Miracles

Volume Three—Chapter Twenty MIRACLES

#Definition

A miracle is an event brought about among mortals by supernatural powers. Generally miracles are positive, beneficial, and wonderful events that are edifying to humankind.

There are marvelous occurrences and phenomena in our world that are poorly understood by the vast majority of us. These are sometimes referred to as “miracles.” The computer, the cell phone, the internet, and space travel are examples. Obviously these are not genuine miracles because they are explainable by physical laws and are understood by qualified people. We may divide true miracles into two categories:

1. Those that clearly come about through supernatural means. That a divine power is involved is evident, since it is not possible to explain the occurrence of these miracles using known natural laws. Utilizing purely worldly resources, people cannot duplicate miracles. They cannot be explained by evoking natural phenomena. By exclusion they must be attributed to divine powers. So awe-inspiring are they that mortals cannot even begin to understand how they occur.

There are numerous examples available to us from the Lord’s mortal ministry, including his changing water into wine at the marriage feast at Cana (John 2:1-10), the raising from the dead of the widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11-16), the cleansing of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19), and the restoration of the sight of the blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26). Another miracle of this type, in our dispensation, is surely Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon plates.1

We may divide this category of supernatural miracles into two: (1) those worked by the power of the priesthood, and (2) those worked through the power of faith without invoking the power of the priesthood. In both of these cases divine power is employed. In the first instance, the power of God is invoked by an authorized servant of the Lord. By virtue of his priesthood, he is authorized to invoke—and therefore “borrow”—God’s power in administering in the affairs of the Lord’s earthly kingdom. In the second instance, the individual invoking the miracle is not a priesthood holder, or at least is not invoking the power of the priesthood. Rather he or she is invoking the miracle based on his or her own faith.

2. We also acknowledge that the Lord may intervene in the affairs of men to produce miracles which he brings to pass largely by natural means. We, at least partially, understand these natural forces. The miracle lies not in the means God utilizes. Rather, it lies in the fact of his divine intervention.

An example might be feeding manna to the exiled Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 16:11-31). It has been suggested by some that “manna” was the highprotein excretory product of an insect. Others have suggested it might be “a gum, or honey-like juice concreted into a solid form . . . According to this view, manna is the product of two different trees, both varieties of the ash . . . These trees exude a white juice” (Johnson’s Dictionary, 9th Edition, 1806). The “miracle” of manna, then, might be easily explained by employing well-understood biological phenomena.

Another example might be the healing of an individual of a hopeless illness by means of modern medicines. The faithless may fail to discern the Lord’s intervention in this type of miracle, since an alternate explanation (the medical intervention) may be easily postulated. The spiritually sensitive individual, however, even in these situations will be able to discern and appreciate the Lord’s hand in the event.

Is there really a major difference between these two categories of miracles? If we truly understood all of the “natural means” the Lord has at his disposal, all miracles would fall into one category. Today, we canot identify some of those natural means, and thus we must create these two categories.

The fact of divine participation in any type of miracle is rejected by most irreligious people and even by some who are religious. This disavowal of miracles in the last days was prophesied. The prophet Nephi foretold that the Gentiles would “put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain” (2 Nephi 26:20).

#Why Miracles Are Wrought Among Men

To understand miracles, one must understand the relationship between faith and miracles. A superficial reading of the Bible, particularly the New Testament, might lead one to regard miracles as phenomena wrought by the Lord or his prophets for the purpose of converting nonbelievers to the truth. A more careful analysis suggests a different conclusion. While the Lord’s miracles may have been witnessed by nonbelievers, they actually largely occurred as a manifestation of the Lord’s blessing a faithful individual who was rewarded for his faithfulness. Miracles are generally bestowed upon and received by the righteous and faithful as a merciful endowment from the Lord. They are not performed as a sign to non-believers in the hope they will believe.

The privilege of being blessed with a miracle is contingent upon one’s consistent faithfulness and obedient striving. The younger Alma in the Book of Mormon called attention to the fact that Lehi and his group of emigrants were given the Liahona. This supernatural, compass-like device was intended to guide the group’s travel. “And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles [of the compass] should point the way they should go, behold it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day” (Alma 37:40). When the people evidenced a lack of faith, the Liahona did not function.

