in the next fast sunday). This has led me to be pretty cynical about accounts of medical "miracles". I remember TSM telling the story in a recent conference about the high school band member being miraculously cured from his Staph enteritis by a priesthood blessing in about the same timeframe we would expect it to spontaneously resolve. But if what really matters in life is faith and our connection to God, then maybe those little details aren't all that important.

[Surfah]

This has been a topic of some interest to me ever since Elder Oaks addressed it during a Priesthood leadership session at our stake conference last year. At first, I was quite befuddled that he openly said that the words you say in a blessing are not nearly as important as the "official" part of the blessing.

As I have thought about it over the months, I can see the merit in that perspective. However, I don't think that this makes the words meaningless to the individual who is receiving the blessing and I think that you as the blesser can still give the person receiving the blessing inspired instruction from the lord. Sometimes people still need to hear certain things and be instructed, even if it is just technically filler.

I can understand the point you guys are making, but for me Oaks' talk reinforced things I already believed for the most part and cleared up any doubts.

Like Drum said above I think that the blessing given the individual is an opportunity for the Elder to receive inspiration and give the individual comfort and instruction as directed by the Spirit. Perhaps it was the will of the Lord for the individual to be healed but the person lacked the faith requisite. Couldn't the Elder admonish the individual to exercise more faith? I have been witness to such a blessing. Or what if the person was appointed unto death and the Elder could only provide a blessing of comfort and peace in their remaining days. I have given such a blessing. In fact I gave that blessing to a young girl dying of cancer. She had already received a blessing from the Stake President and he said that her health would be restored. But as soon as I placed my hands on her head, I knew otherwise (or at least knew that the restoration would not occur in mortality). I wanted to be able to say that she would be be fine but I could not change the Lord's will. The blessing after the ordinance can give valuable instruction to the individual. Perhaps it's an opportunity to increase the faith in the individual, or help them understand what they are to do with their gift of healing, or to give them peace and comfort knowing their Father in heaven loves them, or to let them know that their families love them and that they can and will be together forever. I think understanding this can help us reconcile the idea that while the actual annointing and sealing (along with the Lord's will and requisite faith) are all that is needed for the healing to take place and are then in essence the most important part of a healing blessing, the words spoken afterward can and often are inspired instruction.

A key element to a healing blessing given by an Elder of the priesthood and a blessing and prayers administered with faith by someone not holding the priesthood is that when an Elder blesses the sick, their sins are forgiven (I am surprised Oaks never mentioned this). I have shared this before but I had an Elder in one of my zones on my mission who had a mystery ailment called laziness. He was always feigning he was sick and sought blessing from me, APs, and the MP. A few weeks after the MP gave this Elder a blessing he asked me how he had been doing. I told him that he was still complaining he was sick and refusing to work because he did not feel well. The MP instructed me to call him and tell him that he had received a healing blessing by the priesthood of God and is clean of all afflictions and ailments. If he doesn't start working he is now trifling with the atonement of Christ. This hit me forcefully. And I know I didn't convey this nearly as impactfully as the MP had said to me (Uh, Prez says you have to work because you're not sick and you're now, um, trifling with the atonement of Christ, so get to work). Anyway, I share that because I think that is an important part of priesthood healing blessings to consider when we are called to administer. I know this, with the Spirit's promptings, have influenced some things I have said in the blessing portion. I also think this is why when we give repeat blessings we don't annoint after the first one.

Anyway, just some of my thoughts.

[Clark Addison]

I have some of the same opinions as Space Ghost, which is one of the reasons that I have never asked for a Priesthood Blessing. Having said that, I have given many blessings, and though I often struggle on what I should say, it has usually been a comfort to those receiving the blessings, and a few times it has been of great comfort, so I am reluctant to undersell their worth. Like Christ rubbing mud on people's eyes, they are maybe meant more for a physical symbol of what is going on, or maybe they are just a way to help us accept God's will, or maybe something else that I haven't thought of.

[UtahDan]

This has been a topic of some interest to me ever since Elder Oaks addressed it during a Priesthood leadership session at our stake conference last year. At first, I was quite befuddled that he openly said that the words you say in a blessing are not nearly as important as the "official" part of the blessing.

As I have thought about it over the months, I can see the merit in that perspective. However, I don't think that this makes the words meaningless to the individual who is receiving the blessing and I think that you as the blesser can still give the person receiving the blessing inspired instruction from the lord. Sometimes people still need to hear certain things and be instructed, even if it is just technically filler.

I agree with this perspective. I have never had a moment where I felt impressed to heal anyone. But I have never given a blessing where I didn't tell the person that the Lord was mindful of them and concerned about their suffering. I have always blessed them that they would feel an increase of peace in their hearts and minds. I think that hearing "I haven't forgotten about you" can be just as important and maybe more important than the other parts.

That may sound funny, but I believe that if a person has the faith to be healed and it is the will of the Lord that it be so, the priesthood isn't necessary at all. But I do think that asking for the blessing is part of the exercise of the faith necessary to be healed and I also think that the ritual of receiving the blessing can be very helpful in allowing a person to feel as though they have submitted themselves to the Lord and done all they can. There is comfort that comes from that, even if no true healing comes (which honestly is the case most of the time in my experience)>

[SloanHater]

I'd agree that most of the time what is said in the blessing after the anointing/sealing isn't really pertinent.

However, the few times I've received a healing blessing and something specific was said, knowing the person giving the blessing probably had no idea the context or significance of their words, those were truly faith building experiences.

I wouldn't say that the blessing after isn't important, rather it is important to follow the Spirit and not simply ramble. I kept thinking E. Oaks was addressing the same group of people that still share 15 min. 'testimonies' every Fast Sunday.

[byu71]

Priesthood blessings, especially those that deal with the healing of the sick is one of those area's that is confusing to me. Therefor, I don't think too deeply about it. If someone wants one and feels there is value, I think it is great for that person. It is especially great if it provides comfort during troubling times.

I had one experience where someone asked me to give them a blessing that had interesting consequences. While not a healing type blessing, it was a blessing of guidance and comfort. I really felt inspired and several people including the person's mother, said what a wonderful blessing and should provide the person great guidance and comfort.

Subsequently, the reciever of the words, used the words of the blessing to justify their position on various conflicts that arose in the family. She would relate back to the blessing I gave and how could anyone (a very religious family) dispute her blessing. Well, I and others could tell her what she heard and how she interpreted it was not the same. However, after a few times, I just dropped it. After all it was her blessing to provide her comfort and who was I to try and interpret what her blessing meant, even if it did cause conflict in the family.

While I again would not challenge anyone else's faith when it comes to blessings, I myself do not ask for them.

[Surfah]

I'd agree that most of the time what is said in the blessing after the anointing/sealing isn't really pertinent.

However, the few times I've received a healing blessing and something specific was said, knowing the person giving the blessing probably had no idea the context or significance of their words, those were truly faith building experiences.

I wouldn't say that the blessing after isn't important, rather it is important to follow the Spirit and not simply ramble. I kept thinking E. Oaks was addressing the same group of people that still share 15 min. 'testimonies' every Fast Sunday.

I think he was also speaking to the Elders who would feel inadequate to give a blessing thinking that what they say carries the weight of the ordinance. I think in giving it can be just as faith promoting an experience as receiving. Kind of like the talk by Elder Packer I think about the father who ordained his son an Elder who had never done that before.