Miracles and blessings performed through the priesthood now

I was asked by someone yesterday to come and give him a priesthood blessing. He had injured himself and had an infected wound. It was a privilege, as always, to be the agent of the Lord, doing His will, doing for His disciples or children what He would do if He were present. That sounds daunting, but I am trying to improve in it. I think that I still have a long – a very long – way to go.

Just as Jesus ordained His apostles, seventies and other people to represent Him, He continues to guide the ordination of apostles, seventies, high priests, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, deacons, and leaders to represent Him today. Mark 3:14; Luke 6:12–16; John 15:16

I felt impressed to say things that I do not believe I have ever said in a blessing before. I promised that the natural healing processes would be done. I mentioned that it is a miracle that our bodies have so many wonderful natural processes provided. But, there are some things that need additional interventions such as surgery, antibiotics, prostheses, splints, and the like to heal or to supplement these natural healing processes.

Things that the Saviour might have healed by simply applying clay to the eyes, or casting out an evil spirit, might be resolved now by spectacles, cataract removal, medication, or things that were not available in 20 AD, so He used the priesthood. Now, in 2025 AD, He continues to inspire so many people to develop so many devices and interventions and procedures that give new hearts, kidneys, eyes, limbs, reduces the impacts of disorders, prevents illnesses, and so much more.

I also mentioned blessings promised through obedience and faithfulness.

We are promised, according to the oath and covenant of the priesthood in Doctrine and Covenants 84, ‘For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.’ I realised one day as I pondered this, that it applies equally to sisters, children or youth, or anyone who does not hold a priesthood office. They can ‘obtain – or receive, or welcome – the priesthood when any elder in Israel or deacon or any holder of a priesthood office ministers to them.

I realised after my father passed away that he had been sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of his body such that we were not aware of his emphysema until his mission was fulfilled and then the Spirit stepped back and stopped sanctifying his body and he died very quickly. Similarly, my dear wife was able to be a healing influence for many people for more than two decades, even saving lives, and that sanctifying influence was apparently withdrawn, and suddenly she was no longer able to practice as a family doctor because of a disorder that she realises she had as a teenager, but it had not been diagnosed.

We can do, and need to do, what we can to look after our bodies – the temples of our spirits – and then the Lord will pour out blessings that we will not have room to receive them. He will rebuke the devourer for our sakes and bless the harvest of our fields, enlighten our minds, and bless our lives by providing our daily bread as manna in our unique wildernesses.

We need to magnify our callings, multiply our talents, sow our seeds. We can receive strength by being branches firmly attached to the true vine and being the fruitful branches mentioned in John 15 and our fruit will add glory to the True Vine. We can be as light to the nations, leaven in our loaf of family or community or congregation, and salt in our area of influence.

 

Finding them thar blessings in our wilderness

Greetings to you as you teach God’s children about the wonderful blessings of the Gospel – the good news – of Jesus Christ.

Some pictures from Gospel Library

I was thinking about an experience last week, blessing the sacrament with Tashinga Mukucha. I am not usually aware of how things are going, but I was watching those passing the sacrament and so I was aware that the bread had run out and at least those serving, and probably someone in the congregation did not receive bread. They could not eat in remembrance of the body of the Son – but, even if they could not eat, they could witness that they are willing to take upon them His name, and always remember Him, and keep His commandments which He hath given them – and as a result they could always have His Spirit to be with them. This sacrament experience was not quite complete for those who missed the bread.

Jesus fed five thousand with few loaves and few fishes (see also Matt 14, 15, Mark 6, 8, Luke 5, 9, 11, John 6, 21, and other examples of His power to multiply as an example of our making five other from the five talents that He gave to us). Could He not have multiplied this bread to feed all who were there to partake of the sacrament? Yes! He could have, but He had delegated the sacrament to the bishop who delegated it to those assigned to prepare the sacrament.

I thought back to Digby Chater, the branch president in Welkom Branch telling us when he was branch president of going out from his home in Virginia to visit members in Harmony, probably travelling about 60 or more kilometres that night. As he turned into his driveway, his Volkswagen Beetle ran out of fuel. He opened the garage door, let the car run down the slope into the garage, went to bed, and the next morning he dealt with putting in fuel. This incident came to mind as I was returning home one evening after visiting some members and attending Institute class, and I ran out of fuel before I got home! I was about 650m from my home and not in the driveway! There were no significant slopes between me and my home. I was on a motor scooter. I could have pushed it home and filled it, or I could have parked it, walked home and returned with fuel to fill it, but I was miserable because I had not been blessed as Digby was.

The young man who provided the bread could have supplied more than three slices. Tashinga and I could have broken the bread into smaller pieces. We could have done something to prevent the shortage of bread for the sacrament.

