Healing by Faith and by Priesthood
Two scriptural modes by which God heals His children — and where the healing blessings of Latter-day women belong.
From the earliest pages of scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ stands revealed as the Healer of His people. “I am the Lord that healeth thee,” He declared to ancient Israel. In His mortal ministry He made the lame to walk, opened blind eyes, cleansed lepers, and raised the dead, and He commissioned His disciples to carry that same healing power into the world. The scriptures describe two distinct yet complementary ways in which the sick are healed: through the priesthood ordinance of administering to the sick, and through the gift of healing exercised by the prayer of faith. Both are scriptural, both are real, and both draw their power from the same divine source.
Understanding the difference between these two modes — and the way they have operated together among the Saints — brings clarity, charity, and confidence to all who seek the Lord’s healing hand.
Mode One — The Priesthood Ordinance of Administering to the Sick
The first mode is a formal ordinance. The Apostle James gave the pattern plainly, instructing the sick to call for those who hold authority, that they might anoint with consecrated oil and lay on hands in the name of the Lord.
“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.”
In the restored Church, the Lord renewed this same pattern by revelation, naming the elders as those who lay hands upon the sick in His name, and joining the promise of healing to the faith of all who receive it.
“And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food … And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name; and if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.”
This ordinance is administered by those ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, who anoint with oil and seal that anointing by the laying on of hands. It is an act of priesthood authority, performed in the name of Jesus Christ, and patterned after the instruction of James and the revelations of the Restoration. Its efficacy rests upon both the authority that administers it and the faith that receives it.
Mode Two — The Gift of Healing and the Prayer of Faith
The second mode is not an ordinance but a spiritual gift. When the resurrected Lord sent His disciples into all the world, He promised that certain signs would accompany them that believe — a promise framed not by office or gender, but by faith.
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues … they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Paul lists healing among the gifts of the Spirit, distributed by God to the members of His Church for the blessing and edification of all.
“To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.”
Moroni teaches the same doctrine, naming healing among the gifts that come by the Spirit of Christ and are given to men and women according to the will of God.
“And again, there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all … And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles; And again, to another, that he may prophesy … And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits.”
The revelations of the Restoration draw the gift into even sharper focus, distinguishing between the faith to heal and the faith to be healed — and declaring both to be gifts of the Spirit granted to the faithful.
“And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; And to others it is given to have faith to heal.”
This gift of healing is bestowed by the Spirit according to faith. It is exercised through prayer, through the laying on of hands, and through the trusting petitions of believing hearts. Unlike the priesthood ordinance, it is not tied to ordination to an office; it is a gift of the Spirit promised to them that believe — sons and daughters of God alike.
The Healing Blessings of Latter-day Women
In the early decades of the restored Church, faithful women — among them devoted mothers, and the sisters of the Relief Society — were known to lay their hands upon the sick and to bless them, and many remarkable healings followed. These accounts are well documented in the history of the Saints, and Church leaders of that era affirmed the practice as proper and pleasing to God.
The doctrine that explains this is the very one the scriptures have already laid out. When these sisters healed by faith, they were exercising the scriptural gift of healing — the gift promised to them that believe, which is open to all the faithful, men and women alike. They were not performing the priesthood ordinance of administration, which is the anointing and sealing carried out by those ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. The two acts may appear outwardly similar — both involve the laying on of hands and the prayer of faith — but they are distinct in nature: one is a gift of the Spirit received through faith, the other an ordinance performed by priesthood authority.
Over time, the Church standardized the formal administration to the sick as the priesthood ordinance described by James, performed by ordained elders who anoint with consecrated oil. This standardization clarified the ordinance; it did not diminish the gift of healing by faith, which remains promised to every believer in the words of the Savior Himself.
And so a mother’s faith-filled prayer and blessing over a sick child remains exactly what scripture declares it to be: scriptural, real, and mighty. When she pleads with God for her child and lays her hands upon that little one in faith, she calls upon the same gift of healing that the Lord promised to all who believe. Her faith is honored in heaven, and the power that answers her is the power of Jesus Christ.
All Healing Flows from Jesus Christ
Whether the sick are blessed through the ordinance of administration or through the gift of healing exercised by faith, the source of every recovery is the same. No elder heals by his own power; no believer heals by her own strength. All healing — by ordinance or by the gift of faith — flows from the power of Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself our pains and sicknesses, and who alone is the Great Physician of soul and body.
The two modes are not rivals but companions. The priesthood ordinance offers the formal, authorized channel through which the Lord’s healing is invoked; the gift of healing by faith opens that same power to every believing heart that turns to God. Together they testify that the Lord is near to all who call upon Him in faith.
God honors the faith of His sons and His daughters alike. The elder who anoints in the name of Christ and the mother who blesses her child in faith both reach toward the same merciful Lord, and He answers according to His wisdom and His love. In every age, and in every faithful heart, the promise endures: “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” — for Jesus Christ is the Healer, yesterday, today, and forever.