The Lord obviously yearns and delights to bless his children. Sometimes he does so in ways requiring manifestations of extraordinary power. He invariably will perform miracles lest he is restrained by the people’s lack of faith. The absence of miracles is evidence of a lack of faith among his children, “For it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain” (Moroni 7:37). Also, “For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them” (Ether 12:12).

#Is It Appropriate to Seek for Miracles?

It is proper to seek for a miracle only when one is appropriately motivated. One may rightly seek for a miracle to bless the lives of others or even to appropriately bless one’s own life. However, seeking for manifestations of divine power to satisfy one’s curiosity or to strengthen one’s own belief is rejected as improper sign seeking. Speaking of miracles, the Lord said, “For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts. . . . And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God” (D&C 46:9, 26).

The scriptures suggest that if an individual has sufficient faith, the Lord will provide a requested miracle. The failure of a miracle to occur may signify a lack of faith. Referring to the healing of the sick, the Lord said, “And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed” (D&C 46:19). He also said, “He that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed” (D&C 42:48). On another occasion the Lord said, “And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished and with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food” (D&C 42:43). Thus, some possess the faith to be healed, and hence they will be healed. Some have not that faith and must be ministered to by other means.

The idea that the Lord will invariably reward the faithful with a miracle is actually a half-truth. It is hazardous to fail to understand the complete concept. Empirical observation shows that even the most noble and faithful among us at times are denied miracles. Undoubtedly, there is a higher purpose known only to the Lord and not to the mind of man. It is vital that each of us acknowledge the Lord’s prerogatives when his favors are sought, either for our own benefit or for the benefit of another. The will of the Lord is always paramount. Miracles are not available simply for the asking. Our faith would be fragile indeed if it depended to an important extent on the Lord’s willingness to work miracles at our bidding.

We must also keep in mind that even when a miracle is to occur, it may not occur on our anticipated schedule. The revelations teach that miraculous interventions occur “in his [the Lord’s] own time, and in his own way” (D&C 88:68).

#Was there a Unique Purpose for the Miracles in the New Testament?

It must be admitted that some of the miracles performed by the Savior during his mortal ministry, may have been performed, in part, to demonstrate that he was no ordinary man. Evidence of this premise is found in John 9:3. Jesus had just encountered the man who had been blind since birth. His disciples asked him, “Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2). Jesus’s answer suggests that at least part of the reason was to allow a great miracle to be performed. He said, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:3). Another example is found in the account of Jesus’s miraculous healing of Lazarus. When Jesus was first informed that Lazarus was ill, Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (John 11:4).

It is obvious that accounts of at least some of the Lord’s New Testament miracles were intended to be shared during his mortal ministry. These accounts disseminated rapidly and resulted in much curiosity, wondering, and discussion about the true identity of the Savior.

#Do Miracles Result In Conversion?

Do miracles create faith? A faithful individual may certainly draw strength from witnessing a miracle wrought on his own behalf or for the benefit of another. The individual who lacks the Spirit of God, however, will not derive an enduring spiritual uplift from miracles. Oliver Cowdery witnessed many miracles. Yet, later in life, he lost the Spirit and left the Church. Though he eventually returned, one cannot help but marvel at how such a divinely favored individual could have ever separated himself from Joseph and from the Lord’s work.

David Whitmer was one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, along with Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris. He was privileged to see an obviously miraculous event as an angel, in open vision, showed him the plates and other sacred objects. He was excommunicated in 1838 and never returned to the Church. It is notable, however, that he never recanted his testimony of the Book of Mormon and his miraculous experience in Fayette, though he had many opportunities to do so. Though the miracle of seeing the angel did not endow him with sufficient faith to stay true to the Church, it sufficiently impressed him, that he was unwilling to ever deny what he had seen.

President George Q. Cannon commented on the tenuous solidarity of those converted to the Church through witnessing miracles:

It has been a matter of remark among those who have had experience in this Church that where men have been brought into the Church by such manifestations, it has required a constant succession of them to keep them in the Church; their faith has had to be constantly strengthened by witnessing some such manifestations; but where they have been convinced by the outpouring of the Spirit of God . . . they have been more likely to stand, more likely to endure persecution and trial than those who have been convinced through some supernatural manifestation (Deseret News Semi-Weekly, 15 February 1882, 1).

