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Minister Or Not To Minister

Minister or Not to Minister

I feel kind of guilty about having to divert Ministering to someone, but at the same time I feel that I must first protect my own family. Here is the situation:

A Brother that is new in the Gospel calls to ask how to give a blessing. After enquiry I learn that his son has broken out with what seems to be a contagious disease that causes boils / sores to break out all over the body (possibly chicken pox - still undetermined). I suggest that I could come over and assist him in giving the blessing as well as show him how to do it at the same time - he agrees.

After hanging up the phone I think about it after consultation with my wife I realize that I could bring home a possibly contagious disease to my family more so to my new born (a little over a month old). Now what do I do? On the one hand I am suppose to Minister to the sick - do I choose whom I Minister too because I worry about what I will bring home? Am I simply being cautious or am I being selfish?

Here is what I did: I arranged for another Brother who had chicken pox already to do it, but I feel like I am laying the burden on someone that I should of taken on myself. What would you have done?

The story is actually longer than this involving more people that have been infected, but this is it in a nutshell.

Minister To Or Minister

That's a tough one. If I never had chicken pox, and it looked like he had it then I might've considered not going. I think I would have gone anyway, because we're told to administer to the sick and needy, and even with the chance of catching something I think I would be protected if it was necessary for the newborn's safety. The important thing is that he got the blessing. I think you did the right thing, as long as you found somebody to give him the blessing.

Minister Or Not To Minister Studies Doctrine Mormon

That is a very difficult question, and is one that only the individual can really make, taking into consideration all personal circumstances.

If I knew that it was chickenpox for sure, and I hadn't had chickenpox, I might ask someone else to do it, as chickenpox is a lot more severe for an adult (I think).

However, if I had had chickenpox, and my wife had also, then I probably wouldn't hesitate, as it is less than 1 out of 100,000 cases of chickenpox in children that have any sort of serious problems. Also, chickenpox helps children's immune systems to become strong.

Now, the only thing that would cause me to hesitate is the fact that Jonah is so young. I would have to research that just a little bit. I don't think it would be a cause for alarm, but it is possible.

Minister To Or Minister

Since you haven't had the chicken pox, I think you did the right thing. The important thing is that there was someone else who could give the blessing that was needed. Had there not been, it would have been a different story. Also, you made the right decision in consulting with your wife and in considering her concerns about the family becoming sick. Had you gone against her wishes and administered the blessing, and then had you or your family become sick, you would have felt much worse about your decision. I've heard that chicken pox can be life threatening to an adult.

Minister To Or Minister

I did have it while on my mission actually. My concern was about being a carrier. As I mentioned, this is a longer story, to share a little more... I felt that what the man's son had was chicken pox, but they thought it was something else that was causing his acne to become large and puss filled. This happened to another boy who went on a camp and there were rumors that they had picked up something contagious from the area they were staying. Both boys insisted that they had chicken pox previously, so all of this was a concern to me - not for me personally, the fact that I would bring it home and pass it on to my boys as well was my major concern.

This is what ended up happening... I arranged for someone else to visit and administer to his son (this happened today) and they found out that he (the boy who needed the blessing) did in fact have chicken pox. Interestingly enough, the boy's father has never had it, so you know what this means.

Honestly, yesterday after I called the Brother up and told him that it was unwise for me to volunteer because of my new born I felt kind of bad, but at the same time I was feeling that I prevented a lot more heartache down the road. We already have little sleep let alone to worry about two children (one with ADHD / ODD (he would of scratched like there is no tomorrow) and the other only a month old) with chicken pox too.