Faith in the ordinances of God – Jerreld L. Newquist

I am scarcely ever called in to administer to a sick person without being told what the doctor is doing and what he says. To me, it is an evidence of a want of faith in the ordinances of God’s house and in His promises. To think of a people with the promise made to them that their sick shall be healed, if they will only exercise faith, neglecting this and treating it as though there was no certainty to be attached to it!

It is the same in other directions. We fail to set a proper example before our young people. If I were to send for a doctor, what would be the effect upon my children? Why, they would say, “That is the course my father took, and he is an Eider in the Church and a man of experience; he sent for the doctors, and why should not I? My mother was a good woman, but when one of the children was sick, she sent for a doctor; she did not trust to the ordinance alone; and shall we not send for a doctor? Must it all be faith and no works?” How often do we hear this sort of reasoning?

I believe in works; I believe in nursing, in taking care of the sick and in doing all that is possible for them; but I believe also in the ordinances of the house of God. God has made precious promises to the Latter-day Saints concerning the health of their families, and I tell you, in the presence of the Lord, that if the Latter-day Saints would observe the Word of Wisdom there would be less of this disposition to send for doctors and more faith in the ordinances that the Lord has established. [Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of George Q. Cannon; selected, arranged, and edited by Jerreld L. Newquist (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1987), p. 425; see also Deseret Weekly, vol. 49, p. 450.]

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