Page:Faithhealingchri00buckiala.djvu/51

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FAITH-HEALING
37

united to your body, but also the one which I now give you; thus you will be encumbered with three legs throughout eternity. It is for you to decide whether you would prefer the transient inconvenience of getting along with one leg till you die, or the deformity of an extra leg forever." The pilgrim concluded to remain maimed in this life, that he might not be deformed in that which is to come. This may be a myth, but it falls in well with Brigham Young's known character, and is as worthy of respect as the reasons given by professedly Christian faith-healers for not working miracles of this kind, which are that they do not find "any special promise for such cases," and that "they find no instance where the apostles gave new limbs."

INDUCTIONS

The inductions from these cases, and from the fact that they are constantly paralleled, are:

(1) That subjective mental states, such as concentration of the attention upon a part with or without belief, can produce effects either of the nature of disease or cure.

(2) Active incredulity in persons not acquainted with these laws, but willing to be experimented upon, is often more favorable to sudden effects than mere stupid, acquiescent credulity. The first thing the incredulous, hard-headed man, who believes that "there is nothing in it," sees, that he cannot fathom, may lead him to succumb instantly to the dominant idea.

(3) That concentrated attention, with faith, can produce powerful effects; may operate efficiently in acute diseases, with instantaneous rapidity upon nervous diseases, or upon any condition capable of being