Helen Spencer's Healing through Priesthood Blessing
Published October 18, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Contributed by
Young Woman's Journal Research
Helen Spencer, who had been suffering from despair and declining health, requested a Priesthood blessing after arriving in the valley. A patriarch and other Elders performed the ordinance. Helen felt a thrill of joy and was physically and spiritually made whole, afterwards affirming her faith by quoting Job 19:25.
In Their Own Words
“When the brethren came they knelt and uttered a prayer for Helen. They anointed her, and a generous, sweet-tempered old patriarch was asked to give her the blessing. Placing his hands upon her head, he spoke in a kind, yet determined voice, the words of power which Christ has commissioned His Elders to say to the sick, and the afflicted. A thrill of joy trembled through Helen’s body. And when the old man had finished speaking, she sat up in her bed and looked into the faces of those gathered about her. A beam of joy was in her eyes, and a glow spread over her cheeks. Her voice rang out clear and sweet, in the utterance of Job’s memorable declaration, “I know that my Redeemer liveth: and though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” — The Young Woman's Journal 18:7”
Sources & References
The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 18 no. 7 (July 1907). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/15254 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high)
Related Miracles
Similar miracle types and stories from the 1840s.
Miracle of the Week
One remarkable, documented account in your inbox every Monday, drawn from the full archive.
