Does getting a blessing with consecrated oil really heal the sick? If you listen long enough in any Sacrament meeting, the anecdotal evidence is “yes it does”. But is there a way to look at empirical evidence? Could you look at death rates in a highly LDS population, and compare that to a non-LDS population? Should the death rates be lower in the LDS populations?
I looked at the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention web site for all the numbers cited in this post.
For 2014, the leading cause of death in Utah was Heart Disease. 155 people per 100,000 died from Heart Disease. That put Utah at number 34 compared to the other states. But that means that states like California, not known as a particular religious state, had less death per 100,000 at 142.
Well, that doesn’t seem to prove that blessing work. But maybe the next item will. Utah was the lowest state in the nation for deaths from cancer! See, those blessings work for cancer, but they are not so good for heart disease. But maybe there are other factors at work here. The number one killing cancer is lung cancer, cause by smoking. So really we have made the case that the Word of Wisdom is divinely inspired, but still haven’t made the case that priesthood blessings work.
If you discount cancer, Utah is about average to above average for death rates from all the normal causes that one might ask for a blessing for. Kidney disease, 11th; Stroke 20th; respiratory disease, 43th.
There there is infant mortality. This seems the best place for blessing to work. Who wouldn’t bless a sick baby! Well, Utah is better than most states, and places around 10 out of 50 for infant morality. But those heathens in California still beat it, except in 2005, in which Utah had the lowest deaths of infants in the nation!
So is this proof that blessing do not work (but it did in 2005)? Or maybe the church is moving away from a literal interpretation of healing blessings with talks about the faith to not be healed. What does this even mean? “Well, you didn’t have enough faith so God healed you!”
I’m not a statistician and the above attempts to draw something out of those numbers is probably very wrong. But if these claims of healing power by priesthood blessings are true, it seems like there should be a way to measure it against some control group. Any ideas?
Wheat & Tares 
It seems you are equating blessings for the sick and the afflicted with blessings of healing. Just because someone is sick and they receive a blessing with oil does not mean that in the blessing they are blessed with health. In fact, sometimes it is the opposite, and the person is blessed to be able to pass on in comfort.
So looking at the stats like you have wouldn’t help unless you have a record of those who died after they were told they would be healed in a blessing. That would be interesting to study.
It is obvious that you are no statistician…
Consider comparing death rates of at least neighboring states…
Or counties within states..
Good grief, this was an awful post…
Brought to you by the idiot apostate bill .
Very interesting. I grew up with this belief and practice. It is still a part of my life. The anointing is done by both men and women. I carry a cloth that was prayed over with oil by a friend. I believe in this more for the comfort and love I feel knowing someone who cares about me is praying for me. For me the healing is in the calming of fear and anxiety over whatever issue is being prayed over. Is God healing people more in one state than another? If so, I’m going there.
Or perhaps since the principle involved in healing by faith is “faith”, there is a reason why the results cannot be “proven”, other than by faith?
So kjhdgg, does the healing spirit only work in neighboring states, or adjacent counties within states? Does it stop at state borders? Or is it universal to all people of faith?
I’m always ready to learn. As I asked at the last of my post, can this even be measured (I’m assuming you think not). So tell me how you would prove one way or the other that blessing work?
You aren’t the first person to attack this topic and so (good news) we don’t have to start from scratch thinking about a method. Many health sciences research has explored this topic for ages – trying to figure out whether blessings (from various faiths) make a difference. The literature has recently shifted to the effects of prayer/meditation and is positive. Places like the Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson and your local hospital emphasize meditation/prayer because it is evidence-based.
The reason you should at least begin by looking at neighboring states is because you’re comparing an apple of mountainous desert climes of Utah with orange of sea level California climes…
These things affect depression and suicide rates, and some other apostates intent on trying to destroy the church compare California to Utah and claim there church depresses people, when in reality, life is harder in a colder, higher altitude area.
