In Whom do we place our faith?

I recently read an intriguing article in Gary Craig's EFT Insights newsletter. It was written by a woman who worked in medical transcription for six years. Her job was to transcribe the doctor's notes from recordings to paper to retain in each patients file. The interesting thing was that the typical profile was, patient coming in with complaint, drug prescribed, patient returning in 3-6 weeks. Typically patient is still having trouble, new drug prescribed, return in 3-6 weeks. This cycle continued unless and until the patient was found to be at an acceptable level of pain or illness. She typically transcribed for neurology doctors and admitted she didn't always get to see final results, but she felt that the cure rate was 0%!!! Our family rarely goes to the doctor unless we come up against something we can't control ourselves, but even I was astonished at this person's observations.

It might surprise some to know that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other early church leaders were openly anti-medical/doctor and preferred the use of natural remedies and priesthood power. See this link http://www.pshm.org/mormonmedicine.shtml for an interesting book on Joseph Smith and Herbal Medicine. Joseph's probable bias against doctors of the day was that Alvin died at the hands of doctors with an overdose of calomel. Calomel is mercury and used to be used as a purgative. But, in Alvin's case, it stuck in his stomach and he died in agony. I know some of you may be thinking, "but this wouldn't happen today. Our doctors know more." And yet, the combination of doctors, drugs, pharmacists, and hospitals is the third leading cause of death in America. Many drugs are pushed through the approval process quickly or used in ways they were not tested. Every year there are drugs pulled from the market because they have injured or killed people. And our doctors are only trained in how the body works and which drugs to apply to which diseases in schools sponsored by drug companies.

Hippocrates said, "let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." What do the scriptures say about the matter?

James 5: 14-15

14 Is any ^asick among you? let him call for the ^belders of the church; and let them ^cpray over him, ^danointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15 And the ^aprayer of ^bfaith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be ^cforgiven him.

D&C 42:43-44

43 And whosoever among you are ^asick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be ^bnourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild ^cfood, and that not by the hand of an enemy.

44 And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and ^alay their ^bhands upon them in my name; and if they ^cdie they shall ^ddie unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.

Alma 46:40

40 And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land, but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many ^aplants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of ^bdiseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate...

Don't get me wrong. There *IS* a place for medicine in our lives, but too often a fever of 102 sends a young mother into a tailspin. Sniffles mean a trip to the doctor, and an ear ache ends up with a visit to the Emergency Room. None of these symptoms in isolation warrant full medical intervention. Simple remedies and EFT give surprising results. Having said that, there are plenty of natural medicine charlatans as well. That is why we need to study and try things out; and to be prayerful while doing it. We also remember that the Lord has created our magnificent bodies to heal.

I had the opportunity to hear Elder Russel M. Nelson speak on the Magnificence of Man at BYU in 1987. It was a wonderful reminder that God has created us to the most minute cellular level to heal and be healthy. Yes, things go wrong. There are viruses and accidents and consequences to living a mortal life. But we can rely in faith in our bodies' ability to heal. We can have faith in the simple direction our Heavenly Father has given us regarding diet and herbs and emotional balancing. We can have faith in the elders of the Church and in prayer. And when necessary, we can rely on the medical advances of our day. It is important to study and be informed in all cases, relying wholly on our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.