Mark 9

Recently, I have blogged on the faith necessary for one to be healed or to perform miracles. We learn another lesson as -

"...one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not." (New Testament | Mark 9:17 - 18)

"And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming." (New Testament | Mark 9:20)

But as this story unfolds, the Savior -

"...asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us." (New Testament | Mark 9:21 - 22)

Then the Savior said to the father -

"...If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."
(New Testament | Mark 9:23)

What we learn here is that faith can also be demonstrated by others for miracles to be performed. Elder James E. Talmage wrote -

"The supplication of the agonized father for the benefit of his sorely afflicted son—"Have compassion on us, and help us" (Mark 9:22)—shows that he made the boy's case his own. In this we are reminded of the Canaanite woman who implored Jesus to have mercy on her, though her daughter was the afflicted one [Matt. 15:22]. In these cases, faith was exercised in behalf of the sufferers by others; and the same is true of the centurion who pleaded for his servant and whose faith was specially commended by Jesus [Matt. 8:5-10]; of Jairus whose daughter lay dead [Luke 8:41-42, 49-50; and of many who brought their helpless kindred or friends to Christ and pleaded for them. . . . Faith to be healed is as truly a gift of God as is faith to heal; and , as the instances cited prove, faith may be exercised with effect in behalf of others. In connection with the ordinance of administering to the afflicted, by anointing with oil and the laying on of hands, as authoritatively established in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, the elders officiating should encourage the faith of all believers present, that such be exerted in behalf of the sufferer. In the case of infants and of persons who are unconscious, it is plainly useless to look for active manifestation of faith on their part, and the supporting faith of kindred and friends is all the more requisite." (JTC, p. 395)