Modern Day Miracles

First off, let me say that I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS)  and one of the blessings of being an LDS member is to have access to the power of the priesthood. You don't have to be a member to partake of the blessing but, you do have to be a worthy man in order to perform priesthood blessings. You can read in James 5:14-15 "(14) Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elder of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the lord. (15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him."

There are multiple areas of the priesthood but the one that is extremely close to my heart is the power to heal.

Growing up I didn't always believe in God, or in the LDS teachings. In fact, for a long time I did everything I could to not take any part in it. But my dad was a great example to me, and one of the ways he was an example was to be willing and worthy to provide priesthood blessings.  I dont remember much about the day but I do remember that my grandpa had received some scary news about his health. He use to be a smoker and it looked like it had caught up to him. He isn't a member of the LDS church butI  remember him coming to my house and my dad taking him into the office asking if he believed in the power of god, and that he could be healed, and if so would be be willing to receive a priesthood blessing.  He must have said yes because a family friend came by and I watched him and my dad offer a blessing by placing their hand on his head. A few days later my dad sat us down to tell us that the mass the doctors had previously found had disappeared since the week prior. I was young and tried to play it off as a "no big deal" situation but I thought about it often, and obviously still do.

The next experience I had with the priesthood that made an impact on my life was when I had to have my tonsils out. It wasn't a big deal, but I was still nervous. My older brother had just returned from his 2 year mission and came home from college to be there so he and my dad could give me a blessing before the surgery. I remember we were at the hospital my dad came to me and said "were going to give you a blessing". That was it, it wasn't do you want a blessing it was, you will have a blessing.  I remember thinking about how that showed how much my dad trusted in its healing power. It was also something that brought me closer to my older brother. It was simple, it was minor, but it meant the world to my simple unbelieving heart.

Fast forward 10 years and a lot of growing up, I decided that I personally do believe in the gospel and that I DO believe in priesthood power. And the last 4 months, my love for the Priesthood has grown more than I could have ever imagined.

Brighton came along and then came the diagnosis. With things looking so grim we were really worried about what the outcome would be. Shaun went to visit a friend and he mentioned that we needed to give Brighton a name and a blessing, something that is typically done months after the child is born. I hated that we were doing that as an "in case she doesn't make it", but I knew he was right. Brighton needed it. The exact same day I was sitting down with my younger brother at the hospital explaining everything and he stopped me mid sentence and said "Syd, you need to have Shaun give her a blessing. I know she will be ok if you do" I almost cried. My little brother was showing me up, and thinking of things I hadn't. Why hadn't I thought to ask for Brighton to be blessed? Since she was in the ICU they have very strict rules to how many people can be at her bedside at a time. Luckily we had a great nurse who did everything she could to make it happen for us. I walked in told her what we wanted to do and she immediately jumped into action going to the linen room to find the best blankets she could. I told her "oh its ok, you dont need to do that" and her response was, "I want her to have the best we have for her blessing, she needs to look perfect" Again... I cried. Thank you. Our bishop came down to the hospital and we took the crew in to the ICU. There was 10 of us (The ICU only allows 2 at a time)! We all crowded around her bed and Shaun and some of our family members laid their hands on their head and blessed her with the best blessing I have ever heard. "by the power of the priesthood.... we give a name and a blessing... the name which she will be called is Brighton Kay Allred". He then went on to bless her to heal well, that the surgeons hands would be steady. That she would have no residual issues after the surgery. After we all stood around her crying and talking about how beautiful she was. We all were so scared but we could feel the spirit in that curtained off area. Our heavenly father had her, he was going to take care of her. We asked for a specific blessing and thats all we had to do. He wants to give us the miracles, but we have to ask.

The next day Brighton came out from the surgery with out a hitch. Everything went perfect. And she was able to be closed 24 hours later, which is EXTREMELY rare. She then was discharged a week later on 1 medication!  That 1 medications was then weened off 2 weeks later. It truly is a miracle, and I KNOW its because of that priesthood blessing.

A few weeks later Brighton came down with a fever. We thought we might loose her. Things in the ER got really scary. The doctors were really worried. I asked Shaun to give her another blessing. We asked a member of our ward to come down to the hospital to do so with Shaun and simply put they blessed her to be healed. The next day her oxygen was normal and her heat rate was just fine. We found out about the infection but her heart was totally fine. Something we weren't so sure about the night before. The doctors were able to pinpoint the infection quickly and she become a baby we hadn't ever seen before. She was happy, bright eyed, and perfect.

3 weeks later, Brighton was sick again. And they couldn't find the cause. EVERYTHING pointed to bacterial meningitis. We were devastated. She was getting worse and Shaun was out of town, so I asked 2 members of our ward (church congregation" to come down to give Brighton, yet again another healing blessing. They came down right away. The next morning we decided to do a lumbar puncture, and waited patiently for the results. While waiting I noticed Brighton was acting hungry, I gave her a bottle and for the first time in 3 days, she ate! She ate ALOT! I then took her temp and it was gone. I figured that the nurse must have gave her Tylenol that I didn't notice but, she hadn't! I told the doctors and they came in to take a look. Obviously they were extremely pleased, and the one doctor said. "I dont think i'm going to even look at the results, she is obviously just fine!" Of course they looked and like he thought, she was fine!

I know that modern day miracles are true. My little girl is a living, breathing miracle. I am so so thankful to Shaun and the other family members and ward members who hold their priesthood at a high priority and are worthy to give those blessing to Brighton. I know without a doubt that things wouldn't have gone near as smoothly or perfect with out the priesthood power. My baby girl is ahead of the game in her physical development and her heart is so good she is only being seen every 4 months! To have this perfect of an outcome with her complicated situation is truly the most amazing blessing and miracle I could have ever asked for.

I believe with everything I have that the healing power of the priesthood is true. Just like Jesus healed the blind, and fed the multitude, the priesthood has been restored on this earth. Because of this, our baby girl is here, healthy, and beating every odd. She is my miracle.