Healing of the Apparently Lifeless Boy

“One day, a father and mother came to us with their eight-year-old son. He had fallen out of a mango tree and was, to all appearances, dead. They laid him at our feet and said, 'Here, make him well again—you have the power.' I looked at the boy. He was limp and cold. I felt a great surge of inadequacy. I looked at my companion, who was also young and inexperienced. We were both terrified. I looked at the parents. Their faith was absolute. They had no doubt that we could heal him. I felt that if I tried to bless him and he didn't recover, I would be destroying their faith. I wanted to run. Just then, the branch president walked up. He had been working in the fields; he was covered with mud and dirt, and he was sweating profusely. I quickly explained the situation to him and said, 'President, you bless him.' He looked at the boy, then at the parents, then at me. He said, 'I will go, wash, and put on clean clothes; then we will bless him and see what God has to say.' He turned and left me holding the boy. I felt very small. I was standing there with a dead boy in my arms, and the branch president was going to wash his hands. I realized then that the power was not in me, nor in the branch president, but in the Lord, and that we had to be worthy to act as His instruments. When the branch president returned, he was clean and dressed in his Sunday best. He took the boy, and we placed our hands on his head. The branch president gave a beautiful, powerful blessing. He commanded the boy to live and to be whole. As he spoke, I felt a warmth and a power that I had never felt before. The boy began to breathe. His color returned. Within minutes, he opened his eyes, sat up, and asked for something to eat.”

— John H. Groberg, as recounted in 'In the Eye of the Storm'