the testimony of miracles—the evidence of fulfilled promises.

it has been already remarked that christian writers have attached too much importance to miracles as evidences of the divine authority of those who worked them; for the reason that in some instances the prophets of god have worked no miracles; in other instances impostors have worked miracles, and it is predicted for the future that the spirits of devils will have power to work miracles to deceive men. i have also pointed out the fact that miracles are not, properly speaking, events which take place in violation of the laws of nature, but that they take place through the operation of higher laws of nature not yet understood by man; hence the occurrences which are called miracles are only so in appearance, and we may confidently expect the day to come when they will cease to appear as miraculous.

i say that christian writers have attached too much importance to the testimony based on what are called miracles; and yet i would not be understood as ignoring the importance which may attach to them as collateral evidence. when the miracles follow the claimants to divine authority in fulfillment of their promises, the testimony becomes very important indeed; for the reason that if certain miraculous gifts or powers are promised by the claimants of divine authority and then they do not follow—then, granting of course that their disciples comply with the conditions upon which the promises are based, the failure in the fulfillment of their promises would prove them impostors. more especially would miracles under these circumstances be strong proof of divine authority if the promises were of a nature beyond the power of man to fulfill, or of lucifer to imitate. for example: peter on the day of pentecost, in the boldest manner conceivable, told the people on condition of their repentance and baptism that they should receive the holy ghost.

that, i take it, was a promise that could not be fulfilled by the agency of man; and still more revolting to reason would it be to suppose that the spirit of devils could influence the fulfillment of such a promise. it would be insulting to the dignity of god—blasphemy of the first degree—to say that agencies of lucifer could confer the holy ghost. however great the powers which god in his wisdom has permitted lucifer to retain, to confer the holy ghost, or in any manner to operate through or by it, is not one of them. if this promise made by peter, then, is fulfilled, the people to whom he made it would have most positive proof that he held divine authority. or, on the other hand, if this or any other promise of heavenly gifts or powers, though of a subordinate nature to the great promise of the holy ghost, should fail of fullfilment—provided always that the conditions were complied with—it would be all that was necessary to prove that the one making it was an impostor.

it is in the light of these reflections that i propose to submit the evidence of miracles to the divinity of joseph smith's mission. that is, making their chief weight as evidence consist in the fact that they are possessed and enjoyed by his followers in fulfillment of his promises to them.

john the baptist, when he conferred the aaronic priesthood upon joseph smith and oliver cowdery, told them that this priesthood did not hold the power of laying on hands for the gift of the holy ghost; but that such power would be given to them later. subsequently they received the higher or melchisedek priesthood under the hands of peter, james and john, which gave them the authority promised by the baptist—the power to lay on hands for the gift of the holy ghost.

in september, 1832, on the occasion of a number of elders coming into kirtland from their missions in the eastern states, six of them met together, and joseph smith received a revelation directing their future labors, in the course of which the following commandment and promise were given to them: "go ye into all the world, and whatsoever place ye cannot go into ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world unto every creature. and as i said unto mine apostles, even so i say unto you, for you are mine apostles, even god's high priests; ye are they whom my father hath given me—ye are my friends; therefore, as i said unto mine apostles i say unto you again, that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the holy ghost."[1]

i thought proper to call attention to the fact that joseph smith claimed to have received power through ordination by heavenly messengers to confer the holy ghost by the laying on of hands; and then that afterwards in this revelation a promise of the reception of the holy ghost is made to all those who will believe the testimony of the servants of god in the new dispensation and be baptized for the remission of their sins. accordingly joseph smith and the elders of the church have made this promise to all the inhabitants of the earth, and upon as many as have complied with the conditions prescribed, they have laid their hands and said—"receive ye the holy ghost." if this promise that they shall receive the holy ghost fails, then the men making the promise stand convicted as impostors. if it is fulfilled, since, as already remarked, neither man nor the agencies of lucifer can fulfill such a promise—god only—then it stands as very positive evidence that joseph smith through whom the promise is made was divinely authorized, and that he conferred divine authority upon others. if he was authorized to impart the holy ghost by an ordinance of the gospel, it follows also that he was divinely authorized to preach a new dispensation of the gospel, and re-establish the church of christ on earth. the only question that remains to be considered is, do those who comply with the conditions receive the fulfillment of the promise?

for over sixty years the gospel has been preached among nearly all the nations of the earth, during which time hundreds of thousands have received the message, and they have testified that to them the word of promise made to the ear has not been broken to the hope—but they have realized its fulfillment. not always, and indeed not frequently, in the earth-quake, or the whirlwind, have they seen the evidence of having received the holy ghost; but in the whisperings of the still, small voice of the comforter, which fills the soul with assurance; which enlarges while it quickens the intellect; makes broader while it sanctifies the affections; shows things to come, or testifies that jesus is the christ; through adversity or affliction is a voice in the ear saying, when those who have it would turn to the right hand or to the left, this is the way, walk ye in it; or which, though it brings together men and women from all nations and tribes of the earth, with all their diverse customs and peculiarities, yet makes them one people; blends all their desires in the accomplishment of a common purpose, and enables them to dwell together in perfect peace and unity. such is the manner of its operations—and in such operations the saints have evidence of its existence among them; and the whole church of christ is ready and does testify to the world that the holy ghost is given in fulfillment of the promise made through joseph smith.

