I Saw Jesus Christ and Was a Witness to His Ministry — Elder David B. Haight

Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles suffered a life-threatening health crisis in January 1989 — surgery on January 16 to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, followed by a second operation the next day to remove blood clots. In his October 1989 General Conference address, "The Sacrament—and the Sacrifice," he publicly recounted what happened while he lay unconscious for days.

"The evening of my health crisis, I knew something very serious had happened to me," he said. Struck by sudden intense pain, he knelt over the bathtub for support while his dear wife Ruby phoned the doctor and their family, pleading with his Heavenly Father to spare his life a while longer to give him more time to do His work, if it was His will. While still praying, he began to lose consciousness — the siren of the paramedic truck was the last thing he remembered before unconsciousness overtook him for the next several days.

"The terrible pain and commotion of people ceased. I was now in a calm, peaceful setting; all was serene and quiet. I was conscious of two persons in the distance on a hillside, one standing on a higher level than the other. Detailed features were not discernible. The person on the higher level was pointing to something I could not see. I heard no voices but was conscious of being in a holy presence and atmosphere."

During the hours and days that followed, the eternal mission and exalted position of the Son of Man was impressed again and again upon his mind. "I witness to you that He is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, Savior to all, Redeemer of all mankind, Bestower of infinite love, mercy, and forgiveness, the Light and Life of the world. I knew this truth before — I had never doubted nor wondered. But now I knew, because of the impressions of the Spirit upon my heart and soul, these divine truths in a most unusual way."

He was shown a panoramic view of the Savior's earthly ministry — His baptism, His teaching, His healing of the sick and lame, the mock trial, His crucifixion, His resurrection and ascension — confirming scriptural eyewitness accounts in impressive detail. "I was being taught, and the eyes of my understanding were opened by the Holy Spirit of God so as to behold many things."

The first scene was of the Savior and His Apostles in the upper chamber on the eve of His betrayal — the washing of the dusty feet of each Apostle, the breaking and blessing of the loaf and the wine, the dreadful disclosure that one would betray Him. He saw the Savior's intercessory prayer in the words of John 17, the agony of Gethsemane where the Savior took upon Himself the sins of mankind, His struggling up the hill carrying the cross, the crude spikes driven through His hands and wrists and feet, and His body hanging on the cross for public display.

He also witnessed the Savior's ministry to the spirit world after His death, quoting James E. Talmage that Jesus went to "those myriads of spirits who had departed mortal life" and taught them "the glorious tidings of redemption from the bondage of death, and of possible salvation."

Elder Haight closed: "I cannot begin to convey to you the deep impact that these scenes have confirmed upon my soul. I sense their eternal meaning and realize that 'nothing in the entire plan of salvation compares in any way in importance with that most transcendent of all events, the atoning sacrifice of our Lord.'"

Elder Haight recovered — he was released from the hospital on February 22, 1989 — and served in the Quorum of the Twelve until his death in 2004, at age 97 the oldest living Apostle in the history of the Church.