#The “Science” of Miracles

While we should not presume to understand the working of miracles, there are a few ideas we can bring to bear on the subject. God has imbued everything in our universe with intelligence.2 In a previous chapter, we learned that God will not and, in fact, cannot coerce any of his creatures, his intelligences.3 Rather, he simply makes requests of them. Because they love and respect him, they are inclined to obey. His working of miracles invariably involves the created materials in the universe. Hence, it seems likely he accomplishes miracles by speaking to the intelligences and making requests of them. When God speaks, the intelligences listen. They respond out of love, respect, and loyalty. Every iota of matter is controlled by intelligences, be it dirt, rock, air, water or any other type of matter.

All intelligences are embodied with matter, and they exercise control over and govern the matter they inhabit. When Jesus changed water into wine or restored the sight to a man blind since birth, he did so by speaking to the intelligences that governed the pertinent elements. When Jesus “created” the earth, he did so by first organizing the intelligences. He then spoke to them to accomplish his purposes. The prophet Nephi, the brother of Lehi, taught of the Lord’s command over the elements of the earth:

For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God. Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake. And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley. Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake; Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center. Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved. Yea, if he say unto the earth—Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—it is done; And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun. And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deep—Be thou dried up—it is done. Behold, if he say unto this mountain—Be thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city, that it be buried up—behold it is done. And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and the Lord shall say—Let it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who hath hid it up—behold, it shall be accursed (Helaman 12:8-18).

Through the priesthood of God, man may be authorized to utilize God’s power to perform miracles. The priesthood holder has the potential to command the elements of the earth. The prophet Jacob declared: “We truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea” (Jacob 4:6). To Nephi, the son of Helaman, the Lord said:

Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto thee in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this people, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people. Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people. And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done. And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done. And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass (Helaman 10:6-10).

These verses are generally used today as examples of the sealing power.4 Might it be that a part of the sealing power is the sealer’s miraculous ability to command the elements? The sealer has the ability to seal in heaven and on earth.

During the Savior’s mortal ministry, did he work miracles by speaking to the intelligences himself, thereby utilizing his own influence with them? Or, did he ask for and receive the Father’s help—the Father’s power—to intervene with the intelligences? Most likely he exercised his own influence with the intelligences. There is some evidence, however, that in at least some important instances, such as the raising of Lazarus from the dead, Jesus asked for and received the Father’s approval, and perhaps his help as well, before working the miracle. John the Revelator wrote of the raising of Lazarus: “Then they took away the stone [from the place] where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up [his] eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me” (John 11:41).

The creation account in the Pearl of Great Price indicates there was “conversation” and cooperation with the intelligences assigned to control the elements. There was no coercion. The God’s “commanded” the elements. They then had to watch and await the decisions and actions of the intelligences:

And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the earth come up dry; and it was so as they ordered; And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed. And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring forth the same in itself, after his kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed. And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed (Abraham 4:9, 10, 12, 18, italics added; see also Jacob 4:6).

#When Should We Share Accounts of Miracles?

The blessings of miracles should be received by the faithful with gratitude (D&C 46:32). Benefiting from a miracle is a sacred experience. One must be careful how one shares the experience. We have been warned to avoid casting “pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6). Generally speaking, it is wise to assume that most miracles we experience are not to be shared. Consistent with the teachings of the scriptures, we should hold them sacred. We are to share them only when the Spirit prompts us to do so (D&C 63:64). President Brigham Young explained, “Miracles, or these extraordinary manifestations of the power of God, are not for the unbeliever; they are to console the saints, and to strengthen and confirm the faith of those who love, fear, and serve God, and not for outsiders” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 341).

To the faithless who witness or hear of a miracle, the experience may be a source of annoyance. They may seek for an alternate, a more “natural” explanation and chafe when one is not easily forthcoming.

Having said all of this, there are times when the Spirit prompts members of the Church to share these experiences. Usually this sharing of the sacred is meant to strengthen the faith of those who already believe.

#Requesting Miracles for Others

The truly faithful may be granted the privilege of being allowed to request miracles on behalf of those being served. To some may be given a special gift of the Spirit that allows them to request miracles that are “expedient unto” God (Moroni 8:12, 23). The great Book-of-Mormon missionary, Ammon, taught: “God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings” (Mosiah 8:18).

#Miracles Today

In his Ensign article, “Miracles,” based on a talk given at a Church Educational System fireside in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on May 7, 2000, Elder Dallin H. Oaks related several accounts of modern-day miracles (Ensign, June 2001, 6-16). Extracts of some of those are reproduced here. Surely the day of miracles has not ceased!

