The young man did so.
He also had a priesthood blessing, but nothing happened.
He was a district leader at the time, and his district had just begun
to baptize in a city
where there had not been baptisms for some time. He could not
understand how the
Lord could allow him to remain down for those days when his district
was just beginning
to have success.
A week went by, two
weeks, three weeks, a month in bed. He was still incapacitated
with no change in the pain in his foot. Finally, he was taken
to the mission home in the
capital city where more suitable medical facilities were found.
An X-ray was taken.
One of the bones in his foot had been fractured or broken and
had then grown back together incorrectly. The doctors talked
of either breaking the bone
again or giving him some special electrical treatments that were supposed
to fuse the bone
correctly, but it would take another month. He was down again,
going for treatments twice
a day. The treatments didn't make any difference. This
problem, on top of his other
medical problems, had him somewhat discouraged, and again the consideration
came to
send him home.
One morning, after
nearly three months, he stepped out of bed to find absolutely no
pain in his foot. He stepped on the foot gently, then stamped
on it, then ran with his
companion for a mile that morning, totally healed. With great
joy he returned immediately
to the field to work.
Two more weeks went
by. A letter arrived from home that said, "Dear son," and then
followed a paragraph or two of chastisement for not having told his
family about his ailments
in the mission field. They indicated that they had learned of
his problems from another
missionary, a friend of his, who had written home. In great love
they wrote, "We have
begun a fast and constant prayer for you as a family. We also
have placed your name on
the temple prayer list and hope that it might be of help to you."
As he tearfully read
the letter and examined his journal, he found that the day that he
had risen from his bed healed was the very day the letter had been
written, the very day his
family began praying and exercising faith for their distant son.
How could that be,
across 7,000 miles? I suppose no man knows, but the reality of
the power of faith cannot be denied. Remember the counsel--trust
in the Lord.
Your Faith Combined with Theirs:
My brothers and sisters,
think of the great love your parents have for you and the
sacrifices they have made for you which reach not just across 7,000
miles but across the
eternities. Stay close to your families. Counsel with your
parents and your brothers and
sisters. Your faith combined with their faith will see you through
any problem. They can
help you tremendously with the major decisions, the big ones you face
in life.
The Lord said, "Honour
thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon
the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee" (Exodus 20:12).
The ties that draw you close
to your family ought to be continually strengthened. How ungrateful
some of us are. How
little we know of the sacrifices of our parents for us.
How many of you know,
for example, how many times your mother was up with you
when you were a child with all the sleepless nights, how many times
she wiped your tears,
bandaged your knees, taught you of God, and cheered you up, even when
she was dis-
couraged and her heart was broken.
What do you know of
your father who worked to sustain your family when he didn't
feel like it, when he didn't want to, when he was discouraged and down--but
he daily,
monthly, yearly, went to work anyway. How much time and effort
has it taken to raise
you to the point you are at this time? How many thousands of
hours, sleepless nights,
fasting, and prayers have they invested in you for you to reach this
point in your maturity
(see 2 Nephi 4:5-7)?
How wise you would
be to write them and express your love to them regularly.
They hang on every word that comes from you of whom they are so proud.
Allow them
to be part of your life. Let them assist you in those key decisions.
If those relationships
are not now in order, find a way to put them in order.