Video Evidence of William Branham's Failed Healing - Carol Ruth Strubler

Along with the documented evidence of William Branham's failed healings provided by leaders in his revival meetings such as Alfred Pohl, newspaper accounts of the sick and afflicted leaving in the same condition as they were when they entered the meeting, and the overwhelming absence of healings found by investigative reporters, video evidence of Branham's failed healings exists. One example is that of Carol Ruth Strubler, a 9-year-old girl dying of lukemia that Branham claimed to have healed during the video "Deep Calleth to the Deep".Show more

Followers of William Branham are indoctrinated to believe that Branham's healings never failed and that William Branham's claims of success are sufficient evidence. William Branham claimed that when he pronounced healing, it was not his voice but God, and that out of the thousands of people pronounced healed that "voice" had never failed.[1] He would often asked for those healed to send him letters, most of which do not seem to exist in cult literature. Strubler is also one of those examples, as Branham asked her to "write me a letter" after her alleged healing.

How do you do, lady? Do you believe me to be God’s prophet? His—I mean, well, a prophet is a preacher. You don’t expect me to be of the enemy; you expect me to be of God. Is that the way you accept it? Well then, I can help you. For He told me, "If I would get the people to believe me and be sincere when I prayed, that nothing would stand before the prayer.” And now, it isn’t the—I that help; it’s God that does the healing. I questioned; I said, "They won’t believe me.”

He said, "There’ll be two signs given to you as was to the prophet Moses. In this the people will believe.” And one of them was to reveal the secrets of the hearts of the people to them. Now, you’re not here for yourself. Although you’re nervous and rundown, but it’s been caused by disease of this child. This child here is suffering. It’s been turned down by the doctors to die; it’s leukemia. Isn’t that right? You’ve brought the child from out of town. You’ve traveled, coming from the west, coming east, you have come. You’ve come from a—a state that has mountains; it’s Pennsylvania. And your city, I believe it’s Chambersburg, or so… Isn’t that right? Bring the child to me.

Little sister dear, if the Lord Jesus was here, He’d lay His hands upon you and death would leave you and you’d live. Do you believe that I am His servant? And then in His stead I lay my hands on this child and bless it, and ask that the demon leave the child, and that life come to the child, and it will live and be well. Come out of the child, Satan. By the authority of God’s Bible with the Divine gift ministered by an Angel, I adjure thee to leave the child; come from it. Amen. You believe you’re going to get well now, don’t you? God bless you. Turn around and wave to the audience. God bless you. The little girl with tremendous faith, be well. God bless you, honey. Go, you write me a letter.
Branham, William. 1954, June 24. The Deep Calleth To The Deep (54-0624).
Carol Ruth Strubler was not healed, however, and went home to die just a few weeks after her "healing". Her death made the front page news on the Chambersburg, PA Public Opinion newspaper. Headlines read, "DEATH CLAIMS LITTLE CAROL STRUBLER, ILL FOR MOST OF HER NINE YEARS."[2] Doctors had predicted that Carol would die within five months,[3] the last month of which her mother, Ruth Strubler, entered Branham's meeting for healing. She fully believed that Branham had, in fact, healed Carol.[4] Carol's obituary captures the family's views towards William Branham after the failed attempt at healing: He was just another "traveling evangelist",[5] a charlatan claiming to have the power to heal by God.

References

[1] Branham, William. 1951, July 19. Who Hath Believed Our Report? (51-0719). ". For I’m not going to tell you till the heavenly Father shows me that you’re healed. And you do what you’re told. When you’re hear at the platform, and It tells you what to do, you go do it, and you’ll get well, because It’s not me. And it never has one time in the literally hundreds of thousands, failed one time. It can’t fail with you. But It’s not me; It’s He that does it. See? Not me, It’s He. I only speak, ’cause I don’t speak myself. He speaks through me. And that’s mostly where…"

[2] Death Claims Little Carol Strubler, Ill For Most of Her Nine Years. 1954, Jul 17. Chambersburg Public Opinion

[3] Death Claims Little Carol Strubler, Ill For Most of Her Nine Years. 1954, Jul 17. Chambersburg Public Opinion. "Specialists of St. Christopher's Hospital, Philadelphia, dispaired of the life of the 9-year-old child in March when they diagnosed her illness as acute leukemia. Preparing the distraught mother, Mrs. Ruth Strubler, for the seemingly inevitable the doctors said Carol would probably not live more than five months. The five-month period would have ended next week.

[4] Death Claims Little Carol Strubler, Ill For Most of Her Nine Years. 1954, Jul 17. Chambersburg Public Opinion "Hope for Carol's recovery welled in the mother's heart after a faith healer prayed for her over the child June 24 at a revival in Washington. The evangelist was quoted by Mrs. Strubler as saying the slender, brown-eyed child had been healed. Mrs. Strubler clung with all the fervor of a mother's love to confidence in Carol's restoration to health until yesterday when the condition of the little child took a turn for the worse. Then the child's heart faltered and death came to the frail body at noon.

[5] Obituary: Carol Ruth Strubler. 1954, Jul 19. The Record Herald. Accessed 2021, Sep 12 from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152760221/carol-ruth-strubler "Mrs. Ruth Strubler of 358 Tolbert Avenue had taken the frail child to a mass revival meeting in Washington where a traveling evangelist, Rev. William Branham of Jeffersonville, Ind., prayed for her and assured the heartbroken mother her daughter would live.A week later the mother told this newspaper she was confident the evangelist's words were true and had cancelled a scheduled visit to St. Christopher's Hospital in Philadelphia."