Robert S. Bliss: Priesthood Ordinances Administered in Camp — ‘Attended with a Blessing’ (1846–1847)

Robert Stanton Bliss (1826–1910) was a private in Company B of the Mormon Battalion. He kept a detailed journal of the march that was eventually donated in two parts: the first portion (August 18, 1846 to March 15, 1847) to the San Diego Pioneer Society in 1928, now held at the San Diego History Center; and the second portion held at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. The journal was published in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1931, making it one of the most accessible first-hand Battalion accounts.

Among the entries is this one, describing an evening during the march:

'Last night attended to some of the ordinances of the church which was attended with a blessing.'

The phrase is characteristic of 19th-century Latter-day Saint diary writing and refers to the administration of priesthood ordinances — most likely anointing with oil and the laying on of hands for healing. The statement that it was 'attended with a blessing' is the period's way of recording that the ordinance worked: the person prayed for was healed or strengthened.

The entry places this healing practice in the middle of an active military march, at a moment when the soldiers were far from any medical facility and dependent on faith as much as anything else for their survival.

Bliss's journal is held in two repositories and remains one of the primary accounts of the Battalion's march. Its careful documentation of both physical hardship and spiritual practice makes it an invaluable witness to the interior life of the Battalion.