The Strange, Strange Power of A Three-Day Fast


When Fast Sunday is approaching, I often find myself watching sleight of hand videos on Youtube. It hasn’t happened yet, but one day soon I hope to be able to secretly swipe enough sacrament to reassemble an entire piece of bread. Unfortunately my hands are not nimble, and I usually end up just doing a whole bunch of finger snaps while the tray speeds by. 

Seriously though, some time ago I read an account about fasting. It was an old pioneer account referencing something Joseph Smith said about the surprising power of a three day fast. After that I saw three day fasts referenced in other old Church stories. It took several references before I realized this could be a list worth compiling.

These are the accounts I could re-find as I went back looking for them. There weren’t a ton more, but if you know of some I’d love to see them!

I’ll start with my favorite. It makes me think I’ll keep this whole 3 day fast thing in my back pocket for when things hit the fan. It’s from an early convert named…


Joseph Lee Robinson

“And it came to pass the Lord gave unto us a daughter, a beautiful Intelligent child. She was born June 12, 1845 almost one year after the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Patriarch. We rejoiced greatly and thanked God for in the gift of our dear little daughter. We named her Mary Elizabeth a heavenly treasure. But the destroyer seemed bent on the destruction of this child also. For some cause or reason we do not know, she became afflicted. She had fits and it seemed we could not stop them. We prayed for her. We administered oil and the laying on of hands and called in the elders. We doctored her but to no purpose only she would seem to get a little better. We took her to the patriarch, Uncle John Smith, he blessed her and after he administered to her he looked at her and said, There is a very intelligent spirit in that tabernacle and if you save her on the earth you have to exercise a large amount of faith for the destroyer seeks to destroy such that they should not remain on the earth…

“Those stubborn fits would not stop. We had heard the prophet Joseph say inasmuch as any member of a family was sick, if the heads of the family would fast three days they should get better. We knowing him to be a true prophet of God therefore we believed what he said. My wife proposed a fast, I replied if you think that you can stand it nursing a child I certainly will try it. She said that she would do anything she could to save that child. So we set about it with a will.

“We ate our dinners today as usual but when night came we ate no supper and morning came we ate no breakfast. She did her housework and I went to our wagon shop and worked all day as usual and this was the winter before our exit from Nauvoo to the Rocky Mountains. Our ward was organized into a company to build wagons and to make preparations to leave that place in the spring so that I was obliged to work whether sick or well, whether eating or fasting although at this time I was severely afflicted with rheumatism in my back and hip and had taken cold through taking off some flannel underclothes and sudden change of weather. With all this we had also to fast and pray for this we had decided. The first day was the hardest day for me. The second day came and no eating but plenty of work and I did not suffer as much that day. On the third day I came to work as usual. I proposed to my wife that she was nursing a child so that she must have a little crust and some food occasionally. But neither of us ate a mouthful at any time or anything whatsoever… we ate no dinner until suppertime came and we feel satisfied that our three day fast was complete. We ate our supper and as yet there had been no change with the fits and the child or with my lameness. We retired to our beds to rest after saying our prayers as usual, but as the Lord liveth, these fits upon our dear child stopped and she had no more while we lived in Nauvoo and my lameness went entirely away this night. We testified that we received and acknowledge this signal favor and the great blessing from the hand of God our Heavenly Father. We are led to believe that if the Latter-day Saints would more thoroughly repent of their sins and clean themselves up, fast and pray more and use the doctors less, we would be a great people and there would be a great many more cases of healing than there are.” (https://archive.org/stream/JlrBasicJournal/jlr_basic_journal_djvu.txt) (P. 58)

Now to draw your attention to a few things. First – I feel like this long of a fast requires water. Robinson was hard at work making wagons. Hammering, nailing, lifting & cutting. I think it is unlikely he did this dehydrated for 3 days. If you make a go of this – keep in mind the human body can only go a week or so without water. After that – the fast becomes a lot longer.

Below is a reference, to be transparent, to a three Nephite visitation. Not just any 3 Nephite visitation – the best one ever! It did, however, first appear in a Church publication. This makes me entirely comfortable in putting it on the list:


Robert Edge
“ln the early part of July, Mr. Edge kindly informed his followers that he would soon depart on his Father's business. Before leaving, however, he desired all those whom he had blessed to go with him through a fast of three days. In calling his brethren and sisters together he told them the fast he desired them to pass through was similar to that observed in ancient days by the Apostle Paul.
“He gave as his reasons for this task the cleansing and purifying of the system, the preparatory step to a greater labor, to test their worthiness to enter God's kingdom; and lastly, if they would honestly and faithfully go through this fast, it would enable them to taste of that spirit that would hereafter, through obedience, bring them forth in the first resurrection.