following the promise of the holy ghost, in the revelation quoted, is this array of promises: "and these signs shall follow them that believe. in my name they shall do many wonderful works; in my name[2] they shall cast out devils; in my name they shall heal the sick; in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf; and the tongue of the dumb shall speak; and if any man shall administer poison unto them, it shall not hurt them; and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them. but a commandment i give unto them, that they shall not boast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world; for these things are given unto you for your profit and for salvation."[3]

the last part of the passage i have written in italics that it might be the clearer understood that this promise of the miraculous gifts enumerated was not made that servants of god in the new dispensation might have evidence of what are commonly looked upon as miracles to point to in attestation of their divine authority; but are blessings given to the saints for their profit and salvation. for the very reasons that they were not given as evidence of divine authority, but as a promise of blessing to the saints, they will become all the stronger proof of divine authority in the ministry of the new dispensation, provided it can be proven that they follow those who believe. and i want to say, also, that because of the commandment that the servants of god shall not boast of these powers before the world is the very reason that so little has been said of them as proof of the divine mission of our new witness; and even now i make their chief weight as evidence consist in the fact that their enjoyment is the fulfillment of a promise made by the god of heaven through joseph smith, which if it had not been fulfilled would prove him beyond all question an impostor. but i affirm that these promises are fulfilled in the experience of those who believe in, and accept the new dispensation and offer the following testimony in evidence:—

in the month of april, 1830, joseph smith was visiting at the house of a mr. joseph knight, at colesville, broome county, new york. this gentleman had rendered the prophet some timely assistance while translating the book of mormon, and he was anxious that mr. knight and his family should receive the truth. while in mr. knight's neighborhood the prophet held a number of meetings. among those who attended regularly was newel knight, son of joseph knight. he and the prophet had many serious conversations on the subject of man's salvation. in the meetings held the people prayed much, and in one of the aforesaid conversations with the prophet, newel knight promised that he would pray publicly. when the time came, however, his heart failed him, and he refused, saying that he would wait until he got into the woods by himself. the next morning when he attempted to pray in the woods, he was over-whelmed with a sense of having neglected his duty the evening before, in not praying in the presence of others. he began to feel uneasy and continued to grow worse both in body and mind, until upon reaching home his appearance was such as to alarm his wife. he sent for the prophet, who, when he came found newel in a sad condition and suffering greatly. his visage and limbs were distorted and twisted in every shape imaginable. at last he was caught up off the floor and tossed about most fearfully. the neighbors hearing of his condition came running in. after he had suffered for a time the prophet succeeded in getting him by the hand, when newel immediately spoke to him, saying he knew he was possessed of the devil, and that the prophet had power to cast him out. "if you know i can, it shall be, done," replied the prophet; and then almost unconsciously he rebuked satan and commanded him to depart from the man. immediately newel's contortions stopped, and he spoke out and said he saw the devil leave him and vanish from sight.

"this was the first miracle which was done in this church, or by any member of it," writes the prophet; "and it was done not by man, nor by the power of man, but it was done by god and by the power of godliness; therefore let the honor and praise, the dominion and the glory, be ascribed to the father, son and holy spirit, for ever and ever. amen."

the following account of a miraculous healing is to be found in hayden' history of the disciples (campbellites); and is the statement of witnesses hostile to the prophet and the work in which he was engaged:

"ezra booth, of mantua, a methodist preacher of much more than ordinary culture, and with strong natural abilities, in company with his wife, mr. and mrs. johnson, and some other citizens of this place, visited smith at his house in kirtland, in 1831. mrs. johnson had been afflicted for some time with a lame arm, and was not at the time of the visit able to lift her hand to her head. the party visited smith, partly out of curiosity, and partly to see for themselves what there might be in the new doctrine. during the interview the conversation turned upon the subject of supernatural gifts; such as were conferred in the days of the apostles. some one said: 'here is mrs. johnson with a lame arm; has god given any power to men on the earth to cure her?' a few moments later, when the conversation had turned in another direction, smith rose, and walking across the room, taking mrs. johnson by the hand, said in the most solemn and impressive manner: 'woman, in the name of jesus christ, i command thee to be whole; and immediately left the room. the company were awestricken at the infinite presumption of the man, and the calm assurance with which he spoke. the sudden mental and moral shock—i know not how better to explain the well attested fact—electrified the rheumatic arm—mrs. johnson at once lifted it with ease, and on her return home the next day she was able to do her washing without difficulty or pain.'"[4]

when the saints first settled at commerce, afterwards called nauvoo, it was a very unhealthy locality. malaria was prevalent and other people who had tried to make a settlement there had failed. the exposure to which the saints had been subjected in their expulsion from missouri, made them easy victims to the malaria. by the middle of july, 1839, the greater part of them were stricken down of the fever, and in the most helpless condition. from the 21st of july to the 23rd, inclusive, there were remarkable manifestations of the power of god in the church through the administrations of the prophet joseph to the sick. his own account of the matter in his journal is extremely brief, it stands thus:

"sunday, 21st. there was no meeting on account of much rain and much sickness; however, many of the sick were this day raised by the power of god, through the instrumentality of the elders of israel ministering unto them in the name of jesus christ."

