Administering to the Sick
James 5:13–16
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
President Dallin H. Oaks said:
“When someone has been anointed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the anointing is sealed by that same authority. To seal something means to affirm it, to make it binding for its intended purpose. When elders anoint a sick person and seal the anointing, they open the windows of heaven for the Lord to pour forth the blessing He wills for the person afflicted.
“President Brigham Young taught: ‘When I lay hands on the sick, I expect the healing power and influence of God to pass through me to the patient, and the disease to give way. . . . When we are prepared, when we are holy vessels before the Lord, a stream of power from the Almighty can pass through the tabernacle of the administrator to the system of the patient, and the sick are made whole’ [Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young (1997), 252]. . . .
“Faith is essential for healing by the powers of heaven. The Book of Mormon even teaches that ‘if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them’ (Ether 12:12). In a notable talk on administering to the sick, President Spencer W. Kimball said: ‘The need of faith is often underestimated. The ill one and the family often seem to depend wholly on the power of the priesthood and the gift of healing that they hope the administering brethren may have, whereas the greater responsibility is with him who is blessed. . . . The major element is the faith of the individual when that person is conscious and accountable. “Thy faith hath made thee whole” [Matthew 9:22] was repeated so often by the Master that it almost became a chorus’ [‘President Kimball Speaks Out on Administration to the Sick,’ Tambuli, Aug. 1982, 36–37; New Era, Oct. 1981, 47]. . . .
“. . . As we exercise the undoubted power of the priesthood of God and as we treasure His promise that He will hear and answer the prayer of faith, we must always remember that faith and the healing power of the priesthood cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him whose priesthood it is.”
(“Healing the Sick,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 48–50.)
