“Do You Have Faith?,” For the Strength of Youth, Dec. 2023.
“Do You Have Faith?”
In the mountains that fall day, I learned that the priesthood can work miracles.
Photographs by Leslie Nilsson, Michael R. Morris, Luis Oviedo, and Hector Reyes
The last thing I remember before the four-wheeler flipped was being so scared that I couldn’t even scream. I closed my eyes and felt my body being dragged across the ground. When the four-wheeler landed on top of me, it knocked me out. Somehow my friend Kurt, who was also injured, lifted it off me.
When I woke, I tasted blood and dirt in my mouth. I was dizzy and lying on the side of a ditch. At first I didn’t feel any pain, but soon I began to hurt every time I breathed. After Kurt helped me take off my helmet, my left arm, which was bent out of shape, started to hurt too. I had a big lump on my head, and when I looked at my left leg, I saw a huge cut. My leg was bleeding, and it soon swelled to twice its normal size.
Then I got scared—not of dying but of thinking I might never be able to play soccer again.
Both of my parents are from Argentina. Everyone in my family knows soccer. I grew up playing it and watching it, especially with my dad. When Argentina won the World Cup in 2022, it was the best day ever!
Playing soccer has taught me that if I do my best, I can do things I didn’t think I could do. That applies to school too, like with tests. Tests can be tough, but if I study and work hard, I know I’ll do OK.
I’ve also learned that I’m more frustrated if I play badly than if my team loses. Even if we lose, I’m still happy if I played well.
A Test of Faith
Right after the accident, my sister Nicole showed up with her friend on another four-wheeler, and two boys who saw us crash quickly drove up on their four-wheelers.
“My dad’s a nurse!” one boy said. While he called his dad for help, Nicole and her friend hurried back to our camp to get my dad.
That morning, nurse Mike Staheli had planned to head home from a weekend campout with some friends. But they felt prompted to stay one more day. I’m thankful they did.
While Mike gave me first aid and checked my vital signs, someone called for an ambulance. Mike feared that I had broken my arm and femur, cracked several ribs, and that I was bleeding internally.
Mike said the ambulance from a nearby town would likely arrive first, but my condition was serious enough that I should be airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. A medevac helicopter was also called for.
When my dad and his friend Hector saw me, they knew I needed a priesthood blessing. My dad asked me, “Do you have faith in the power of the priesthood? Do you have faith that the Lord can help you and heal you?”
“I do have faith, Papá,” I told him. But at the same time, I wondered, “What if I don’t have enough faith?”
My dad anointed me, and Hector blessed me. As soon as the blessing began, my breathing slowed, I calmed down, and I felt warmth even though it was cold outside. I knew then that I did have enough faith and that I was going to be fine either way.
When the ambulance arrived, paramedics cut off my favorite soccer shirt and checked my vital signs. They had stabilized. The helicopter arrived a few minutes later.
When the helicopter landed at the hospital, I was rushed inside. Nurses and doctors began examining me and doing lots of tests, including an MRI. My dad and I expected the worst, and so did they.
But they found nothing! No broken bones, no internal bleeding, no sign of concussion. My leg still hurt a lot, though.
“This is a miracle!” a nurse told me. Later, one doctor said, “OK, Alan, looks like you can go home tonight.”
I was like, “Really?”
Because I still had a hard time walking, I stayed in the hospital overnight. I left the next morning with only a brace on my left wrist. A few weeks later, I was training again for soccer.
Priesthood, Faith, and Family
I wonder what would have happened if my dad and Hector hadn’t held the priesthood. I could have been a lot worse off. That day I realized how important the priesthood is. I learned that faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the priesthood can do miraculous things.
I also learned that priesthood holders have to be good examples. If we have the priesthood but choose to do things that are wrong, we show that we do not respect or honor God’s power. But when we set good examples, we show others that we honor the priesthood and know that the Lord can work miracles through us.
I’m grateful for my family and for the Church. I always think about the sacrifices my parents have made for me and my brother and sisters. They think about us first. My dad recently hurt his knee playing soccer and can’t work. A lot of people, especially from the Church, have blessed us with food and other things we need. To keep my faith strong, I pray every morning, go to seminary, and read scriptures every night with my family. That really helps me.
Alan on a walk with his family a few months following his accident.
Since my accident, I often think about how much God has blessed me. Every time I have a problem now, the first thing I do is go straight to Him. I feel that if He loved me enough to bless and help me through my accident, He can help me through anything.
The author lives in Utah, USA.