"monday and tuesday, 22nd, 23rd. the sick were administered unto with great success, but many remain sick, and new cases are occurring daily."[5]

another hand, however, has recorded the manifestation of god's power on that memorable 22nd of july, 1839, that of wilford woodruff, now president of the church, and i quote his account of it.

"in consequence of the persecutions of the saints in missouri, and the exposures to which they were subjected, many of them were taken sick soon after their arrival at commerce, afterwards called nauvoo; and as there were but a small number of dwellings for them to occupy, joseph had filled his house and tent with them, and through constantly attending to their wants, he soon fell sick himself. after being confined to his house several days, and while meditating upon his situation, he had a great desire to attend to the duties of his office. on the morning of the 22nd of july, 1839, he arose from his bed and commenced to administer to the sick in his own house and door-yard, and he commanded them in the name of the lord jesus christ to arise and be made whole; and the sick were healed upon every side of him.

"many lay sick along the bank of the river; joseph walked along up to the lower stone house, occupied by sidney rigdon, and he healed all the sick that lay in his path. among the number was henry g. sherwood, who was nigh unto death. joseph stood in the door of his tent and commanded him in the name of jesus christ to arise and come out of his tent, and he obeyed him and was healed. brother benjamin brown and his family also lay sick, the former appearing to be in a dying condition. joseph healed them in the name of the lord. after healing all that lay sick upon the bank of the river as far as the stone house, he called upon elder kimball and some others to accompany him across the river to visit the sick at montrose. many of the saints were living at the old military barracks. among the number were several of the twelve. on his arrival, the first house he visited was that occupied by elder brigham young, the president of the quorum of the twelve, who lay sick. joseph healed him, then he arose and accompanied the prophet on his visit to others who were in the same condition. they visited elder w. woodruff, also elders orson pratt and john taylor, all of whom were living in montrose. they also accompanied him.

"the next place they visited was the home of elijah fordham, who was supposed to be about breathing his last. when the company entered the room, the prophet of god walked up to the dying man and took hold of his right hand and spoke to him; but brother fordham was unable to speak, his eyes were set in his head like glass, and he seemed entirely unconscious of all around him. joseph held his hand and looked into his eyes in silence for a length of time. a change in the countenance of brother fordham was soon perceptible to all present. his sight returned, and upon joseph asking him if he knew him, he, in a low whisper, answered 'yes'. joseph asked him if he had faith to be healed. he answered, 'i fear it is too late; if you had come sooner i think i could have been heald.' the prophet said, 'do you believe in jesus christ?' he answered in a feeble voice, 'i do.' joseph then stood erect, still holding his hand in silence several moments; then he spoke in a very loud voice, saying, 'brother fordham, i command you in the name of jesus christ, to arise from this bed and be made whole.' his voice was like the voice of god, and not of man. it seemed as though the house shook to its very foundations. brother fordham arose from his bed, and was immediately made whole. his feet were bound in poultices which he kicked off; then putting on his clothes he ate a bowl of bread and milk and followed the prophet into the street.

"the company next visited brother joseph bates noble, who lay very sick. he also was healed by the prophet. by this time the wicked became alarmed and followed the company into brother noble's house. after brother noble was healed, all kneeled down to pray. brother fordham was mouth, and while praying, he fell to the floor. the prophet arose, and on looking around he saw quite a number of unbelievers in the house, whom he ordered out. when the room was cleared of the wicked, brother fordham came to and finished his prayer.

"after healing the sick in montrose, all the company followed joseph to the bank of the river, where he was going to take the boat to return home. while waiting for the boat a man from the west, who had seen that the sick and dying were healed, asked joseph if he would not go to his house and heal two of his children, who were very sick. they were twins and were three months old. joseph told the man he could not go, but he would send some one to heal them. he told elder woodruff to go with the man and heal his children. at the same time he took from his pocket a silk bandanna handkerchief, and gave to brother woodruff, telling him to wipe the faces of the children with it, and they should be healed; and remarked at the same time: 'as long as you keep that handkerchief it shall remain a league between you and me.' elder woodruff did as he was commanded, and the children were healed, and he keeps the handkerchief to this day.

"there were many sick whom joseph could not visit, so he counseled the twelve to go and visit and heal them, and many were healed under their hands. on the day following that upon which the above-described events took place, joseph sent elders george a. and don carlos smith up the river to heal the sick. they went up as far as ebenezer robinson's one or two miles—and did as they were commanded, and the sick were healed."[6]

the manifestation of god's power was by no means confined to the personal ministry of joseph smith, nor to the land of america. god honored the ministrations of those who received authority through his prophet, and poured out his blessings on those who received the message in distant lands, as will be seen by the testimony i now introduce.

the following is an editorial in the merlin, a non-mormon paper, published in merthyr tydvil, wales, under the caption of an "extraordinary occurrence."

