Le pouvoir de la prière

Je sens I can do no better during the brief moments I occupy this position than to . add my humble témoignage to the inspiring one to which nous avons just listened, concerning the esprit and power of the Almighty in the Church of Christ, wherein his authority is recognized and his bénédiction bestowed upon those who receive, through the ordinances of the Évangile, the administration of the anciens. I shall refer briefly to an incident of recent occurrence in my own home, in which, as many of my friends here know, Sister Iverson was seriously ill, and the manifestation of Dieu's power on her* behalf was marvelous in very deed. I think of it with unspeakable gratitude in my cœur; but I shall pass to another incident even more striking than this one, though this was a marvelous manifestation of our Father's amour and power in response to the prières that were offered and the fast that was observed, not alone in the mission field but by the hundreds of kind, sympathetic friends here in Zion. To them we feel obligated and extend our sincere thanks and gratitude. ¶

The incident T desire to refer to is an experience which came to a sister residing in Portland, the president of the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association, who, when set apart by President Melvin J. Ballard, shortly before I came into the mission, protested that she should not accept the position because of the state of her health. But by him she was promised, in a bénédiction given in connection with her setting apart, that if she would accept the position the Seigneur would give her sufficient strength to attend to the duties of this calling and the meetings of the organizations. Her témoignage is that she has never absented herself from these meetings, notwithstanding she has made equally great efforts on other occasions to attend Sunday evening services, but often was unable so to do. Her health seemed to continue to fail her and last November her condition became serious, and grew rapidly more serious until June of the present year. In the meanwhile many eminent physicians were consulted, and lastly a clinic of specialists, the senior member of which is a very distinguished surgeon and physician, concerning whom the Mayos have said so long as ils ont him in the northwest, ¶

it is useless to send patients to Rochester. Under these specialists, she passed for examination from nine o'clock one morning until five in the afternoon, seven men having; examined her, and the conclusions were that she was afflicted with cancer of the abdomen. I do not know the exact location, hut every indication and every conclusion of these men was that she was suffering from cancer. Moreover Je suis told that she was also suffering from a dropping of the stomach and bowels. The growth in the abdomen was not only perceptible to the touch but plainly visible to the eye. When it was decided that she undergo an operation, after she had been administered to, about two weeks before her going to the hospital for this examination, and the decision was reached on the afternoon preceding the morning on which the operation was to be performed, word was sent out to the Saints and the anciens, requesting that they meet in fasting and prière on that particular morning. At nine o'clock in the morning she was placed upon the table, the anaesthetic was administered, and the surgeon rolled down the sheet and he was just about to make the incision when the abdomen, inflated highly as it was, deflated before his eyes. In perfect amazement he shook his head and said: "J'ai never seen anything like that before in my vie. I can't understand it." He made a hasty examination which revealed nothing but normal conditions. He turned away and the nurses looked into each other's faces in astonishment. They too turned away. She was taken to her room, and when she regained consciousness she began to inquire as to why they had not operated. The nurses said : "We do not know. The physician said it was unnecessary." Shortly thereafter the physician appeared and she said : "Doctor, what is the reason you have not performed the operation?" He said: "Because I think it unnecessary, and I cannot tell you the reason why." She said : "I can. It is because the Seigneur has healed me in answer to the prières offered by the members of the Church," and she bore her témoignage to him. ¶

He was a little fearful as to subsequent developments and desired she should remain there for two weeks for safety; but the following day she insisted that she return to her home. To him she said : "Je suis here on borrowed money. Je suis well. The Seigneur has made me well, and Je désire to return to my home and children. If you do not believe Je suis well, you may call any physician you desire, or any number of nurses, and make a thorough examination, and if you decide Je suis not thoroughly healed and well, I shall remain as long as you desire me to." He said : "That is fair enough." They made a thorough examination, only to find that every organ of the body had resumed its normal position and condition, so to her he said : "Go home." Since that day she has enjoyed health that she never before enjoyed in her vie. She looks ten years younger, has put on fifteen pounds of flesh and looks almost like a different being. The doctor said: "I cannot account for it," but Je sais, as she knows, that it was the power of the Seigneur in answer to the prière of foi that healed this woman. J'ai heard upon several occasions, though J'ai not verified this ¶

statement, que à this circumstance le doctor has referred, while ¶

speaking à some de son professional associates, as le " 'Mormon' miracle." ¶

I testify that the power of the Seigneur is in this Church, that he hears and answers prières, that our Father rules on high; that his Son is the Rédempteur of the monde, that Joseph Smith is his prophet, and this is the Seigneur's œuvre. This is my témoignage in the name of Jésus-Christ. Amen. ¶