First Priesthood Lesson

First off, I want to say that I LOVE teaching.  I learn sooo much!!!
The lesson today was a success, at least, I believe it was. If I learn enough in preparation so that I have more information to share when I run out of time, that is a good thing. Add active participation from class members and I consider it a successful lesson.
This lesson was a great thing for me. It was based on the conference talk by Elder Oaks, Healing The Sick. It added a level of understanding that I did not previously have. It also clarified some notions that I did not realize I had.
One of those was that there is no added benefit in the blessing given by one person over another if both are worthy and willing to administer. In fact, there is a greater responsibility on the one being blessed to exercise their faith for healing than for those administering to give a "proper" blessing. The meaning behind the phrase: "Thy faith has made thee whole..." is truly what is important.
The other, and this is so glaringly obvious as to be a "no-brainer", is that nobody can countermand the will of God. Simply put, nobody can give a blessing that will alter the decision made by God for the person being blessed.
"They were on death's doorstep, but my blessing held them over and we had go back and remove it so they could pass on..."
I have often wondered about statements like this. It was cleared up for me by a passage in Doctrine and Covenants 42:48 that says: "he that hath faith in me to be healed and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed."
As a result of this I have found that when the I am not absolutely sure of what the spirit is prompting, it is acceptable to simply give a blessing of comfort and strength verbally recognizing the will of the Lord in the outcome. Ultimately, this recognition and acceptance is most important as our faith should not be dependent upon outcomes.