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The Physical Body

The physical human body is truly remarkable, often able to heal itself of many illnesses that more severely affect other organisms. When we are sick with an infectious bug, such as a virus or certain bacteria, it is not the bug itself that makes us sick, but the body’s reaction to the bug. For example, when we are afflicted with a cold virus and we experience a cough, sore throat, runny nose and fever, these are all consequences of the body trying to defend itself against the virus, and not signs of the virus’s direct effect upon our bodies.

We are blessed to have medicines that can help with some of these infections, but the main mechanism for many of the drugs is to control the invading bug enough for the body to heal itself, and thus eventually eliminate our uncomfortable symptoms once the invader is killed off. As hard as we may try to keep ourselves healthy, by eating a good diet, exercising, washing our hands, and receiving vaccinations, we all experience these relatively mild infectious diseases from time to time. The way our body reacts to these infections, however, directly impacts our physical outcome.

Physical Body’s Response to Infectious Illness

When the physical body senses a foreign invader, such as a virus or bacteria, it has three possible responses: to under-react, to overreact, or to “properly” react. The body will under-react when it either does not recognize the invader, or it is simply unable to mount an immune response, from lack of strength (such as malnutrition), or the presence of other simultaneous diseases (such as AIDS). As a result, we do not experience the typical symptoms of a cold or other infection until it is often too late. The end result of this lack of response by the body will inevitably be death, as it cannot handle the invader.

An overreaction of the body’s immune system occurs frequently in autoimmune diseases, such as in type 1 diabetes, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis. These are among some of the most lethal, personally burdensome, and difficult to treat diseases known to man. The body’s immune system erroneously identifies a part of itself as foreign and attacks that portion of the body. Without proper treatment, these problems may result in deformity or even death.

An “appropriate” reaction to a foreign invader provides the typical cold symptoms as mentioned above. We feel sick for a few days to a few weeks, but will then not only return to full health, but will actually become much stronger. Once the body has fought off the invading bug, it remembers it and will be able to more effectively recognize and eliminate it when it returns.

The Spiritual Body

Our spiritual bodies react to sin in the same way our physical bodies react to a virus. Despite our best efforts and purest intentions, we all sin. We work hard to avoid temptation, and do things to receive the strength of the Spirit when those temptations arise. But even as we get sick despite washing our hands and taking medicine when needed, being human means that we sin regularly (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). Instead of seeking treatment from a medical doctor, we seek the ultimate Healer, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, who is the only One who can truly heal us and prepare us to become like our Father in Heaven (Isa. 53:5; 2 Ne 9:41; 2 Ne 25:26).

When we sin, it is not the sin itself that will destroy us, but our reaction to it. Unlike with our physical body, whose response to an infectious invader occurs without our conscious choice, our agency allows us to choose which of the three ways we respond to our sins. If we under-react, we either do not recognize our action as sin, or more likely, we are unable to respond properly due to a lack of spiritual strength. We oftentimes feel that we are simply not strong enough to overcome, that we are unworthy of being healed, or the spiritual disease of apathy enters in and we simply do not care to respond (see “How is it with us?”, Elder Ballard, April 2000 Conference). This choice of inaction, if not corrected through faith on the Savior Jesus Christ and subsequent repentance, will inevitably lead to spiritual death (Rom 6:23; Alma 12:16-18; Hel 14:18).

An overreaction to sin is common among religious zealots, those who like an autoimmune disease misinterpret something that is natural and normal, and end up attacking it. As physical autoimmune diseases are often very difficult to manage and live with, so this spiritual attitude toward sin is often difficult to identify and overcome. When we respond in this manner to sin, we do not often realize what we are doing, and may even think that we are doing something positive. So it is with many fanatical or extremist religious cults. If we continuously respond in this way, our spirits will become deformed, and we will end up away from the presence of our Heavenly Father. We may guard against this behavior in ourselves by being humble, and seeking and listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

A proper or suitable response is obviously the desired choice. This means we follow the proscribed process of repentance by recognizing our sin, experiencing genuine remorse, talking with the appropriate judges in Israel if required, and not repeating the sin. Much like a cold, the repentance process is difficult while we are going through it, but it ends up making us stronger, closer to God, and better able to avoid those same actions in the future by building spiritual immunity to the sin.

The Need for Repentance

While the physical body at some point will die, with the help of our Savior we can choose to humbly respond appropriately to our sins, and thus be guaranteed life eternal (John 3:16; 2 Ne 2:27; Jacob 6:11). The Lord hopes that we all choose that good and merciful path back to our Heavenly Father’s presence.

 

Kyle Bradford Jones, MD is a family physician in Salt Lake City, Utah. His writing represents his own opinions and beliefs.