One miracle in the Church is the way in which the missionaries are protected in the field. Elder Oaks wrote:

Of course we have fatalities among our young missionaries—about three to six per year over the last decade—all of them tragic. But the official death rates for comparable-age young men and women in the United States are eight times higher than the death rates of our missionaries. In other words, our young men and women are eight times safer in the mission field than the general population of their peers at home. In view of the hazards of missionary labor, this mortality record is nothing less than a miracle (Ibid.).

A few years after the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, a young man drove a sled pulled by a team of oxen up Millcreek Canyon on a cold winter day to obtain logs to be used for building a house. It was extremely cold, and the snow was deep. His sled had capacity for five large logs. After he loaded the first one, he turned around to load another. In that instant, the log already on the sled—22 feet long and about 10 inches in diameter, slipped off the sled and rolled down on him, striking him in the hollow of his legs. He was thrown face-forward across the four logs still on the ground and pinned there, alone, with no way to extract himself. He knew he would freeze to death and die alone in the mountains. The next thing this young pioneer remembered was waking up, sitting on a load of five logs nicely bound on his sled with his oxen pulling the load down the canyon. In his personal history he wrote, “Who it was extricated me from under the log, loaded my sled, hitched my oxen to it, and placed me on it, I cannot say” (Jeaneen Merrill Anderson, “Pinned to the Ground,” Church News, 6 September 1997, 16). Thirty-three years later, that young pioneer, Marriner Wood Merrill, was ordained an apostle.

Some miracles aid individuals in pursuing their personal family histories. In an issue of the Church News, a woman told how she returned to her ancestral home in Japan to seek information about her ancestors. After finding nothing in official records, local libraries, and cemeteries, she gave up and was driving away empty-handed when she became lost and somehow drove past a cemetery she did not know existed. From the car window she saw a familiar name on a tombstone, stopped, and found many markers with the information she sought (Keiko Teshima Fuller, “Treasure in Tombstones,” Church News, 18 March 2000, 16).

During his early childhood, Elder John M. Madsen was afflicted with pneumonia. After examining him, a doctor told his parents he could do nothing for him and offered no hope that he would live through the night. Soon the child sank into unconsciousness. When his mother felt for his pulse and could find none, she prayed fervently, and the father gave the dying child a priesthood blessing. Immediately he recovered consciousness and began to feel better (Rebecca Todd Archibald, “Friend to Friend,” Friend, March 2000, 6).

Elder Matthew Cowley tells of an experience he had while serving as a mission president among the Maori people of New Zealand. One Sunday a father brought a nine-month-old baby to Brother Cowley, requesting that he given him a name and a blessing:

I said, “All right, what’s the name?” So he told me the name, and I was just going to start when he said, “By the way, give him his vision when you give him a name. He was born blind.” It shocked me, but then I said to myself, why not? Christ said to his disciples when he left them “Greater things than I have done shall you do” (John 14:12). I had faith in that father’s faith. After I gave that child its name, I finally got round to giving him his vision. That boy is about twelve years old now. The last time I was back there I was afraid to inquire about him. I was sure he had gone blind again. That’s the way my faith works sometimes. So I asked the branch president about him. And he said, “Brother Cowley, the worst thing you ever did was to bless that child to receive his vision. He’s the meanest kid in the neighborhood; always getting into mischief.” Boy, I was thrilled about that kid getting into mischief! (“Miracles,” Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year, 18 February 1953, 9).

President Gordon B. Hinckley shared another miracle in the restoration of sight:

I recall once when I arrived in Hong Kong I was asked if I would visit a woman in the hospital whose doctors had told her she was going blind and would lose her sight within a week. She asked if we would administer to her and we did so, and she states that she was miraculously healed. I have a painting in my home that she gave me which says on the back of it, “To Gordon B. Hinckley in grateful appreciation for the miracle of saving my sight.” I said to her, “I didn’t save your sight. Of course, the Lord saved your sight. Thank him and be grateful to him” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 343).

