Christ performed miracles during His earthly ministry, the pioneers saw the hand of God during their trek, and so can we experience God’s caring hand in everyday life. Here are some profound miracles shared by General Authorities that prove the age of miracles is not over.
1. From “Consider the Blessings” by Thomas S. Monson
In October 2010 General Conference, President Thomas S. Monson gave a talk in which he elaborated on promptings. He recalls feeling a prompting while swimming laps at the pool to visit an old friend in the hospital.
“When I arrived at his room, I found that it was empty. Upon inquiry, I learned I would probably find him in the swimming pool area of the hospital, an area which was used for physical therapy. Such turned out to be the case. He had guided himself there in his wheelchair and was the only occupant of the room. He was on the far side of the pool, near the deep end. I called to him, and he maneuvered his wheelchair over to greet me. We had an enjoyable visit, and I accompanied him back to his hospital room, where I gave him a blessing.
I learned later from my friend that he had been utterly despondent that day and had been contemplating taking his own life. He had prayed for relief but began to feel that his prayers had gone unanswered. He went to the pool with the thought that this would be a way to end his misery—by guiding his wheelchair into the deep end of the pool. I had arrived at a critical moment, in response to what I know was inspiration from on high.
2. From “Has the Day of Miracles Ceased?” by Donald L. Hallstrom
In this October 2017 General Conference talk, Elder Hallstrom retells the story of a young man injured in a hiking accident. After sustaining critical injuries to his neck and back, Clark bounced back against the odds, to the confusion and delight of his doctors:
The miracles Clark experienced during this traumatic event were just beginning. Some of the first to reach him “happened” to be a group of hikers that included mountain rescue guides and emergency medical professionals…This group also “happened” to be testing a new communication device and sent an emergency request for help from an area where cell phones could not get a signal…As the helicopter approached from a different angle, the winds “happened” to change and the aircraft landed just long enough for the group to quickly and painfully squeeze Clark into the small compartment behind the pilot’s seat.
…A renowned neurotrauma surgeon “happened” to be on duty that day; he is at this hospital only a few times a year. This doctor later stated that he had never seen anyone sustain so much damage to the spinal cord and carotid arteries and live…Describing himself as agnostic, the surgeon said Clark’s case went against all his scientific learning about neurological injuries and could only be described as a miracle.”
3. From the BYU Devotional “Miracles” by Matthew Cowley
In a 1953 BYU devotional talk, Elder Matthew Cowley told of a Priesthood blessing he gave to a boy with polio:
“A few weeks ago I was called to the County Hospital in Salt Lake City by a mother…She said her boy was dying from polio, and she asked if I would come down and give that boy a blessing…We went down there and found this young lad in an iron lung, unconscious, his face rather a blackish color, with a tube in his throat, and they said he had another tube lower down in his abdomen.
…we went in and we blessed that boy. It was one of those occasions when I knew as I laid my hands upon that lad that he was an unusual boy and that he had faith. Having faith in his faith, I blessed him to get well and promised him he would recover. I never heard any more about him until last Saturday, but I was on my way to Murray for a conference, and I dropped in at the County Hospital. I asked if I might see the lad.
The nurse said, “Certainly. Walk right down the hall.”
As I walked down the hall, out came the boy running to meet me. He ran up and asked, “Are you Brother Cowley?”
I said, “Yes.”
He said, “I want to thank you for that prayer.” He added, “I was unconscious then, wasn’t I?”
I replied, “You certainly were.”
4. From “Prayer and Promptings” by Boyd K. Packer
In this talk, given in October of 2009, President Packer retells the story of a couple of navy soldiers posted to China who got on the wrong train back to the base. The soldiers got off the train, found a pump-handle car, and started taking it in the direction they needed to go.