"during the night of friday week (sept. 22nd, 1848) between the hours of eleven and twelve, a very extraordinary occurrence took place in newport. a young man named reuben brinkworth was, in 1840 (?) at bermuda, on board the terror, commodore franklin, in the arctic expedition, when, in the midst of a storm of thunder and lightning, he was suddenly deprived of both hearing and speech, and in that deplorable condition returned to stroud, in england, of which place he was a native. he has since been residing with mr. naish, basket maker, market street, newport, who, with several other persons, is attached to the community of people known as 'mormons.' persons of this denomination have been able to communicate their doctrines to brinkworth, by means of writing, signs, and the finger alphabet. his sad condition they allege, excited their sympathy for his spiritual as well as temporal welfare; and their doctrines made very considerable impression upon him—perhaps, more especially, because their creed was that god did perform miracles in these days as he did in the days of old, and a miracle might be wrought in his favor. on friday night week, the young man was seized with a kind of fit, in which he continued some time; and on his recovery he was called upon, by sight,[7] to believe in the savior, that the healing power of god might be exercised in his behalf. he was moreover earnestly entreated to be baptized; but this was very strongly opposed by a person in the room. the deaf and dumb man, however, signified his acquiescence. he was taken to the canal and baptized in the name of our savior; and immediately on coming up out of the water, he cried out, "thank the lord, i can speak and hear again as well as any of you!" he now speaks fluently and hears distinctly; which miraculous circumstance is attributed to the power of providence by the friends of the young man; who called at our office with him, and gave us the details. we have heard from another source that this happy change in the young man's condition is supposed to have been produced by the action upon him of the electric fluid during the thunder storm of the friday night. we shall not take upon ourselves to decide this matter."

subsequently mr. reuben brinkworth himself made a statement of the miraculous event, and it was published in the millennial star, from which i quote it.

"on the 2nd of july, 1839, i entered on board the terror, commodore sir j. franklin being then about to set out on a voyage of discovery for a northwest passage to india. upon returning to england we landed at bermuda on the 16th of july, 1843, and in the afternoon of the same day a terrible thunder storm occurred, in which i was suddenly deprived of my hearing and speech. at the same time five of my comrades, viz., john ennis, william collins, john rogers, richard king, and william simms were summoned into eternity. i remained insensible fifteen days—perfectly unconscious of all that was passing around me; but upon the return of reason, came the dreadful conviction that i was deprived of two of my faculties. i well remember the period, and shall ever continue to do so—language cannot describe the awful sensations that pervaded my mind when i became fully sensible of the reality of my condition.

"i will here remark, that the subject of religion had never troubled my mind; nor did the calamity i was called to suffer awaken any feeling akin to it; nevertheless i felt a certain feeling of gratitude that i had not met with the same fate as my more unfortunate companions; yet i must, to my shame, confess that it was not directed to the great disposer of all events, who could have taken my life as those of my companions, had he willed it. but it was not his design. i was spared, and am now a living witness of his loving kindness to the most abandoned sinners, if they will turn and seek his face.

"at that time i was about nineteen years old. after remaining at bermuda about three weeks, we again set sail for england, and reached chatham on the 14th of december. i remained there only fourteen days, after which i went to london, and, by the kind assistance of some gentlemen, entered the deaf and dumb school in old kent road, where i remained for ten weeks, but not liking the confinement, and being from home, i became dissatisfied and unhappy, and resolved to leave it, and accordingly did so. i then went to george lock's, oxford arms, silver street, reading, with whom i lived eighteen months, supporting myself the whole of that period upon the wages i earned on board the terror. i afterwards went to rugby not to remain there, but on the way to my mother at stroud, gloucestershire.