Digby would have turned his car to Reserve and I would have turned my scooter to Reserve. We both knew that the fuel was low, but his need being in a car late at night was greater than mine being on a scooter in the twilight.

Why did God not provide enough bread to feed those needing the sacrament? Why did He not enable me to have enough fuel to reach home? He could have, but I needed to be self-reliant. He delegated our self-reliance to us.

We so often bemoan our difficulties, challenges, shortages, lack, loss, or whatever, rather than looking for the miracles in our lives. How often did Israelites bemoan the boring same food every day, breakfast, lunch and supper? Manna, manna, manna, manna, manna, manna…! No variety! Forty years with no variety! Really? Oh – once there were some quail… But then it was back to manna, manna, manna. How inconsiderate of that God who told us to follow Moses away from the flesh pots of Egypt? We were slaves, but hey – at least we had a more interesting diet! And then there are those fiery serpents that caused the deaths of some of our family! There was that brazen serpent, but it was not just standing in my front garden – I would have to walk some distance to gaze upon it before I might be healed – as some said that they had been.

Whether you as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or someone that you are teaching, is facing issues that cause misery, it is important to remember the comment that the devil seeks that all men might be miserable like himself, as opposed to Adam and Eve who could have had no joy, for they knew no misery while in the garden of Eden, and the promise ‘Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.’ all mentioned in the second chapter of 2 Nephi.

You are sharing the gospel of joy. You are helping people to learn about the church of joy. Blessings on you as you look for and recognise the joy and help others to recognise the joy in their lives and acknowledge the hand of God in all things.

I know that we are blessed with immeasurable joy, even although there are times – really – that we feel an absence of joy in our shroud of black misery. Blessings on you as you look for the miracles in the daily bread and being delivered from evil as the Lord directed us to consider as He taught the manner after which we should pray. Seek them thar blessings and ye shall find them. And you will be able to help others to find them thar blessings in the manna in their wilderness. The Sprit – the Comforter – shall help you to acknowledge that the Lord is present, in the details, right here, now, even when we seem to be spending years in a dull, miserable wilderness. He does have a living prophet in 2025.

Lame, blind, halt, maimed, leprous, withered, deaf, afflicted in 2023

A note in my scripture study of 25 Jan 2021: 

'Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner?' 3 Nephi 17:7

Disabled people are able to do amazing things due to interventions that are available, making them less of a handicap.

I suspect that we consider a lot of things to mean quite different things now to what they would have meant 2000 years ago. 

There are many people that we might classify as 'lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner'. I would not be surprised if a number things which man has developed - interventions such as spectacles, hearing aids, wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, leg braces, laser treatment, surgery, transplants, prosthetic limbs, medication and any number of corrective practices - enable us to consider those afflicted people to be relatively capable now. 

Those that have developed these interventions have been instruments in the Creator's hands enabling many to be healed, to varying degrees, of their afflictions. Do we give the credit to the Master or to the instrument? Do we praise the chisel or the artist for the sculpture?

A consequence of our interventions quite probably has resulted in an increased frequency of these conditions in the population. In previous millennia many of those conditions that are genetically inherited might have been less likely to have been passed on to future generations because individuals with these conditions would not have survived to an age of having children. Some conditions would have caused mates to not have been selected. So, have we enabled those conditions to proliferate? We enable inherited our non-inherited conditions to have less impact, and afflicted people can have greater ability to function. In a way this increases our personal responsibility to do and be more than we might have been capable of doing hundreds of years ago. 

Reflecting on 2021

I wrote this, but did not publish it. A letter that I had written for someone, reflecting on the year 2021.

Good morning, my friend

I hope that you have had a fantastic 12 months of 2021 and that you have been very successful. 

I have been thinking this morning of someone that I fear has a long-term view that is not as long term as it should be - not much beyond the long-term view of a teenager that is 'Friday night'... That is why our investment was in our children's education and character development rather than in their clothes or 'things'. I hope that you are having fulfilment in climbing the ladder of success, but, more importantly, that your ladder of success is leaning against the correct wall 😉🤔

Blessings on you as you continue to navigate these challenging waters of health concerns, political concerns, security concerns, economic concerns, philosophical concerns, personal and any other concerns. The Lord is at the helm. He has not been caught off guard in this global COVID pandemic or anything else. He is leading us individually through His Holy Spirit and collectively through His living prophet. Blessings on you as you press forward in your individual wilderness towards your individual promised land, appreciating the miracles of an escape from slavery in Egypt, a Red Sea being parted, water coming from a rock, wonders at the mount called Sinai, quail for dinner on occasions, healing from serpents by beholding a brazen serpent raised by Moses, and even daily bread called manna! I hope that the daily very real discomforts and inconveniences are not taking away your enjoyment of God's very real miracles in your wilderness ☺️🤔

Blessings on you, 

Your friend and brother, Les Powrie