Healing Without Medicine

Since I am in medical school, I find that many life and spiritual lessons can be learned through medical analogies. Recently we have been studying infections and their treatment. Many diseases need to be treated completely or they will keep recurring and be a constant pain and debilitation. An ulcer, an itchy rash, headaches - if you just take aspirin to cover up the pain, you may feel fine for a little while, but you haven't cured the illness and it will persist and cause constant discomfort. If you don't remove dead skin or tissue like gangrene, it will progress to destroy the good tissue around it. The treatment may be painful and hard, but it is better than the destructive effects of the disease if not treated.

This Sunday in Priesthood the lesson was on forgiveness, based on Elder Faust's talk in April Conference. He spoke of how quickly a group of Amish people unconditionally forgave a man who had killed several young people, and the effect it had on their lives and others who learned of it. That made me think of the diseases I have referenced above. Forgiveness is the treatment that will cure our spiritual and emotional diseases caused by the offenses of others. How many times have I felt negatively toward other drivers, wanted to stop talking to someone who belittled me, or wished for a "gentle" curse to come upon someone who stole something from me? Do I not offend others? Do I get mad that they won't forgive me the same way they expect me to forgive them? Am I more deserving of God's love than them?

Hopefully I can try harder to use the antibiotics of scripture, the ice and rest of prayer, and the pain relief of the Atonement for my spiritual infections.