"i will here relate a circumstance of cruelty of which i was made the sufferer; being thirsty, i stepped into a public house to get something to drink; there were gentlemen in the parlor, who, seeing that i was dumb, motioned me to them, and put many questions in writing, which i answered in the same manner. while i was thus being questioned, one of the men went out and brought in a policeman, who hauled me away to the lock-up in which place i was kept all that night, the next day, and following night, and on the morning of the second day i was taken before a magistrate who ordered me to be taken to a doctor, where i underwent an operation, namely having my tongue cut in two places; he became satisfied that i was both deaf and dumb, and then i was discharged. from the treatment i had received i was determined to go to another of the magistrates of that town, to whom i related by writing what had happened. he said very little to me, more than that he would write to london respecting it, and i have since heard from a gentleman, that the magistrate who examined me, has been removed from his office. i then continued my journey to stroud, which i reached without any other inconvenience, and remained there two days. i then went to newport, monmouthshire, and occupied my time in teaching the deaf and dumb alphabet for about three years, at the end of which i became acquainted with the latter-day saints. at that time i was lodging at a public house, kept by james durbin, sign of the "golden lion," pentonville. one of the customers of this house became acquainted with me and prevailed upon me to go and live with him and his brother, who was a member of the latter-day saints' church. there i first became acquainted with the doctrines taught by this people, by reading and by means of the finger alphabet. i continued to investigate them for about three months, when i felt convinced of the truth of those doctrines which have since become so beneficial to my temporal and eternal welfare. on the 22nd of september i had been, by means of the deaf and dumb alphabet, conversing freely with some of the saints, and had fully determined to be baptized that evening; therefore i expressed my desire to receive the ordinance of baptism, and was taken to the canal early on the morning of the 23rd, and baptized in the name of the father, son and holy ghost; and upon my head emerging from the water, i heard the voices of persons upon the towing path, and this was the first sound i had heard since my deprivation upon the island of bermuda, in 1843. with my hearing came also my speech, and the first words that i uttered were, 'thank the lord, i can speak and hear again as well as any of you.' i scarcely need state my own surprise at the moment, but such it was, and it appears marvelous in my own eyes, not that god is possessed of such power, but that he should manifest it in my behalf. i have much cause to praise him and glorify his holy name, for in obedience to his divine commands, i not only received the remission of my sins, which i esteem above all earthly blessings, but also the removal of my deafness and dumbness; and now i can hear as distinctly and speak as fluently as i ever did, although i have been deprived of both these faculties for upwards of five years, not being able to hear the loudest noise, nor to use my tongue in speech.

"there is a mistake in the merlin of the date of my landing at bermuda, it should have been 1843, instead of 1840. the same error appeared also in the millennial star, no. 22, vol. x, which was caused by extracting the account from that paper.

"the following individuals are witnesses to my baptism:

"henry naish,

"john roberts,

"john walden. members of the church.

"jane dunbin,

"thomas jones,

"jacob naish. non-members."[8]

i quote the following cases from one of the publications of the church—the millennial star—from which alone could be selected enough of such incidents to fill a large volume. these letters were addressed to elder orson pratt, one of the twelve apostles of the new dispensation, who in 1848-50 was editor of the star and president of the european mission:

the blind healed.

berrien, montgomeryshire, north wales,

may 23, 1849.

i feel it my bounden duty to make the following narrative known to the authorities of the church of jesus christ, to show that the manifestation of the power of god attends this church, in the last days, as it did the church of the early apostles, viz:—my daughter sophia matilda, aged eight years, was in the month of may, 1848, afflicted in her eyes; she soon lost the sight of her left eye, and on applying to medical aid, instead of the sight being restored she immediately lost the other, the surgeon stating that the pupils were closed, and feared she could never be restored to her sight. i was advised to try an eminent surgeon in shrewsbury, in the county of salop, where in june, 1848, i sent her and her mother, as she was now quite blind, and the poor little creature's sufferings were indescribable, though the lord enabled her to be patient in her afflictions; she remained in shrewsbury a fortnight but found no benefit, and as the last resource to human aid, i was advised to send her to an eminent oculist in liverpool (dr. neile) under whose treatment she was relieved, and a gradual improvement took place, to our great joy, until the autumn of the same year. i corresponded with dr. neile, who desired me to continue the treatment he had prescribed, but it was all to no purpose, for she relapsed into the same state as before, and was in total darkness the whole of the winter, suffering acutely, and by february of the present year, 1849, she had wasted to a mere skeleton, when my brother-in-law paid me a visit previous to his embarkation to california, and told me that if i would have faith in the lord jesus christ, and call for the elders of the church, he believed she would be healed. i also soon was enabled to believe and obeyed the command of st. james. the church put up their prayers for us, and i found, thanks to the giver of all good, some improvement ere the ordinance was performed. on the following sabbath, elder dudley and richards, from pool quay, came to my house, performed the ordinance upon my child, the pain soon left her, and she was soon by the power of god and the prayers of the faithful restored to sight and health and, thanks be to almighty god, she is still in the enjoyment of these great blessings; trusting you will rejoice in the lord with me for his great mercies manifested to me, i remain, etc. etc.,

henry pugh.[9]

some years ago, the author speaking in farmington, the county seat of davis county, utah, had occasion to refer to this instance of healing, and at the conclusion of his remarks a gentleman of the name of james loynd arose and said he was well acquainted with the circumstance, as the person healed was a relative of his, and said the incident above related was true in every particular. happening to remember this when making his selection of cases of healing that have occurred in the church, i wrote this gentleman and here give my letter to him and his reply:

salt lake city, utah. dec. 31, 1894.

james loynd, esq., farmington, utah.

dear brother:—a number of years ago, when delivering a public discourse in your village, i had occasion to refer to some of the testimonies to remarkable cases of healing in the church that were collected and published in the millennial star by elder orson pratt. my recollection is that after i had read one of the many cases published by elder pratt, you arose in the body of the house and testified that the person healed—i think restored to sight—was a relative of yours, perhaps your wife.

if the circumstance still lives in your memory i wish you would confirm my statement of the case, as i am about to go to press with a book where your confirmation of my recollection will be of service to me.

