One of the main reasons I connected to and fell in love with President Thomas S. Monson was his heartfelt stories. Elder Matthew Cowley is cut from the same cloth as President Monson. A former missionary and mission President over the Pacific Islands his talks are always filled with examples of pure simple faith leading to miracles. This talk is no exception, it is focused around a story about a young boy named Joe. As I listened to this talk about Joe I realized I needed to share it with y’all. So here is the story of Joe, and how we all need to be more like him!
The Faith of a Child by Elder Matthew Cowley
I would like very much to welcome my friends who have come from far-off Hawaii, to this conference, Aloha mai, aloha nui loa.
Yesterday morning, had I been called upon to speak, I would have attempted to speak about the integrity of the home. Had I been called upon yesterday afternoon, I would have talked about this nation under God. Had I been called upon last night in priesthood meeting, I would have urged the brethren to keep in training with respect to the priesthood which they hold. Had I been called upon this morning, I would have talked about John the Baptist who was the forerunner of Christ, whose resurrection we commemorate this day. But I was told this morning that an inquiry had been made about when I was going to speak so that a little friend of mine could listen in, and so I am going to talk about my little friend, my little friend, Joe, who is in the polio ward of the county hospital.
A few weeks ago I went with a young bishop to visit Joe. I did not know how old he was, I could not see how large he was, all I could see was his head protruding from an iron lung. He was unconscious. He was afflicted with polio and double pneumonia. When we went in, the nurse placed robes on us, and we had to put masks over our faces. We prayed over little Joe. Two weeks later we called again at the hospital and asked if we could see the little lad. The nurse said, “yes,” and when she called him, he came running up the hall to meet us.
I said, “Do you know who I am?” He replied, “Are you Brother Cowley?” I said, “Yes.” He then said, “I was unconscious when you came before, wasn’t I?” “You certainly were,” I said and then he replied, “No wonder I don’t recognize you.”
He took us into his room, and lying in an adjoining bed to his was another young chap, twice the age of Joe. And after visiting for awhile, we were about to go when little Joe said, “Wait a minute, don’t forget my partner.” I said “What do you mean?” And he said, “You pray over my partner, and then he can thank you for a prayer the same as I did.”
And so we turned to his companion, a young lad sixteen years of age, stricken with polio, and he said, “I would like a blessing. I am a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood in my ward.” And so we blessed Joe’s partner. Two weeks later we called back again. On this visit little Joe was rather sad, and we asked him what was the matter. He said, “I am lonely. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked you to bless my partner. He got well too soon and has gone home.”
Well, little Joe is probably listening in, and maybe he can see me on television as I speak, so I want to say to you, little Joe, we are thinking about you. We are praying for you. We have been told here by the great leaders of this Church that we should have a simple faith. Christ himself says that we should have faith like yours, the faith of a little child, and unless we have your faith, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven Matt. 18:3 Joe, you are of the kingdom of heaven because yours is a faith which has not been tarnished by learning, by the wisdom of men. It is simple. And there are many of your companions down there with you. We are thinking of them. There are the little Joes and the little Janes who are there, some in iron lungs and some on rocking beds, some being fed with a spoon. We are thinking about them, and I know, my little friend, that your faith can do much to make them whole. And over in the other ward there are others adults, those who are old enough to be your parents, who are reaching out for help because they feel that medical science may fail. And with your faith they can know that when medical science has to lay the burden down, the power and priesthood of God can pick that burden up and restore them to health and strength.
Up there in another ward of that hospital there is another sweet friend of mine. She is almost ninety-three years of age, still clear in her mind. I visited her on one of her birthdays, and at the side of her bed was a little vase of flowers. I read the card, “Many happy returns of the day from the Moose Lodge.” She did not know anything about the Moose Lodge. All she knew about was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All she knew about was the years that she had spent in the temple of God, saying as the Master said to that thief upon the cross, “Today shalt thou be with me” Luke 23:43 as she worked for the dead.
Joe reminded me that I must not forget her birthday this coming July. There must not only be flowers from the Moose Lodge, but there must also be flowers from the ward to which she belongs.
I also have another friend about whom I am thinking. She is not in the hospital. She is at a home. Her limbs are rigid. She cannot use her hands. She cannot walk. Her eyeballs appear to be frozen in their sockets. She has been that way for twenty-five years, and yet when I call on her, she laughs, or tries to; she tries to joke; she asks me to take her to a dance.
And so, Joe I am talking to you. I hope you are listening. There are many others like you, and we remember them, too. We may not have the time to call often. I know others who must not be forgotten. Oh, I am thinking of the sisters who live on the top floor of the Constitution Building, over here on Main Street. Some of them near unto ninety, who cannot get out, but who love the Church, who appreciate the blessings of the priesthood, and who are praying for you and for me and for the brethren of this Church.
God bless the eight-year-olds of this Church, those who have been baptized. When you were baptized, Joe, you were not sprinkled; water was not poured upon you; but you, like the Master, to commence to fulfill all righteousness (Matt. 3:15) were taken down into the water; and you were immersed; and now yours is the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of your Savior and be like unto him.
God bless you, my young friend, with the power of the priesthood of heaven. God grant that his Spirit may be and abide with you and with your partners down there in that polio ward. Thank your doctors and your nurses for me, they who are so kind and so gentle and so concerned about the restoration of health to you and your companions.
But, Joe, continue to rely upon your God. Whatever the results may be, you are of the kingdom of heaven. God grant that we may all have your faith, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 93-95
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