Jacob Hamblin — Healing the Sick among the Southern Utah Indians

Upon beginning his missionary work in the Santa Clara region, Jacob Hamblin became known among the local Paiute Indians as a faith healer. He recorded that he was frequently called upon to administer to their sick, exercising the gift of healing as a sign of his divine calling. In his own words, he showed the 'signs of those that believe,' and many Indians were restored to health through his administrations. These healings were instrumental in establishing a bond of trust between the missionaries and the Native American tribes, which Hamblin viewed as a direct manifestation of the power of God in the mission field.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

Some one told the sick woman that the “Mormons” believed in “poogi,” which, in their language, means administering to the sick. She wished us to wait, and if the Piute charm did not work, to try if we could do her any good. The medicine man howled and kept up his performances the most of the night. The sick woman’s friends then carried her some distance away from the lodge, and left her to die. Some of her relatives asked us to go and administer to her. We could not feel to refuse, so we laid on hands and prayed for her. When we returned to our camp, she arose and followed us, and said she was hungry. We sent her to her own lodge. Some of the inmates were frightened at seeing her, as they had considered her a dead woman. This was the first time I had been called upon to administer to the sick among the Indians. I felt that the Lord had heard our prayers, and that the power of the Priesthood had been made manifest in her behalf. It had a good effect upon the minds of the Indians, and gave us more influence with them.