i trust you will pardon me for thus intruding upon you, but believing you have an interest in the great cause of truth i make bold to trouble you.

very truly, your brother,

b. h. roberts.

farmington, utah., dec. 16th, 1894.

elder b. h. roberts, salt lake city.

dear brother:—i very distinctly remember the circumstance of you speaking some years ago in farmington, and my confirming one of the cases of healing read by you on that occasion. it was the case of sophia matilda pugh, who is now my wife, sophia m. loynd. the circumstance of her receiving her sight, is accurately stated by her father in a letter to the star (vol xi). it is now forty-six years ago since the miracle was performed. sophia m. loynd, who was then healed in so remarkable a manner, is still alive and joins me in signing this letter to you. she is fifty-four years old, in good health, and a living witness to the miraculous power that is in the church of christ. she says that this case of healing is what brought her parents into the church. they immigrated to utah, where they died in the faith. i have written this in the presence of my wife, have read the same to her and she now joins me in saying that you may make such use of it as you choose.

very truly yours,

(signed) james loynd,

sophia m. loynd.

healing of one born blind.

bristol, november 25, 1849.

dear president pratt:—as you were so kind as to publish the letter i sent, dated july 9, 1849, containing an account of the miraculous power of god, displayed in the healing of elizabeth ann bounsell, which made quite a stir amongst the pious christians of this city, i now venture to write to you again, and say that the above circumstance caused many to call at the house to see if it were true. and upon seeing, many rejoiced, others mocked, saying, "she would have got well if the elders had not laid their hands upon her." among the latter, was one would-be great man, by the name of charles smith (who has written a flimsy attack against the saints,) who said it was not enough to satisfy him. so the mother took another of her daughters, and put her upon his knee, and said, "sir, is that child blind?" after he had examined the eyes he said "she is." "well," said the mother, "she was born blind: and now she is four years old; and i am going to take her to the elders of our church for them to anoint her eyes with oil and lay their hands upon her; and you can call again when you have time and see her with her eyes opened; for i know the lord will heal her and she will see." "well," said he, "if she ever does see it will be a great proof." accordingly the mother brought the child to the elders and elder john hackwell anointed her eyes, and laid hands upon her, only once, and the lord heard his prayer, so that the child can now see with both of her eyes, as well as any other person. for which we all feel thankful to our heavenly father, and are willing to bear testimony of it to all the world.

yours in the kingdom of god,

george halliday.

p. s.—we, the father and mother of the child, do here sign our names to the above, as being true.

william bounsell.

elizabeth bounsell.[10]

no. 12, broad street, bristol.

bones set through faith.

rumford, may 1st, 1849.

dear brother gibson:—at your request, i now sit down to give you a short account of the goodness and power of god, made manifest in my behalf. about two years ago, while working at my trade of coach-builder, while assisting in removing a railway carriage, i dislocated my thigh, and was conveyed home, and my parents not being in the church, and no elders in the town, (viz. sterling) medical skill was called in, but from the swelling it could not be set. i was again examined by a doctor jeffrey, and one taylor of glasgow, who said that a kind of jeal had gathered in the hip joint, and before it could be set this must be removed by cupping; so i was cupped with twenty-four lances but it did no good and i lingered in great pain for three weeks when it was proposed that i should again be cupped; but i was determined that it should not be; and hearing from you that elder samuel w. richards, from america was coming to sterling, i told my friends that when he came they would see the power of god, and i should be healed. accordingly, when he came, he anointed me in the name of the lord, and the bone went into its place, and i got up in the morning and went to my work, to the astonishment of doctors and friends. i am now a traveling elder, and have a great deal of walking, but experience no inconvenience from it. i can get a dozen witnesses to attest to the truth of this cure both in and out of the church.

i remain your brother,

james s. low.

nantygwnith, georgetown, merthyr tydfil,

september 14, 1850.

dear president pratt:—i enclose a testimony of a miraculous case of healing which has taken place a few days ago in abercanaid; i saw the brother in his affliction and the accompanying testimony he bore at my house more than two miles distant from his. i send it to you with permission to do with it as you think proper.

wm. phillips.

the testimony of david richards.

merthyr tydfil. september 10, 1850.

on friday, august 23rd, 1850, at about eleven o'clock while i was working among the coal, a stone fell upon me, about 200 pounds weight. i was carried home, and the doctor who was present said he could do nothing for me, and told those around me to wrap me up in a sheet that i might die. there was a lump on my back as big as a child's head. the doctor afterwards told one of my relatives, about six o'clock in the evening, that i could not recover. elder phillips called to see me, attended to the ordinance of the church for the sick, and while commanding the bones in the name of jesus, they came together, making a noise like the crushing of an old basket; my strength returned, and now i am able to go some miles to bear my testimony to this great miracle. the doctor who called to see me was astonished, and said in the hearing of witnesses that my backbone was broken; but that it now was whole, and that i was now recovering as well as any man he ever saw. many of our greatest enemies confessed that i was healed by the power of god, and while coming here today, many who heard of my accident were struck with the greatest amazement. but i thank my heavenly father for his kindness towards me, hoping i shall live to serve him more faithfully henceforth than ever.

