Mission Companion Healing Experience

      Yesterday as I scanned through the Deseret News, on the obituary page I saw the name of one of my missionary companions, Ed Clark Jensen.  I lost track of him after I left the mission field, unfortunately, and this was the first time I had heard of him since we had been missionaries.  He was a new elder assigned to me as we served in Winnepeg, Manitoba in the Spring of 1959, as a I recall.  He was humble and motivated and I liked him a lot.  While together, we shared a very tender experience, one that taught me much and that I might call foundational to my spiritual life.
     Elder Clark was from Coalville, Utah, had been a football player in High School, a fullback, and had a football scholarship to play for Utah State, but with the strong disapproval of his coach, had determined to serve a mission.  As we worked together in a mission that emphasized tracting door to door, he had increasing pain in an ankle, and had difficulty walking.  We eventually consulted with President Child about this who had us visit a medical doctor, who took x-rays, and determined that Elder Clark was suffering from the results of a football injury, perhaps a series of an ankle sprains, and had calcium deposits in his ankle joint causing the pain when he walked.  The doctor recommended surgery to clean out the joint.  President Child consulted with Elder Clark’s family back in Utah and they made arrangements for the operation, to be performed by a Winnepeg surgeon. 
     On the morning of the surgery, we rode the city bus, as usual, to the hospital.  There was quite a lot of concern for Elder Clark on the part of all of the missionaries in our district, and there were four or five companionships that gathered at his bedside.  It had been determined that we would administer to him that morning, so when all of the elders had arrived, we proceeded with the ordinance.  One of the elders was selected to anoint, than I was to seal the anointing.  I do not recall the words, but as I spoke to him I had the sensation of a literal flowing of some element from my hands through my fingertips into his body.  I felt light-headed as if I would faint, and quickly closed the blessing and staggered backward into a chair.  It seemed to me that the other Elders did not even notice my absence and continued to crowd around him, offering encouragement and support.
     After a short time I recovered enough to excuse myself and I caught the bus back to our apartment.  I went to our room and still feeling exhausted, lay down on the bed and went to sleep.  I was awakened a couple of hours later by Elder Clark coming into the room.  He reported that the doctors had decided to take one more set of x-rays prior to operating and that the x-rays had not shown the presence of any deposits or problems in his ankle.  He was entirely without pain, and, to my knowledge, was not bothered with these problems the remainder of our time together and through the remainder of his mission.
     I thought about this experience a great deal and wondered at the flowing sensation and how it seemed to take my strength away.  This was new and unusual to me.  I found some commonality later as I read of the woman who touched the hem of the Savior’s garment and was healed, in Mark 5 and Luke 8.  Jesus asked who touched him and said, “Somebody hath touched me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me” (Luke 8:46).
     This was a once in a lifetime experience for me, and I have sometimes wished it could have been replicated as I have administered to others, particularly loved ones who were suffering.  But still, there was something tangible and substantial about this happening that I cannot interpret in any other way than that God had this one time made me instrument in His purposes, to enable a fine young elder to continue in his missionary service.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/saltlaketribune/obituary.aspx?n=ed-jensen&pid=191075653&fhid=26183