Have “Miracles” Ceased? In the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Mormon gives an emphatic, “Nay.” And he goes on to say, “Behold I say unto you… neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.” (Moroni 7:29).” And they are happening today.
We know Jesus went forth working many mighty miracles both in the old world as well as in the new. King Benjamin prophesied of Christ’s mighty miracles nearly a century before He came and ministered in the Holy Land. Then after His resurrection, He came to America and healed all their sick and afflicted. The Native Americans remember him as the Great Peace Maker. Jesus set the perfect example before us. Then we have His great promise that the faithful may enjoy the opportunity of working “mighty miracles” as well. (Mosiah 8:18; D&C 35:8) Here, I share some fulfillment of those promises.
Miracle of Vinney Tolman
We have the amazing and well-documented miracle of Vinney Tolman coming back from the dead right here in Orem, Utah, in 2003. The documentation shows that he had been dead for more than 45 minutes. The priesthood power exercised by his brother brought about a total healing after he was in a coma for nearly three days.
Richard Paul Evans sells Vinney’s book, LIGHT AFTER DEATH, because it was life changing for him. He wrote the foreword for Vinney’s book. Reading this short 162-page book, I learned some very valuable lessons. It was definitely a life-changing experience for me as well. I was so impressed with the book that I have written a book report—sharing some of my insights. I have extra copies of Vinney’s book; I am happy to share this life changing book for free for those who cannot afford it and want to read it.
It is a fascinating story. While Vinney was dead and, in a coma, he was taught ten celestial principles. He went to higher and higher levels of light, as he was taught. His third great grandfather, Charles Drake Cazier, was his ministering angel.
Miracles of Elder Shayne M. Bowen
In the last general conference (April 2024), Elder Shayne M. Bowen of the Seventy gave a great talk entitled: Miracles, Angels, and Priesthood Power. He begins by saying: “Many today say that miracles no longer exist, that angels are fictional, and that the heavens are closed. I testify that miracles have not ceased, angels are among us, and the heavens are truly open.” Then he shares some remarkable stories showing the power of faith and of the priesthood in our lives.
He shares the story of his paternal grandfather, Grant Reese Bowen, who was a man of great faith. Grant was working in the field and felt prompted to go to the house. As he was doing so, his grandfather came out and told Grant that his mother had just died.
Grant had received a promise in his patriarchal blessing that he would have the power to raise the dead. Quoting from Grant’s journal, “I placed my hands on her head, and I told the Lord that if the promise that He had made to me by the patriarch was true, to make it manifest at this time and raise my mother back to life. I promised Him if He would do this, I should never hesitate to do all in my power for the building up of His kingdom. As I prayed, she opened her eyes and said, ‘Grant, raise me up. I have been in the spirit world, but you have called me back. Let this always be a testimony to you and to the rest of my family.'”
Elder Bowen’s Personal Experience
Elder Bowen and his family were involved in a horrible automobile accident. Their van ended up upside down. Quoting from his General Conference talk.
After the accident, “We… realized that our 10-year-old daughter, Emily, was missing. We yelled her name, but there was no response. Ward members, who were also traveling home, were at the scene frantically looking for her. It was so dark. I looked in the van again with a flashlight and, to my horror, saw Emily’s tiny body trapped under the van. I called out desperately, “We have to lift the van off of Emily.” I grabbed the roof and pulled back. Only a few others were lifting, but the van miraculously flipped onto its wheels, exposing Emily’s lifeless body.
“Emily was not breathing. Her face was the color of a purple plum. I said, “We need to give her a blessing.” A dear friend and ward member knelt with me, and by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, in the name of Jesus Christ, we commanded her to live. At that moment, Emily took a long raspy breath.”
“After what seemed like hours, the ambulance finally arrived. Emily was rushed to the hospital. She had a collapsed lung and a severed tendon in her knee. Brain damage was a concern because of the time she was without oxygen. Emily was in a coma for a day and a half. We continued to pray and fast for her. She was blessed with a full recovery. Today, Emily and her husband, Kevin, are the parents of six daughters…”
“Those who lifted the van off of Emily observed that the van seemed to weigh nothing. I knew that heavenly angels had joined with earthly angels to lift the vehicle off of Emily’s body. I also know that Emily was brought back to life by the power of the holy priesthood.”
The Calling of Angels
The Prophet Mormon shares the job description of angels: “For behold, they are subject unto [Christ], to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him (Moroni 7:30-31).”
As we enter into the end times, we will see more and more miracles as the Lord brings about ZION. It is fascinating that the Savior’s raising Lazarus from the grave changed the name of the town. The name of the town went from Bethany to the Town of Lazarus. In Arabic, it is called al-Azariya–meaning the place where Lazarus lived. I have a blog article about this insightful experience: SACRED BETHEL, BETHANY, & BETHLEHEM. (itsabouttimebook.com). This reveals direct evidence of the Savior’s ministry to the world. Else, why would they change the name of the town to reflect the significance of the Savior raising Lazarus from the dead?
It is exciting to know that we can be part of the ideal ZION society, as we truly come unto Christ. Miracles will be wrought, angels will minister, and we will be guided through the purging times ahead.
We had a major miracle with angels assisting last Sunday afternoon (18 August 2024), when we had over three inches of rainfall in about an hour. It was a horrific storm, with tropical winds, hail, and rain by the buckets full. Our City Manager calculated that 490 million gallons fell on Fountain Green–causing major flood. Turning the town into a disaster relief situation. We had a river of water running down our road on the north, and a river of water running down the canal we had built going around our home on the south. THANK YOU, LORD, we had no water in our home. We feel the Lord’s angels were round about us. When we built our home in 1992, some people called it Noah’s ark; it felt like it last Sunday.
David W. Allan (24 August 2024)
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