witnesses,

d. richards.

morgan mills,

thomas rees,

john thomas,

henry evans.[11]

leprosy healed.

no. 9 guardian street, springfield lane,

salford, may 19, 1849.

last winter, a young woman addressed me in the carpenter's hall, the daughter of a fustian cutter, named lee, residing in cook street, salford, and said her parents were desirous that i should go and see her brother, who was very bad with a leprosy. i went in company with one or two of my brethren. i think i never saw anything so bad as the boy was (the small pox excepted); the whole lower part of his face and under his chin, as well as the back of his hands and wrists, were one entire mass of scabs; indeed, you could not have inserted a needle point, they were so thick. he was eight and a half years of age, and had been afflicted since he was six months old; they had him at the manchester infirmary and the salford dispensary, and are at this time paying the surgeon's bill who attended him as a private patient. the surgeon told his parents he could do nothing for him, as the disease was too virulent for medicine to reach it. his parents told me they did not know what it was to get a regular night's rest with him, and it frequently took three hours to wash him. the first night we went they were not disturbed during the night, and in three weeks he was entirely free, and his flesh was renewed like that of a young child.

john watts.

to all whom it may concern. this is to certify, that i was seized with a disease like the leprosy, in the year 1837, and tried all that i could to get a cure, but i could not, and all the doctors that i applied to could do me no good; and it continued with me over all my body till the month of september, 1843, when i went and was baptized into the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints, by william mcfarland, elder of the church, on the first of september, 1843, and on that same night the leprosy left me.

jenet ridd.

witnesses,

william mcfarland,

james crystal,

alexander ridd.[12]

the instances of what are usually called miraculous cases of healing in the church are by no means confined to the past, they take place today and are of frequent occurrence. by permission of elder heber j. grant, one of the twelve apostles, i give herewith a letter of his written to his cousin, mrs. julia macdonald, living in st. george, utah, that relates a case of quite recent date.

tooele city, april 28th, 1894.

my dear cousin julia:—i am half inclined to the opinion that you will be thinking that i have entirely forgotten the promise which i made you, some time ago, to write about the case of healing, that came under my observation in connection with my brother hyrum. i have not forgotten the promise, but i have been pretty busy with my usual duties, and the conference matters which needed attention before and since april 6th.

* * i will, to the best of my ability, now redeem my promise about giving an account of the young lady healed by the lord. some years ago, as nearly as i can now recall it is about seven or eight years, my brother hyrum was living in salt lake city, he had charge of the business of grant brothers' livery co. the employees of the z. c. m. i. shoe factory arranged with our company to carry them to calder's farm to spend the day. just before dark it looked quite like a storm, or commenced storming, i do not now recall which. my brother, who had driven one of the large drags down to calder's, called the party together, and told them he felt that it was the proper thing to start for the city before it was dark, for fear of an accident on state road. the people declined to start for the city, and hyrum then and there warned them that he was not to be responsible for any accident that might happen.

coming from calder's in the rain and dark, the drag driven by my brother was turned over, and one young lady had some bones broken, and in addition being so badly exposed, she took cold and the result was pneumonia. she got very low and the doctors had a consultation and decided it was an impossibility for her to recover. hyrum felt very bad indeed when he learned her condition and that the doctors had said that the young lady could not live more than two days, and that they did not think she would live more than twenty-four hours. he came to see me and said that he had had a testimony that in case he and i would go and administer to the young lady she would get well. i was pleased to go with him, but when i got to the house where she lived i looked at her and felt that she was dying, and told my brother that i did not think there was any use of blessing her, but he turned and said, "did i not tell you that i had had a testimony that if we would bless her that she would get well?" i felt ashamed of my refusal to bless the girl, and we then administered to her, and, while i had my hands on her head, i got a testimony that she would recover. i met brother wm. h. rowe, [manager of the shoe factory] soon after i left the young lady's home, and he was feeling very badly, and told me that she was going to die. i then assured him that he need have no fears, as i had been blessed of the lord with a testimony that she would recover, and i then explained to him what my brother had told me, and of our visit to the home of the sick sister. the next morning the doctor in attendance upon her called at the livery stables and told my brother that there was a wonderful change in the girl's condition, and that he could not possibly account for the improvement, and that he now had hopes of her recovery. my brother informed the doctor that he had no difficulty in accounting for the change, and he then told him of our visit. he, the doctor, did not have any faith that our visit had anything to do with the improvement in the sister's condition, notwithstanding the fact that he had admitted that he could not account for her improvement.

the girl recovered, and the last i heard of her she was still working in the z. c. m. i. shoe factory. i have a faint recollection that i was told that she was married, but of this i would not be sure. i have never seen her since i called with hyrum at her house, and i do not know whether or not her family ever knew that she was given up to die by the doctors. i think the sister's name was maria degray, but in case you wish to use her name i will make sure that this is correct. with love and best wishes to each and all of the folks, not forgetting yourself, i remain,

your affectionate cousin,

heber j. grant.

