I don’t know how many times over the last 60+ years that I have been called as an Elder in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to perform a blessing with another faithful Elder. Blessings are a function of the Priesthood for the purpose of blessing the sick and the afflicted, and to comfort the downtrodden. We may be called upon at anytime of the day or night. The most common query for a pair of Elders going out is, “Did you bring the oil.” The oil we use to anoint their head. Anointing of the consecrated oil precedes the blessing. A small bottle of olive oil has been consecrated and set apart by the authority of the Priesthood for the purpose of blessing the sick and the afflicted. It is blessed before it can be used in the anointing process. Ordinarily, every elder will have a small container of consecrated oil in their refrigerator that they can take just before they go out when called upon to do so. I have often read about or heard about accidents happening and the victims, badly injured, asking if there is an LDS Elder nearby, if so they request a priesthood blessing prior to being transported to the hospital. The following article was taken from a newspaper not very long ago: ”I can’t believe this happened…Approaching this horrible accident seconds after it happened, I felt prompted by the spirit to park my car and run over to the other side of the freeway (oncoming traffic) where I found a girl on the side of the road laying in a pool of blood and torn flesh head to toe. As I got closer I realized that she was still alive, barely. Another man approached and began yelling, “We need oil! We need oil, does anyone have any?!” I knew exactly what he meant and I found myself saying, “I do!” The spirit overwhelmed us as we knelt down and laid our hands over this girl’s bloody head. After he anointed her head with the oil, he looked at me and said, “Your turn to give the blessing.” Normally I can’t think straight in these situations and prefer to pass the baton to someone else, but there was no one else…The Lord gave me strength to be His servant in that moment. The spirit overwhelmed all of us and Priesthood power was manifested in those sweet minutes. We believe that blessing held her together till the ambulance arrived. It’s amazing how the spirit can work through us imperfect human beings, if we allow it. You never know when our Heavenly Father calls for our service and we need to be ready. She is in the hospital. Please pray for that girl and her family. We found out that her name is…. If anyone knows her, please let me know…I’d like to follow up on her condition. *Update* Thanks to so many incredible people we got ahold of her family and Jessica, as well. She is a miracle and she is recovering well. Doctors are shocked at her progress. She is loved by so many of you and I think we can all agree that this has been an incredible experience of love.” Not only does the opportunity to give a blessing to another bless the one being blessed but it also blesses those who give the blessing as well. Is a person receiving the blessing instantly healed, does the cripple get right up out of his wheelchair and walk, do the blind open their eyes and see for the first time. Generally no, but there are times when those things have happened. Do we question the power of God to heal through his Priesthood authority? No! But we also realize that not every person that is blessed has the faith to be healed in a miraculous way. Most Priesthood blessings requested and given in a routine manner are blessings of comfort, such as a person with a bad cold or going in the hospital for a hip replacement. Those who request those blessings are not healed on the spot but they feel more assured that all will go well for them. The Priesthood is given to men that they might bless and comfort. I believe that it does. Children in many families who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are given blessings before each school year, a blessing that they might be alert and learn those things presented to them. I believe many miracles have been experienced based on Priesthood blessings I have participated in. Because of the sacred nature of those experiences most people are hesitant to share them publically.