It is obvious you have no clue how to “scientifically disprove what if any impact healings have on mormons”. What’s not clear is what I’m the last two weeks has turned you into such a strong agent of the devil… Too much time spent with John dehlin, or friendly brother Jake?
You are creating a false dichotomy using faulty reasoning. I personally have never met anyone ignorant enough to use these arguments to try and ruin another’s faith, so I’ll just assume you’re acting out of malice rather than ignorance…
Stop it.
Look at Mormons. Look at behavior not the address. Stop looking at any state population. Utah is only 60% nominally Mormon and more like 30% practicing Mormon. And a bunch of them are lying. For one example, my cousin took up smoking as a teenager among other things and later repented of most of it, But he went underground with the smoking while coming back to church. He married in the temple and rose through the ranks to the office of bishop and his wife knew he still smoked. He told me he had to clear the parking lot of teenagers during Sunday school so he could get his secret nicotine fix in order to make it through the rest of the day. His ward thought he was a great bishop. He died of lung cancer.
Smoking is a strong risk factor for coronary heart disease and hypertension. It is a risk factor for most malignancies, not just lung cancer. Cardiovascular disease and malignancy accounts for about 2/3 of deaths. Alcohol still kills more people than any other poisonous substance, causing a long list of diseases like cirrhosis. Along with being a factor in many fatal accidents especially car crashes. Alcohol is a depressant and and is associated with suicide. Drunken people more frequently beat and kill each other. The opiate crisis is emerging at the top of the list of killing young white males now. More than half of murders are related to illegal drug distribution.
Coffee has very little if any severe detrimental effects on health. It might be protective for Parkinson’s disease. Look at how many Q15 leaders are afflicted with that. But it didn’t work for my MIL who is an active member and life-long coffee drinker and has Parkinson’s disease. Eating less meat would also have many benefits but not to the degree of stopping smoking.
A Mormon who stays away from tobacco, alcohol and hard drugs reaps these benefits without ever having a single blessing or reading a single verse of scripture or saying a single prayer. To answer Bishop Bill’s question scientifically one would need to look at Mormons who never have blessings and compare them with Mormons that do. This, while controlling for all other health related variables, genetic factors (which might be skewed by recent polygamy and inbreeding) and also all the the lying about these forbidden behaviors which is rampant. I am skeptical this is even possible.
The placebo effect is real and has been documented for decades. Changes in attitude can enhance healing to some degree but it isn’t going to cure severe conditions. Blessings done properly with faith will be beneficial by this effective mechanism, even if there is no God in heaven. (Which I happen to believe there is.)
***
Where we get into trouble is when we think the ritual gives us magical powers to make happen what we desire and cause God to change the course of events. Wrong! God’s Will will be done regardless of our prayers. I was reprimanded for not following the proper procedure and using coconut oil (sunscreen) to bless a boy scout who had a severe asthma attack. The only thing I felt the Spirit say while giving this brief blessing was “GET THIS KID THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” I had mild polio and wore a brace for 10 years of my youth and am left with only a marginally functioning back. The other leader was too fat to be of any help. The other scouts were few in number and too little. I thought I was going to watch a scout die and then have to tell his mother. We were in an exceedingly desperate place.
My then lanky 14 year old son hoisted the asthmatic 160 lb scout on his back without a word. He didn’t weigh more than 120 lbs then. It was around 110 F and over 90% humidity. He covered the 4 miles and 2000 ft elevation gain up out of that river gorge in an hour and a little change. The A/C in the car markedly improved the condition of the asthmatic scout. But at the ER he was severe enough they put him on the helicopter. I accept no blame for a better-than-expected outcome, only gratitude. Maybe that blessing gave my son the strength or maybe the will power to do save his life and get him to the hospital where the heavy lifting of treating his asthma was done with drugs. Now as a young adult my son has the physique to play college football. Maybe the effects of the blessing with coconut oil are still working on him.
Disclaimer: I hold no stock in companies that manufacture sunscreen.
Years ago I did a bunch of reading on healing via faith. There has been quite a few studies and even research projects on the topic. I came away convinced that prayers (interestingly even when the subject didn’t know they were occurring) do assist injured/ sick people on their recovery.
