The Church

Years ago, I was listening to a BYU conference talk by Truman Madsen. I always paid particular attention to him since his wife was my former Young Women’s leader when we all lived in Jerusalem. Brother Madsen has since passed away, but some of his insights have never left me.

The particular talk was titled, The Savior, the Sacrament, and Self-Worth. Brother Madsen discusses how taking the sacrament is something that we should cherish. We all know that partaking of the sacrament renews our baptismal covenants and reinstates our commitment to be followers of Christ.

But I’d like to take it one step further. Partaking of the sacrament makes us whole.

Brother Madsen said, “The Savior has power to change us even when circumstances remain the same.”

I’d like to add my own revision to his words. “The Savior has the power to make us whole even when circumstances remain the same.”

This past month has been a tough one for me as I’ve watched a family member make very poor choices and pay grave consequences for them-consequences that will continue formany months. It feels like a part of me has gone missing, and there is a huge void of helplessness inside of me.

How can I continue with normal life when I feel so much sorrow? How can I be happy? How can I find fulfillment in other things? How can I be made whole when someone close to me is broken?

In ancient Israel, the “issue of blood” was considered unclean, whether during a woman’s menses or on the occasion of childbirth. With this in mind, we understand how devastating it was for the woman in Luke 8 who suffered the continuous issue of blood for twelve years.

She spent all of her living on seeking physicians, but nothing worked. Since “blood” was considered unclean, she became an outcast in her society because according to Jewish tradition, she is not only “impure herself; she also contaminates others, even those in her proximity.”[i]

If she had a husband and children, she had to live a life away from them. For twelve years, she lived in her isolated condition with no relief.

Yet, she has faith, even when she wasn’t considered whole and had there was no medical knowledge of her day to heal her. It’s amazing to think that this woman still believed she could be made whole by simply touching the Savior’s garment.

Like our prayers sometimes are, her prayers must have been desperate at times.

When Jesus arrived in her town, he was thronged by the people. But this was her chance. Not only does she have to walk into a public setting, but she has to reach a man who was surrounded by many others-people who might think they are contaminated by her if she comes too close.

I think it’s important to remember that this woman had to make an effort. She had to approach the Savior in faith in order to be healed.

When she touched the hem of the Savior’s garment, He stopped immediately and said, “I perceive that virtue is gone out of me” (Luke 8:46). In other words, priesthood power has flowed from Christ to this woman.

Because of her faith, and because of the power that Christ holds, “straightaway” her issue of blood “dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague” (Mark 5:29). The twelve years of misery had come to an end.

The rest of the story continues as Jesus asked who has touched Him-who has been the recipient of his power? She came before him and confessed it was she. His answer? “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace” (Luke 8:48).

“Good comfort” means “courage.” Some of our trials may last twelve years, or a lifetime, but the Savior wants us to take courage, to be of good comfort, to accept His gift of wholeness even when things are broken around us and inside of us.

In addition to clean health, the Savior gave the woman re-entrance to her former life-a life with friends and family, a life in which she can now worship at the temple, and a life where she becomes a part of society again.

I thought about this in regards to my own trials. How can I, when there is sorrow or broken things around me, find joy, or move forward with things that I love to do? With the Savior offering us courage, comfort, and wholeness, moving forward in our faith is what He desires for us.

It’s my testimony that the infinite healing will come and our trials will be lifted. In Alma 41 we learn that “ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again” (Alma 41:14).

In all of this we must remember that we cannot become whole by ourselves.

In D&C 59:8, we learn how we can embrace the gifts available from the Savior: “Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” To explain this more, Truman Madsen said a “broken [heart] does not mean distressed or tormented, it means an open heart. It means, as one of our brethren has taught us, a heart that is susceptible to the spirit and willing to keep His covenants. A broken heart is an open heart and He can fill it.”[ii]

The sacrament bread and water represent His wholeness, His gift, and His virtue. If we partake of the holy sacrament with an open heart, the extraordinary gift of wholeness will be ours for the taking. And by embracing one gift, we can then embrace the next: “For unto him that receiveth, it shall be given more abundantly, even power” (D&C 71:6).

Heather B. Moore is the author of Christ’s Gifts to Women as well as several award-winning historical novels, including: Daughters of Jared. Visit her website: www.hbmoore.com