The Power of Prayer

I feel I can do no better during the brief moments I occupy this position than to . add my humble testimony to the inspiring one to which we have just listened, concerning the spirit and power of the Almighty in the Church of Christ, wherein his authority is recognized and his blessing bestowed upon those who receive, through the ordinances of the gospel, the administration of the elders. 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 God's power on her* behalf was marvelous in very deed. I think of it with unspeakable gratitude in my heart; but I shall pass to another incident even more striking than this one, though this was a marvelous manifestation of our Father's love and power in response to the prayers 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 blessing given in connection with her setting apart, that if she would accept the position the Lord would give her sufficient strength to attend to the duties of this calling and the meetings of the organizations. Her testimony 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 they have 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 I am 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 elders, requesting that they meet in fasting and prayer 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: "I have never seen anything like that before in my life. 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 Lord has healed me in answer to the prayers offered by the members of the Church," and she bore her testimony 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 : "I am here on borrowed money. I am well. The Lord has made me well, and I desire to return to my home and children. If you do not believe I am well, you may call any physician you desire, or any number of nurses, and make a thorough examination, and if you decide I am 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 life. 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 I know, as she knows, that it was the power of the Lord in answer to the prayer of faith that healed this woman. I have heard upon several occasions, though I have not verified this ¶

statement, that to this circumstance the doctor has referred, while ¶

speaking to some of his professional associates, as the " 'Mormon' miracle." ¶

I testify that the power of the Lord is in this Church, that he hears and answers prayers, that our Father rules on high; that his Son is the Redeemer of the world, that Joseph Smith is his prophet, and this is the Lord's work. This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