Elder Oaks made the point that the restored Church of Jesus Christ does not have a monopoly on healing miracles. Then he reported an experience:

In an airport one day I picked up a copy of the Dallas Morning News. My eyes were drawn to a columnist’s report of a letter detailing a remarkable miracle. The writer’s five-year-old granddaughter, Heather, suddenly became feverish and lethargic. She breathed with difficulty, and her lips turned blue. By the time she arrived at the hospital, her kidneys and lungs had shut down, her fever was 107 degrees, and her body was bright red and covered with purple lesions. The doctors said she was dying of toxic shock syndrome, cause unknown. As word spread to family and friends, God-fearing people from Florida to California began praying for little Heather. At the grandfather’s request, a special prayer service was held in their Church of Christ congregation in Waco, Texas. Miraculously, Heather suddenly came back from the brink of death and was released from the hospital in a little over a week. The columnist concluded that Heather “is living proof that God does answer prayers and work miracles” (“Sometimes, ‘Miracles’ Are Just That,” Dallas Morning News, 30 January 2000, 31a).

Sometimes the Lord miraculously gives free gifts to his servants. An example of the gift of tongues is reported by a young mission president in the South Pacific in 1913. John Alexander Nelson Jr. spoke Samoan but not Tongan. When he arrived for an assignment in Tonga, he found that he had been scheduled to speak to a congregation of three hundred Wesleyan Methodists. He began in faith by speaking a few sentences of greeting he knew in the Tongan language, and then suddenly found himself continuing to speak in Tongan. He spoke without hesitation for nearly an hour “as fluently as any native” (Eric B. Shumway, Tongan Saints: Legacy of Faith, 45).

Eric B. Shumway’s book, Tongan Saints: Legacy of Faith, describes many other miracles experienced in those islands of faith. For example, in the midst of the furious hurricane that devastated Vava’u in 1961, a Tongan father reasoned that he had priesthood power to heal a body and saw no reason why he could not also “heal” the raging storm. Brother Shumway writes, “His dramatic blessing at the peak of the hurricane saved his home and the people who took refuge there” (Ibid., 14).

In another experience, heavy ocean waves were crashing onto a beach at a time when the missionaries had scheduled some baptisms. An elder “stepped out and blessed the ocean, commanding it to be still so these sacred ordinances could be accomplished.” Almost instantly the ocean calmed down and five people were baptized. Then as the party started up the path from the ocean, “the waves came crashing in again over the very spot the sacred ordinances were held” (Ibid., 84).

The miracle of raising someone from the dead is so exceptional and so sacred that those who have been privileged to see it should never speak of it publicly unless the Spirit specifically induces them to do so. One example was shared by Matthew Cowley:

I was called to a home in a little village in New Zealand one day. There the Relief Society sisters were preparing the body of one of our saints. They had placed his body in front of the big house, as they call it, the house where the people come to wail and weep and mourn over the dead, when in rushed the dead man’s brother. He said, “Administer to him.” And the young natives said, “Why, you shouldn’t do that; he’s dead. You do it!” . . . The younger native got down on his knees and he anointed this man. Then this great old sage got down and blessed him and commanded him to rise. You should have seen the Relief Society sisters scatter. He sat up and said, “Send for the elders; I don’t feel very well.” . . . We told him he had just been administered to, and he said, “Oh, that was it.” He said, “I was dead. I could feel life coming back into me just like a blanket unrolling.” He outlived the brother that came in and told us to administer to him (“Miracles,” Speeches of the Year, 9).

Another sacred experience is related in the book, Tongan Saints. It happened while Elder ‘lohani Wolfgramm and his wife were serving a mission in their native Tonga. They were presiding over a branch on an outlying island. Their three-year-old daughter was accidentally run over by a loaded taxi. Four of the occupants of the taxi sorrowfully carried her lifeless body to her parents. “Her head was crushed and her face was terribly disfigured” (88). The sorrowing helpers offered to take the little girl’s body to the hospital so the doctors could repair her severely damaged head and face for the funeral. The child’s father, Elder Wolfgramm, wrote: “I told them I did not want them to take her but that I would ask God what I should do and, if it was possible, to give her life back” (88). The helpers took the little girl’s body into the chapel. Elder Wolfgramm continued: “I asked them to hold her while I gave her a priesthood blessing. By then the curious people of the village were flocking in to see our stricken little daughter. As I was about to proceed with the administration, I felt tongue-tied. Struggling to speak, I got the distinct impression that I should not continue with the ordinance. It was as if a voice were speaking to me saying: ‘This is not the right time, for the place is full of mockers and unbelievers. Wait for a more private moment.’ My speech returned at that moment and I addressed the group: ‘The Lord has restrained me from blessing this little girl, because there are unbelievers among you who doubt this sacred ordinance. Please help me by leaving so I can bless my child’” (88). The people left without taking offense. The grieving parents carried the little girl to their home, put her body on her own bed, and covered her with a sheet. Three hours passed, and her body began to show the effects of death. The mother pleaded with the father to bless her, but he insisted that he still felt restrained. Finally, the impression came that he should now proceed. He wrote of that moment: “All present in the home at that moment were people with faith in priesthood blessings. The feeling of what I should do and say was so strong within me that I knew Tisina would recover completely after the blessing. Thus, I anointed her head and blessed her in the name of Jesus Christ to be well and normal. I blessed her head and all her wounds to heal perfectly, thanking God for his goodness to me in allowing me to hold his priesthood and bring life back to my daughter. I asked him to open the doors of Paradise, so I could tell her to come back and receive her body again and live. The Lord then spoke to my heart and said, ‘She will return to you tomorrow. You will be reunited then’” (89). The parents spent an anxious night beside the body of the little girl, who appeared to be lifeless. Then, suddenly, the little girl awoke, alive and well. Her father’s account concludes: “I grabbed her and examined her, her head and face. They were perfectly normal. All her wounds were healed; and from that day to this, she has experienced no complications from the accident. Her life was the miraculous gift from Heavenly Father during our missionary labors in Fo’ui” (89).

