Pouring of the Oil

The law of the Lord to the Saints makes clear that many scriptures teach that the servants of the Lord ‘shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover’. Thus, the Elders of the Church shall be called to administer to the sick by the laying on of hands and the pouring of the oil.

We have this healing power granted to us within the Priesthood, and we should all be prepared to use it properly. To perform the pouring of the oil appropriately, a preferred number of two Elders of the Priesthood are required: One to Anoint and one to Seal the Anointing. There are then five parts to the correct use of priesthood authority to bless the sick successfully:

• The anointing of the sick
• The sealing of the anointing
• Faith in The Work
• The words of the blessing
• The Will of the Lord

The first two and the fourth concern the ritual itself. The later concern the required underpinnings of the ritual. First, concerning the ritual steps:

The Old Testament frequently mentions anointing with oil as part of a blessing conferred by priesthood authority. Anointings were declared to be for sanctification and perhaps can also be seen as symbolic of the blessings to be poured out from heaven as a result of this sacred act. Thus this is an integral step in the ritual.

The Elder of the group who is designated to anoint the sick shall pour the oil consecrated for such specific purpose from its bottle, onto the crown of the head of the sick person; it is unnecessary to use a spoon to feed the sick person, as there is no commandment that the sick should take the oil internally. It is sufficient that through the anointing, the power and the healing influence of the Spirit of the Lord will be conducted to the whole system.

A word to Elders on anointing: To anoint is to rub over with oil. A drop merely applied to a head (especially a head covered with artifices in the hair), so that the oil cannot reach the body, is not anointing, does not comply with the commandment, and, in my opinion, is thus null and void.

After calling the sick person by his or her appropriate name, the Elder will then continue the anointment with an appropriate prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the authority of the Holy Priesthood, to the end that the sick person may be made whole and restored to their proper health.

Another question is asked: In sealing the anointing, should the following words be used: 'And cause that this oil shall penetrate your system'? As stated before, there is no official form for anointing, or for sealing the anointing; both should be done according to the inspiration and dictation of the Holy Spirit.

However, it seems reasonable that it is not the oil, but the power and influence of the Spirit of God, that we pray may penetrate the system, to his healing. It would be perfectly appropriate to say 'and cause that this ordinance may have effect according to our faith, that the healing influence of the Spirit of God may penetrate his system, that the sick may be saved and that God will raise him up'.

When someone has been anointed by the authority of the Priesthood, the anointing is sealed by that same authority. To seal something means to affirm it, to make it binding for its intended purpose. When elders anoint a sick person and seal the anointing, they open the windows of heaven for the Lord to pour forth the blessing He wills for the person afflicted. Thus, this is a crucial second step.

The Anointing Elder should not then move to seal the anointing unless he is acting alone, however. His companion, if he is acting in the appropriate pair, shall seal the anointing instead- offering the prayer of faith that shall save the sick, and (when moved upon by the Spirit) will rebuke the disease and bless the sick with life and health. The sealing of the anointing, like the anointing, is done, of course, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of the Holy Priesthood.

The Elder that anoints officiates alone shall use the personal pronoun 'I'. When the pouring of the oil is performed in the appropriate pair or greater, however, the two or more Elders present lay their hands upon the head of the sick person, and the one who seals the anointing- being the only person to speak- shall use the word 'we' instead.

We have touched minorly over the issue of the Blessings said after the Anointing and their Sealing. To reiterate, however, these words can be very important but their content is not essential to the healing effects of the ritual. It is the other parts of the blessing- the anointing and the sealing, as well as faith in, and the Will of, the Lord- that are the essential elements; if faith is sufficient and if the Lord wills it, the afflicted person may be healed whether the Elders speak any words or not.

Concerning those issues of Faith and Will: Faith is essential for healing by the powers of heaven. The Book of Mormon even teaches that 'if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them’. However, even as we treasure the Lord’s promise that He will hear and answer the prayer of faith, we must always remember that faith and the healing power of the Priesthood cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him whose Priesthood it is.

From all of this we learn that even the servants of the Lord, exercising His divine power in a circumstance where there is sufficient faith to be healed, cannot give a healing blessing that will cause a person to be healed if that healing is not the will of the Lord; we do all that we can for the healing of a loved one, and then we trust in the Lord for the outcome.