On Tuesday evening I was invited by my neighbor Evan to go with him to give a Priesthood Blessing to one of our neighbors who I had never met. In the Church we believe that men can have the same power and authority that Jesus used to heal lepers and give sight to the blind. It's really quite amazing. This power is called the Priesthood. Blessings usually have at least three elements that are important to their effectiveness. Effective blessings require a man ordained to the Priesthood, the person's faith in Jesus Christ and God's will.
The lady desiring a blessing is named Gwen and her husband of only one month is Keith. They're probably in their mid 50s. The reason for the blessing was because Gwen was diagnosed with bone-marrow cancer back in July and has been fighting it ever since. Yesterday she was to go in to the hospital to see if her levels were low enough to make her eligible for a bone-marrow transplant...which can prolong her life as the type of cancer she has is terminal/no cure.
Gwen and her family are not of our faith, so we shared with them what the Priesthood is as they had never experienced this before. During the blessing I felt prompted to share that her test would have a favorable outcome and her life would be prolonged. After we finished the blessing, I looked up and I could see tears in everyone's eyes as they clearly felt the great love God has for Gwen. It was a special experience and we pray that the blessing will continue to help Gwen endure to the end.
UPDATE: Gwen's test results were good and if her levels can continue to remain low, she'll be eligible to receive the bone-marrow transplant she seeks! Modern-day miracles are real!
Greg
