Elder Cowley

When Elder Matthew Cowley was a mission president among the Maori people of New Zealand, he had the following experience one Sunday when a father brought a nine-month-old baby forward to him, requesting that he be given 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.’ I had faith in that father’s faith. After I gave that child its name, I finally got around to giving it its 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 (5 Apr. 1966, rebroadcast from a speech delivered 18 Feb. 1953), 9

President Hinckley

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 (1997), 343

Miracles occur both on a macro and micro level all around us in a variety of ways. It is often quoted that “faith proceeds the miracle”. Often times we view this in the light that miracles won’t occur unless faith is present. While this is definitely true, an additional way of looking at this is that miracles still occur around all the time but without faith, we improperly attribute those miracles to coincidence, luck or happenstance. However, when viewed from the perspective of faith, we are able to properly attribute those miracles to what they truly are, tokens of love from a loving Heavenly Father to benefit His children here on Earth.

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