A couple months ago, I had this really weird thing happened
to me. One night I was leaning off my bed trying to grab something and all of a
sudden my back just seized up and I couldn’t lift myself back up onto the bed.
It was as though my lower half was simply disconnected from my upper half and
my lower back was in intense pain. I spent the next hour or so trying various
means to get my upper body back on the bed so that I could at least lie down
and try to sleep off the weirdness and pain. Each movement was excruciating and
by the time I was finished, my lower back felt as though it was on fire. Alyssa
was no help—she thought I was kidding and so she fell asleep; not that she
could have done anything since any sort of movement aided or no felt like a
knife was being twisted around in my back.
In the morning, things were no better. I called in and took
the first sick day of my entire life (minus those associated with the various emergency
room hospital visits the year I graduated high school). Then, after about an
hour of effort, I finally managed to half fall out of bed, use my upper body to
sideways drag myself to the bathroom, with the humiliating help of my wife
hoist myself up on to the toilet, and then crawl back to the bedroom. There was
no chance I was getting back up onto the bed so I just laid on our hardwood
floor for the better part of the day.
My brothers came over partway through the day to give me a
blessing. In 1829, the Lord restored the priesthood—the power of Jesus Christ
given to man to act in His name on the earth—so that we may enjoy the same
healing blessings that the people in Jerusalem experienced in Christ’s time. My
brothers hold this priesthood, given to them by the laying on of hands by those
who have the authority to bestow this power on others, and can bless others as
Christ did. As in the time of Christ, these blessings work according to God’s
will and the faith of those being blessed. My brothers laid their hands on my
head and gave me a blessing that I may be healed and go about my
responsibilities as normal.
Now, I did not immediately take up my bed and walk; this is
not one of those stories (although those stories do happen in our day). But I
did slowly begin to regain movement and the pain lessened to the point I could
push myself to sit up, then stand, then walk. My walk resembled the shuffle of
a ninety-year-old man, but it was certainly progress. In the evening, one of
our friends came over for dinner, which we ended up having on the floor since
sitting in a chair was not the most comfortable experience. The next day the
doctor prescribed me painkillers and muscle relaxants and said that I would
probably be 100% in six weeks. That day was the only day I took any medication.
The next day I was back at work, and the day after that I was jump roping. The
next weekend we had two full days of jump rope.
Some may look at this experience and say that “these things
just happen,” or that my situation was not as bad as the doctor prescribed. But
I know this was nothing short of a miracle and ascribe my rapid healing to the
power of God and the blessing which my brothers gave me. This event is quite
small in the grand scheme of things and would not merit a place in the events
told in the Bible. But the Lord works miracles of all kinds in the lives of His
children; nothing is too insignificant for the Lord to take notice.
The Lord continues to work miracles great and small; it is
up to us to have the faith necessary for them, to live worthy of them, and to
recognize them when they come.
What miracles have you seen in your life?
Jeremy
Scripture references:
2 Ne
26:13 Christ works miracles among men according to their faith
Mormon 1:13
miracles cease because of iniquity
Mormon
9:15-19 God has not ceased to be a God of miracles
Moroni
7:27, 29, 35-36 miracles have not ceased because Christ ascended into
heaven
D&C
35:8 the Lord will show miracles unto those who believe
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