During my first winter on my mission, Elder Toʻomata and I were tracting one dark winter afternoon when we came to the home of a short, elderly woman.
We used a fairly normal door approach, but she was in a grumpy mood and rejected us. After the rejection, we asked, “Is there anything we can do for you?”
She asked something like, “Do you do prayers?”
She explained that she had unbearable pain in her arms and wrists from arthritis.
We told her yes, that we could give her a blessing through the priesthood power of God.
She was quite short, and since we were both over six feet tall, we gave her the blessing while she stood.
Elder T applied consecrated olive oil, which represents the Savior and helps us exercise faith in the healing that comes through Him and His suffering in Gethsemane, which means “olive press.”
I then sealed the anointing and gave her a blessing. With faith, I blessed her that in the name of Jesus Christ her burden would be lessened. Immediately, it was. The pain was gone, and she rejoiced.
She invited us back to teach her and became one of our investigators. That small but significant experience was a tender mercy for her. Through faith in Jesus Christ, her pain was relieved in that moment, and it strengthened our testimonies of the reality of the priesthood and the Savior’s power to heal.