the following account of a case of healing is taken from the juvenile instructor, one of the leading periodicals of the church, the pages of which are replete with such accounts of healing by the power of god as is here presented:

healed of blindness.

as near as i can remember, it was in the month of june, 1879, that i was engaged in building a rock cellar for vernee halliday, in provo city. about noon, after finishing the walls as high as i could from the inside, before drawing my lines off to go outside, i looked along the wall to see if every rock was in keeping with the line, when i saw a small corner of a rock a little out of place. with my hammer i tapped it very lightly to bring it to its proper position, keeping my eye along the line to see when it came to its place. while doing this i felt as if something had touched my eye, but nothing to cause me any uneasiness. at the time i did not think more of the affair.

i worked all the afternoon and the next forenoon, but felt my eye beginning to get very hot, and water came therefrom. in the afternoon my eye became worse, and was inflamed to such an extent that i could not see; my head also became so affected that about four o'clock i was obliged to cease work and go home. arriving there my wife, seeing my eye in such an inflamed condition, got me into a dark room, and from that time till very early the next morning she used about two packets of tea in making strong lotions to bathe my eye to keep down the inflammation. at four o'clock in the morning i got a handkerchief on my eye, and went away to arouse dr. w. r. pike. when i arrived at his house he was attending a man from payson. this done, he asked me what he could do for me. i told him of the inflammation of my eye and the pain in my head, and said i wanted him to examine it and see what was the matter with it, or to tell the cause of my suffering. after examining my eye he said there was one-third of the lens of my eye entirely destroyed. the center of the lens was gone and only a little on each edge remained. he said it had been struck with something rough like a rock, and that i would never see again with that eye. he described the transparency of the eye, and assured me that it could not by nature be restored. he said it was likely to take away the use of my other eye at any time, and that a white opaque substance would grow over my eye so that i could never see any more.

after leaving his office, i met on the street a mr. harrison, who had formerly lived in salt lake city. he told me of dr. pratt, who had just returned to salt lake from the east, where she had been studying the eye, and had done a great deal of good. i therefore went the same day to see her, but had then to be led by my wife. when we arrived in salt lake it was too late for her to do anything with my eye that day, and she told us to come back the following morning at ten o'clock. we did so, and after hearing my story she examined my injured member by the aid of many glasses, and told me the same as dr. w. r. pike had done. she allowed my wife to look through the glass at my eye, and she described its appearance as that of a wound from which a dog had bitten a piece. dr. pratt then took me by my front hair, and pushing my head back, was about to take my eye out. i inquired what she was about to do, and she answered me that she was going to take it out and put in a glass one.

my wife seized her arm, and i scrambled out of the chair saying, "no you don't, or you will shoot me first."

i then asked if she could give me a lotion to check the pain. she took a small vial and put one drop of its contents in my eye, which immediately took away all pain. she then gave me a prescription, which i had filled, and then went home.

just as both doctors had said, the opaque matter gradually grew on my eye for three or four weeks, at the end of which time i could not distinguish my own wife standing so that her dress touched my clothes, unless she spoke. up to this time i had not been able to work, and i was getting dissatisfied.

about that time the quarterly conference took place in provo. on the sunday morning i found my way to conference, still with the napkin on my eye. there were present of the general authorities, presidents george q. cannon and joseph f. smith and apostle john henry smith. during the morning meeting i made up my mind to have them administer to me for my sight, and at the close of the services i went to the vestry where they were attending to this ordinance for many who were there before me. when i entered brothers joseph f. and john henry smith came and shook hands with me, enquiring what was the matter, and what i wanted them to do. they introduced me to brother george q. cannon, whom i had never before known. i knew the brothers smith in the old country. i was told to take a seat, and when they had attended to the rest they would administer to me, and that i would get my sight. after they got through with the others they came to me. i cannot now call to mind who anointed, or who confirmed it, but this i do know that from that very hour the white, opaque matter that had gradually grown over my eye as gradually began to disappear, until my eyesight was completely restored and has remained to this date as perfect as it ever has been. to this fact myself and family, and others yet living in provo can testify.

while suffering with this affliction i reasoned that as god made the eye he also knew how to repair and restore a damaged one, and i testify to all to whom this may come that he did restore sight to the blind one.

robert mckinley.[13]

let me assure the reader that these cases of healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, etc., are but as a handful of earth to a mountain. it would require volumes to contain the testimonies of the saints to the fulfillment of the promises of the lord made through the great modern prophet; but what is set down in this chapter will doubtless be sufficient to prove the fulfillment of his promises. the church has taken little or no pains to publish accounts of "miracles." but the fact that more than sixty years after these promises of the gifts of healing, etc., were made to the church, the chief reliance of the saints in times of sickness is upon the anointing with oil and the laying on of hands by the elders—and this throughout all the branches of the church—it must be evident even to the most skeptical that the promises of jesus christ through joseph smith have been realized, or else long ago the faith of the firmest would have failed them.