05 August, 2008

Priesthood Power

From the Life Story of Grandpa James Franklin McGrath. The following event happened about 1899 when he was about 19 years of age.

About this time in my life, I had an experience that I will never forget, and it is a great testimony to me that the men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who hold the Priesthood, do have power to command in the name of God and have their command obeyed.

There was a man who moved into our community who was a convert. He was a young man with a wife and two small children. He was poor and needed to work every day that he might provide for his family, but became sick in the spring of the year when everybody needed to be at work putting in their crops. But this man had to take care of himself because he would faint away and then come to in a fit. Therefore, he was dangerous for himself and his family.

I was one of those who was assigned to stay with him at night. Doctors said that they could not do anything for him and the Elders administered to him time and again but with no results. This had been going on for weeks until everybody was worn out.

One morning after we had had a very hard night, we sent for the Elders again and three of the brethern came, and they called me outside before they came in and asked me how he had acted during the night. I told them and one of them said that he was convinced that this man was possessed of a devil. I proposed that we do not administer for the return of health, but that we ask God that he cast the devil out of him, and the others agreed.

They came in and lay their hands on him and commanded Satan to depart from him, and as soon as they gave the command, the man relaxed and then raised up in bed and pointed his finger toward the door, and said, "Brethern, see, there they go." And while none of the rest of us saw anything, we all know that evil spirits had departed from that man and house and he did get well from that very minute.

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