In his aforementioned Ensign article, “Miracles,” Elder Oaks wrote:

I have seen quite a few miracles during my Church service. I feel I can share two of them at this time.

I had an experience with the gift of tongues in the newly opened country of Bulgaria. In November 1990 we sent missionaries into Bulgaria. A handful of elders entered from Serbia, without any contacts or training in the Bulgarian language. Through their labors and the blessings of the Lord, we soon had 45 Bulgarian members.

In April 1991 I went to Bulgaria with Area President Hans B. Ringger and mission president Dennis B. Neuenschwander. There, most of our members and about 150 investigators assembled in an attractive civic building in Sofia for a fireside at which I was to speak. My interpreter was Mirella Lazarov, a newly baptized member in her 20s. The audience included many professional people and some government officials. I had prayed fervently for guidance in this talk but had little time for preparation.

I began by telling the audience about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how we differed from other Christian churches. I then felt impressed to speak about the [great] apostasy, which I did in some detail. In doing so, I completely forgot that I was speaking through an interpreter who had been a member only five months and had almost no background in the subject of the apostasy. Forgetful of this, I made no attempt to speak in simple terms but made extensive use of the unfamiliar English words involved in a detailed explanation of the apostasy and the restoration.

After the crowd had departed, Sister Lazarov tearfully told me of her unique experience in translating my talk. Despite her fluency in English, she sometimes heard me speak words or express thoughts she did not understand in English. She said that whenever this happened, “another voice” spoke through her so she found herself using words or explaining concepts in Bulgarian that she did not understand in English. I told her to cherish this experience and testify of it to others. She had experienced the gift of tongues in a classic circumstance in which the Lord gives a spiritual gift to one person so that others of his children can be edified and His work can be forwarded (see D&C 46:9).

I experienced another miracle during an attempted military coup to overthrow the government of Philippine president Corazon Aquino in December 1989. Many persons were killed in nearly a week of heavy fighting between rebel and loyal government troops. A principal site of this fighting was Camp Aguinaldo, which adjoins our temple in Manila.

During the first day of the attempted coup, gunfire and bombing could be heard from our temple. That night the road in front of the temple was occupied by rebel armored vehicles, trucks, and many soldiers. With the coming of daylight on Saturday, these rebel forces exchanged gunfire with the loyal government troops in Camp Aguinaldo. Opposing aircraft fired rockets and dropped bombs.

At about 3:00 PM Saturday afternoon, the rebel soldiers breached the gate of the temple and occupied our temple grounds. At this time we had five Philippine employees there: three security men and two custodians. Our temple president, Floyd H. Hogan, instructed them by phone not to resist the soldiers’ entering the temple grounds or the temple annex, which housed auxiliary facilities like name processing, but to secure the temple and take cover there. The man in charge, Brother Espi, later wrote that he worked to develop a good relationship with the rebel soldiers to convince them that even though they wanted to get access to the temple, “because of the sacred nature of the temple, they should not try to enter.”

Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning there were almost continuous exchanges of gunfire between the government troops in Camp Aguinaldo and the rebels around the camp, including those occupying our temple grounds. Brother Espi later wrote: “We all thought that we are on our own but still asked our Heavenly Father to strengthen each one of us and to spare the temple from being desecrated.” Others were praying too. In his later report, Area President George I. Cannon wrote: “The Sunday when the rebellion was going on was fast Sunday. Throughout the Philippines the members were praying and fasting for the temple, for the members, and for the missionaries.”

Sunday morning a government helicopter gunship appeared and strafed the vicinity of the temple, but retreated because of stiff resistance from the rebels’ 50-caliber machine guns. About noon that day an air force plane dropped several bombs that hit the residence house near the temple. Bomb fragments broke windows in the temple annex.

Sunday evening Manila radio reported that the Mormon temple was in rebel hands but that a government force was moving in to drive them out. At that report, President Hogan, the temple president and a retired colonel in the U.S. military, went into action himself. He made the dangerous walk from the temple president’s home to the assembling government troops. There he found that their commander had given the rebels one hour to surrender and planned to attack them at 11:00 PM. His force included armored personnel carriers, heavy mortars, and at least 150 soldiers, who believed they outnumbered and could easily defeat the rebel force in the temple annex. But their attack would obviously employ extensive heavy weapons and rifle fire and would cause great damage to the temple facilities. President Hogan argued with the commanding officer that if he would only wait until daylight, the rebels might abandon the temple grounds and no attack would be necessary. The commander insisted that he had to follow his orders, and President Hogan was not able to contact the general who had given the order to see if he would rescind it.

During this time I was the member of the Quorum of the Twelve whom the Philippines Area President contacted for help at headquarters. Thirty minutes before the 11:00 PM Manila deadline, Area President George I. Cannon phoned me to report that our temple annex and grounds were the last remaining rebel stronghold in Manila and the army had massed artillery and troops for an assault at any moment. He said he had done all he could through the Philippine government and the American ambassador to discourage the attack, but without success. It was then 7:30 AM Sunday in Salt Lake City.

By a remarkable coincidence—one of those happenings that cannot be coincidental—the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had scheduled an unusual meeting that Sunday morning. At 8:00 AM, December 3rd, just 30 minutes after I received that alarming report from Manila, the assembled First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve bowed in prayer and pleaded with the Lord to intervene to protect his house. Elder Marvin J. Ashton led our prayer. As we prayed, it was 11:00 PM Sunday evening in Manila, the exact hour appointed for the assault.

The attack never came. Twenty minutes after our prayer, President Cannon phoned Church headquarters to report that the military commander had unexpectedly decided against a night assault. Early the next morning, Philippine time, President Hogan phoned to say that the rebels had melted away during the night. I recorded in my journal, “I consider this a miracle of divine intervention no less impressive than many recorded in holy writ.”

On Monday morning President Hogan inspected the temple annex. It had shrapnel marks and many broken windows on the north side, but inside, none of its locked rooms had been entered. The temple itself had not been entered and was not damaged. A total of six mortar or rocket shells had exploded inside the temple grounds. From their trajectory, President Hogan concluded that some of these shells had to have passed between the spires of the temple. The patron housing building under construction nearby had been hit by four or five rockets and had sustained extensive damage. The Manila temple opened for normal sessions the next day.

A week later I received a letter from the Philippine ambassador to the United States, Emmanuel Pelaez, whom I had recently hosted at Church headquarters. His letter explained how he had worked behind the scenes, as soon as he learned that our temple was threatened, to urge the Philippine military to “do everything possible” to spare this sacred building from damage. After the fighting was over, they had reported to him that “they were careful in their counter-shelling, so as not to cause damage” to the temple. I concluded that the Lord had worked behind the scenes through these government servants to save his house.

When I was in the Philippines a few months later, I personally inspected the temple and grounds and found that despite all of the shelling and exchanges of gunfire within a few feet of this sacred edifice, it was completely unmarked by any shell fire except for one bullet hole, apparently a single stray rifle shot, at the top of the highest steeple. As President and Sister Donald L. Hilton of the Philippines Manila Mission wrote in a letter sent to their missionaries, “an unseen army of angels assisted faithful temple guards that the temple was not desecrated.”

For a description of this blessed event, see volume 2, Appendix A, The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon.

2 See “Intelligences and Matter” in volume 1, chapter 3, The Creation.

See volume 1, chapter 14, The Power of God.

4 See a discussion of the sealing power in volume 2, chapter 11, The Sealing Power.