“As they came to one steep downhill slope, they scrambled aboard the car and began to coast. Graham was the last to get aboard. The only place left for him was in the front of the car. He ran alongside and finally climbed aboard. As he did so, he slipped and fell. He was bouncing on his back with his feet against the car to keep from being run over. As the car quickly gained speed, he heard his mother’s voice say, “Bud, you be careful!”
He wore heavy military boots, his foot slipped, and the thick sole of his boot caught in a gear of a wheel and stopped the car just one foot (30 cm) from his hand…
His mother sat up at about 2:00 in the morning and awakened her husband: “Bud’s in trouble!” They knelt by the bed and prayed for the safety of their boy.” Later, Bud told his parents the story and they realized why they were prompted to pray at the exact moment their son needed it most.
5. From “I Needed to Go Back” by Nestor Quales
In an experience published on LDS.org, Elder Nestor Quales tells the story of an audible and unmistakable prompting:
“It was very late, and as I drove home after dropping off the youth, I turned onto a dark road in a rural area with few cars. Along the way, I drove over a small bridge and saw a light flickering on my right side down by the river as though there was a fire.
I had driven only a few meters, however, when I heard a voice say, “Stop!” I was surprised since I was traveling alone, but I ignored it and continued to drive. A voice of thunder then sounded, “Stop and go back!” I immediately turned the car around and drove back. As I did so, I asked Heavenly Father, “Lord, what is it?” As soon as I reached the bridge, I got out of the car, and the Lord’s answer was immediate, for I could hear someone below yelling, “Please, help us!”
…That small light was from a car carrying five people that had fallen off the road. Two had lost their lives, but it could have been worse had I not paid attention to the voice of the Holy Ghost.”
6. From “A God of Miracles” by Sydney S. Reynolds
In April of 2001, Sister Sydney S. Reynolds of the Primary General Presidency bore her testimony of miracles by retelling the story of her twin grandchildren who came three-and-a-half months early and struggled to survive. After suffering collapsed lungs and other organ malfunctions, the baby boy was ready to be taken home. The baby girl, however, had to remain in the hospital.
“She keeps pulling her ventilator tube out, setting off alarms across the nursery… Her throat is so inflamed that at times the respiratory therapists have great difficulty reinserting the tube, and she almost dies. Her normal progress is stymied by her continued dependence on the ventilator.
Finally, after her baby brother has been home for two months, the doctors feel they are forced to suggest surgery for her—a surgery that will allow her to breathe by opening a hole in her throat, a surgery that might solve the stomach problems by opening a hole in her side, but a surgery that will impact her little body for many more months and maybe for the rest of her life.”
Sister Reynolds describes the family’s effort to pray and fast together for the little girl’s life, acknowledging that they would accept whatever the will of God was. Their fast culminated on December 3rd. She then concludes:
“Let me read from a letter that was sent to the family the morning of December 4. “Dearest Family, Wonderful news! Blessings from the Lord. Our heartfelt thanks for your prayers and fasting in behalf of our little girl. Yesterday morning she came off the ventilator and has been off for 24 hours at this writing. To us, it is a miracle.”
READ: Faith First, Pain Second, Miracle Third
7. From “Turn on Your Light” by Sharon Eubank
In October of 2017, Sister Sharon Eubank told a story about two young boys who were caught in a rip current off a beach in Florida. Several people swam out to them, but all were caught in the current and could not get out.
“There were no ropes. There was no lifeguard. The police sent for a rescue boat, but the people had been out in the ocean struggling for 20 minutes, and they were exhausted and their heads were slipping under the water. Among the onlookers on the beach was Jessica Mae Simmons. Her husband had the idea to form a human chain. They shouted at people on the beach to help them, and dozens of people linked arms and marched into the ocean. Jessica wrote, “To see people from different races and genders come into action to help TOTAL strangers [was] absolutely amazing to see!!”6 An 80-person chain stretched toward the swimmers…
Everyone on the beach could think only of traditional solutions, and they were paralyzed. But one couple, in a split second, thought of a different solution. Innovation and creation are spiritual gifts.”
