Elder M. Russell Ballard Commands the Rain for Drought-Stricken Ethiopia (1985)

In January 1985, after a special Church-wide fast for the famine victims of Ethiopia raised donations that far exceeded expectations — the outpouring that marked the beginning of what would become Latter-day Saint Charities — Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Glenn L. Pace traveled to Ethiopia to determine how the sacred funds should be allocated for the relief of the people there. During their visit, the two of them, together with one local bishop, held a small sacrament meeting in which they bore their testimonies and partook of the sacrament. To conclude, Elder Ballard offered a prayer of remarkable power. He stated that they were the only Melchizedek Priesthood holders residing in the country and were there on assignment from the First Presidency, expressed gratitude for the members who had contributed their means during the special fast and offered prayers on Ethiopia's behalf — and then, with what Elder Pace described as more power and boldness than he had ever witnessed, Elder Ballard called upon the power and authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood and commanded the elements to gather together, that rain might come upon the land and begin to relieve those who had suffered so long. The land was burning up: it had not rained in a year, and no crops had grown in three. That very afternoon, as Elder Pace sat writing in his journal, he heard a clap of thunder and stepped onto the patio just in time to see a torrential downpour. People came running from their huts and public buildings, looking up and reaching their arms toward heaven, shouting and crying; children and adults frolicked and splashed one another, grabbing buckets and barrels to collect rain from the roofs. Elder Pace wept, knowing there were only two other people in the whole country who understood what had happened. He went and knocked on Elder Ballard's door, and the two men knelt together and offered a prayer of gratitude. Elder Ballard later explained that he knew that if they called upon the Lord to bless the land, the elements would be tempered. For the rest of their time in Ethiopia, it rained wherever the two men traveled.