A path for Healing

To heal: to make or become healthy or whole again.

I’ve always thought that the body’s ability to heal is truly remarkable - especially when the healing leaves no trace of the prior trauma. All living organisms, including plants and animals, have at least some abilities to regenerate. Because of this, healing is all around us, and we often take it for granted. Wouldn’t it be convenient if our cars or houses had this capability as well?

Recently, I’ve been thinking about how we are promised healing through the atonement of Jesus Christ, and I wondered what that looked like as it pertains to sin. Why did Jesus sometimes forgive people before he healed them physically? An example of this is when he forgave the man who was lowered through the roof by his friends to be healed (Mark 2:4-12). In verse 5 it says, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick…, son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Immediately afterwards, the man was then independently healed of his palsy too. Only a few verses later and in a different setting, Jesus was criticized for associating with sinners. He simply stated, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:17) Here, Jesus compares sickness to sin. When you think about it, our sins almost always cause self-inflicted wounds because they naturally pull us away from God and this inevitably creates our bondage to destructive habits and problems. If the atonement was made to heal ALL things, then there is no need to differentiate the cause for any illnesses known to man.

Kevin J. Worthen said that God “can make good come … not just from our successes but also from our failures and the failures of others that cause us pain. God is that good and that powerful.” This is depicted in the story of Zeezrom from the Book of Mormon (Alma 15). Zeezrom lived a sinful life and influenced many to reject the gospel of Jesus Christ. Later, as he realized his sins, he felt so guilty that he became deathly ill. As Alma and Amulek taught Zeezrom about the Savior and the comprehensive and redeeming power of the atonement, he was miraculously healed. Immediately afterwards, he began to preach the gospel to others and many were baptized. This is a beautiful story of being forgiven of sins, but I can’t help but wonder about those that were affected by his sins prior to his conversion?

While living in Arequipa, we have become acquainted with a young woman who has a store in our neighborhood that we frequent often. Yesterday, as we stopped by to do some errands, we asked her how she was doing. She began to cry and told us how she was deeply hurt because of the abuse and betrayal of a close family member. She said that she knew that we were close to God and asked us to help her know how to find peace and how to not let her bitterness and anger dictate her life. After discussing ways for her to find protection from the abuse, we shared with her our testimony of a loving Savior that helps us heal from all pain. We invited her to learn more about Him and His atonement and we shared with her a talk given by Kristen Yee from the October 2022 Conference where she describes her healing path of forgiveness through the Savior. Sister Yee stated, “The Lord requires us to forgive for our own good. But He does not ask us to do it without His help, His love, His understanding. Through our covenants with the Lord, we can each receive the strengthening power, guidance, and the help we need to both to forgive and to be forgiven.” This can be a difficult path, but the Savior desires all to be healed and to have His peace for which he promises to those who come unto Him.

To heal: to make or become healthy or whole again.

More reading:

We Are Woven into the Coat of Many Colors

Yokes & Covenants