What is not proved though is that there is any type of special benefit of Mormon priesthood blessings as compared to other prayer/ meditation practices. They all work about the same. Which is problematic when it comes to priesthood exclusivity claims. I have no idea how to reconcile that, although it is interesting.
I remember hearing an interesting story from Chelsea Shields. She attended BYU and went to study anthropology in Africa, specializing some of the spiritual ritual (from what I remember). She talked about seeing a young kid break his arm and they took him to the medicine men that did a ceremony of sorts. Something that as a westerner was clearly not going to help the bones heal. But she came to realized that everyone (including the child) believed it would help and it did actually help calm the child down. As mentioned above, spiritual practices do seem to help and even modern science can see evidences of this.
And this is one that the way it is framed in the typical Mormon mind will never be empirically proven or disproved. If the healing occurred, see – it worked. If it didn’t work, God didn’t want it – so we must bow to his direction. I am not saying that in a trite way to make fun of, but pushing the point that talking about empirical evidence for or against it just doesn’t stick (nor do most want to even think in these terms).
As far as Bednar saying we need to have faith not to be healed – I can only say “WTF?” (which of course stands for “Where’s The Faith?”
Kjhgdd, I have an idea that would help your blood pressure more than any priesthood blessing! Next Sunday morning, open your computer, open your browser, open favorites, then scroll down to Wheat and Tares, right click on it, select and click on delete! Problem solved!
I’ve seen no statistically relevant study demonstrating that LDS priesthood blessings are any more effective than random chance. It is incumbent upon those claiming otherwise to provide evidence to the contrary.
If there were much higher rates of healings via priesthood blessing, then it would be immoral for priesthood holders to not spend significant amounts of time at hospitals, etc. In truth, it’s no more effective than consulting a neighborhood witch doctor.
With that said, I don’t think the value of blessings lies in actual healings from physical ailments, but rather in joining families and communities together, aiding in spiritual healing. For example, as my mom passed away the time family spent around her bedside was holy. It provided glue to familial bonds. That’s the value of blessings and prayers for the sick.
Nobody is talking about the placebo effect, which is not limited to sugar pills. There is a measurable effect to placebo treatments, which is why faith healing sometimes seems to heal, why homeopathic medications sometimes seem to heal, and why shamans can sometimes heal people. Try reading The Suggestible You by Erik Vance or a similar discussion.
There are lots of scientific studies on intercessory prayers offered on behalf of sick patients, complete with double-blind panels. The results are very weak. I wonder how they control for believing relatives (of the non-prayer group) offering secret prayers on behalf of their suffering relatives? Sounds like the kind of argument an apologist would make to explain why statistically significant and positive prayer-group results are not apparent in the evidence.
Kjhgdd, stop complaining and go read the published prayer studies.
I don’t think Bill’s methodology is a reliable way to measure the effectiveness of Priesthood Blessing.
Let’s consider something more authentic. A few years ago, I met a lady whose dad raised her from the dead after being hit and mangled by car when she was a little girl in Tonga. The accident was witnessed by many individuals. Following is her story as it appeared in the Ensign magazine.
“Another sacred experience is related in the book Tongan Saints. It happened while Elder ‘Iohani Wolfgramm and his wife were serving a mission in their native Tonga, 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.”20 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. I now quote the words of her father, Elder Wolfgramm: “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.”21
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.’”22
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. I return to his words:
“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.’”23
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.”24” Ensign, June 2001.
I wonder what Bill thinks about this account and many, many other accounts like it?
I will let Bill answer as to how he feels. I will say that it is a heartwarming story and very little way to validate it. I can’t explain all the contradictory things in this world.
I can say that where I struggle is the morality of a God that says, “for some it is a gift to believe” and then giving extra blessings to them just because they were given a gift. And I zoom way out when thinking of this, not just Mormons that REALLY believe and those that are lukewarm. I read thinks like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_vulture_and_the_little_girl and struggle with the pain that this innocent creation of God had to deal with in her short life. I just don’t get it. I can’t make it all make sense.
