Healing of a Child through Priesthood Administration during Handcart Journey

“One day a fever had overtaken the company, and this little boy, then lying between life and death, gave signs of immediate dissolution, this condition they reported to his parents. The father, full of faith, took the child, began by anointing him with oil and praying over him that the Lord would fulfill His promise that not one of the family should fall by the way. For a long time the child was considered dead, and the bystanders were waiting to assist in the last sad rites. The father continued to administer, to chafe the limbs and body, and to call upon the Lord to fulfill his promise. After what seemed to the fellow travelers and sufferers very long time, the father thought he saw a slight flutter in the child's throat; this encouraged further rubbing, chafing and administration until finally, by God's power and blessing the dear child recovered and is now a resident of Salt Lake City. This is a glorious instance of the power of the Lord, given to those who have faith, and which prompted and sustained the prayers in behalf of a child who was looked upon as dead by the scores present in that camp; and it is the father's conviction that if that promise had not been made, the boy would have been given up as dead, and would have been laid with the hundreds of others of that company buried by the way side. — Millennial Star 64:34”