“As the greater part of his followers lived on the banks of Beech River, near the mouth of Haley's Creek, this place was selected for the purpose of fasting. These three days were spent in singing, and praying, and rejoicing in the Lord. Once a day they were allowed to bathe in the waters of Beech River.

“Some were only able to fight the pangs of hunger one day, while others held out until the evening of the second day; but only twenty­one, out of the sixty­odd who began the fast, were able to say on the evening of the third day, "I have truthfully kept the fast…."

“…In those who had followed him through these ordeals, Mr. Edge seemed to have implicit confidence. Hence, he began teaching the more advanced principles of eternal life, such as building places of worship, erecting temples to the Most High, and to prepare for the grand millennium day of rest, when Christ will reign a thousand years on earth. In this connection he told his followers that this continent, the land of the free, the home of the brave and the asylum of the oppressed, is the place designated by Him who reigns on high for the building of that beautiful city, the New Jerusalem; aye, and more: that the day would come when these United States would be dotted with temples, one of which would be built in Henderson County, Tennessee.

“Soon after their fast he called them together and pronounced upon each couple a ceremony of marriage, and gave them to understand that if another opportunity was not afforded them, this would hold throughout time and all eternity. He also gave them some tokens that they might know when they entered a temple controlled by servants of God.” (https://books.google.com/books?id=aAzZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA472&lpg=PA472&dq=%22robert+edge.+the+mysterious+preacher%22&source=bl&ots=UnuFHR70cE&sig=sCK6NE0KQe_aqybkSA-q7cSTWnY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwisgu3LkpPaAhVX3GMKHcg3BnwQ6AEIOTAE#v=onepage&q=%22fast%20of%20three%20days%22&f=false)

Edge gave a pretty heavy promise too: “…if they would honestly and faithfully go through this (3 day) fast, it would enable them to taste of that spirit that would hereafter, through obedience, bring them forth in the first resurrection…”

That last bit about the tokens is interesting too. It reminds me of Acts 1:3's 'Tekmerion'. (More on that here!)

Now on to Wilford Woodruff. This is from a time when he was clearly spiritually inclined and vested in the gospel. But it’s still his early days. He sets out for a three day fast but gets his results sooner than that. Still though – why did he and his friends decide on three days?

Wilford Woodruff
“… I then repaired into the lower Court of the Lords house in company with Elders Joseph B. Nobles & G.  W.  Meeks to spend the night (after being anointed) in prayer & fasting before God.  The veils being closed we entered the elder’s pulpit & there upon our knees we pled with God & we covenanted with each other in the holy stand that we would not give sleep to our eyes neither take food until we received a blessing from God by the outpourings of his spirit upon us if it was until the end of three days.  And according to our Covenant we commenced praying & a part of the night we had a severe trial of our faith by great temptation from Satan but before day we gained a good degree of victory over the Devil & the Lord poured out his spirit upon us & we felt it good to be in the house of God while nature was hushed in silenced by the sable shades of night.  After spending the night in prayer we returned to our homes in the morning intending to spend the day in prayer & fasting for still greater blessings...

“April 5th.  I spent a part of the day in attending the high council the remainder in writing, prayer, & fasting.  I again repaired to the upper lower part of the house of the Lord at 5 o’clock PM. with the quorum of the Seventies for a solemn assembly anointing &c.  Three out of the seven presidents were present & anointed twelve.  The spirit of God sat upon us & we were satisfied with our blessing.  Consequently I returned home with those brethren with whom I had covenanted for a blessing & took some food & retired to rest being 24 hours since we had taken food or sleep.  There was much of the Spirit of Prophesy & revelation poured upon the heads of the anointed in the different quorums.” (https://bcgmaxwell.wordpress.com/2014/12/12/wilford-woodruff-kirtland-diary/)

When Woodruff says “The spirit of God sat upon us” and “much of the Spirit of Prophesy & revelation poured upon the heads.” Does that sound like Edge’s promise “to taste of that spirit that would hereafter, through obedience, bring them forth in the first resurrection…””?
Loosely, at least.
All this kind of sounds like a key we have to be able to unlock heaven itself. It would take a lot of faith to fast 3 days. You’d have to really believe in your cause and in your results.
It’s kind of refreshing that this kind of spiritual muscle is out there.
Pass the pringles.

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