Thanks for your posts, Bill. I always find them enjoyable and thought-provoking.
As an epidemiologist and biostatistician, I always find that using Utah as a proxy for “Mormon” is problematic (as has been pointed out a few times in the blog responses).
I personally believe that blessings of healing function in the same capacity as any other type of blessing /prayer offered in group or individually- as a means to connect with God, express our desires to Him, and try to come to an accordance between His will and ours. Can healing have more than one meaning, aside from physical healing? Spiritual healing? A healing of faith?
I reject the notion of what I call “the God of the p-value” (or confidence interval, since those are better!)- that somehow “evidence” of God needs to happen among sufficiently more to rule out random chance. What p-value would be an appropriate measure? They’re all basically arbitrary anyway. I think some of the issue comes from the belief that being part of the True Church puts its members at an advantage over those who are not. God loves all of His children, so why would Mormons only get healed “better”? I think on the parable of the 11th hour laborers to answer this question.
One final thought: “random chance” is usually just code for “factors we can’t measure in the study yet we know affect the outcome, so we’ll try to balance it out the best we can.” Given omniscience, is anything truly “random”?
Jared, that is a very touching story. Yes, I believe it can happen. In fact, I have a daughter that was healed in what the non LDS doctors said was a miraculous event. They didn’t understand it. I gave her several blessings over the course of her illness.
Maybe what I didn’t make clear is that I was wondering if a study could be conducted that would provide empirical evidence. I right now have a sample size of one, my experience. Using death rates will not work as has been forcefully made clear in the comments.
But I like some of the ideas put forth. Also I like J.Houston’s idea that not all blessings are to heal. My SP told a story in a leadership meeting of him blessing a lady to die peacefully. She made a full recovery, and was still alive when he told the story!
I’m an engineer, and was looking for a logical way to measure this.
Bill – I too have an “engineering” mind. I am sure there are those that will come and say “you can’t measure it”, but like you – I do think there probably is a way, but it would be very hard to do such a study.
Let’s say it is 100% placebo effect. So what? As long as you are (1) not discouraging people from seeking mainstream medical attention and (2) not accepting payment for your services, why not milk the placebo effect for all its worth? Research shows that some colors of sugar pills have a stronger placebo effect than other colors. Who knows why. But in the same vein, maybe wearing a suit and incanting phrases like “consecrated for the healing of the sick” has a stronger placebo effect than wearing a lab coat and incanting phrases like “we’re doing everything we can”. Especially if the recipient has been taught to expect those things to make a difference. Elder Oaks would never put it in the terms I just have, but the words of his April 2010 Conference talk convey a similar idea.
While I can understand and accept the placebo effect of blessings, fasting and prayer – I certainly no longer believe in “blessings of healing” or miracles per se. I do believe that there is a divine intelligence behind all things; but as Winston Churchill once said “God, is elsewhere engaged”.
The following is part of a post I made during our discussions surrounding miracles:
There is a small place, deep in my heart, where I wish I could still believe in a God who cares and is willing to help us in time of need. At rare times, I think I can perceive some order in the universe and perhaps intelligence behind it. But, more often than not, the harsh realities of life teach me something else entirely. That is:
• We (human beings) are most likely all that we have (at least in this life) – and that we must rely on each other.
• Love for each other, support for each other and acceptance for each other is of paramount importance; particularly if we want to make it through
this life with any semblance of sanity.
• No one is going to swoop in and save us from ourselves and “make sense of it all”.
• This world is all that we have. We’d better become much more diligent stewards of it.
• Our time is precious – and limited. We ought to cherish each and every moment we have with those we love.
And…
• While Mormonism (and other religions as well) all make promises of comfort, assistance and relief, the only true comfort from these
organizations (at least on this earth) are found in the commitment of blessings to be delivered in the “life to come”. I’m truly sorry to say, that
from a day to day practical perspective – these promises don’t really help much.