The Parable of the Man and His Wound‏

Hello family and friends! Great to connect with all of you yet again. Thank goodness my foot is all better and I’m a normal missionary again! That week serving in the mission office was tedious, but I was able to do a lot of helpful office work at least 😉

So, I have learned something tremendous throughout all of this. When I was first stricken with this horrible foot infection, I went to the doctor and after washing the foot and putting ointments on it, they bandaged it up and gave me crutches for the time being. I was told to elevate my foot and stay off of it for at least 3 days. During the 1st day of confinement, I felt an incredible itch to get outside. It just didn’t feel right to be sitting down, looking out a window at Cape Town central with Table Mountain looming in the background and not doing any missionary work.

So, the next morning I told myself I could work half the day. What harm will half a days work do? I can hobble around for 4 hours and elevate my foot in people’s homes, so what’s the big deal? I proceeded to do just that and, to make a long story short, my foot got even worse, the mission president’s wife lovingly chastised me for not listening to the doctor, and all of this resulted in me being confined to the mission office to rest my foot this whole past week, whereas maybe I could’ve healed sooner had I not gone out that day.

Now, let’s see if we can draw some gospel parallels: There was once a nice man who loved to stay busy and get things done. However, on one particular day, he sinned and felt it necessary to have some serious one on one time with His Father in Heaven. “What transpired today has caused me great pain,” the man confessed. “I will do anything you ask of me, if you will just relieve the pain I am feeling!”

The Spirit of the Lord spoke counsel to his soul. This man felt that he needed to stay away from the things that brought him this pain in the first place and to go through the necessary steps to heal his spiritual wound. The man agreed and thanked the Lord for this wisdom spoken to his soul.

A couple days went by and this man felt uneasy. “Look at all those people,” the man thought as he gazed at a busy walkway.”My spiritual wound isn’t really that bad. They can get away with small cuts and bruises, why can’t I?”

At that moment the man thrust himself back into the unsettled world and continued with his ways, feeling he knew better than the very Spirit who spoke to his soul. But that night, as he returned to his home, he felt even more pain. His mind was wracked with torment and he fell to his knees, begging his Physician to relieve the pain once more.

“I have told you what you must do,” the Spirit whispered. “Why do you continue to resist this counsel, that I may heal you?”

Although feeling more pain than before, the young man submitted himself to the impressions of the Spirit and made a solemn vow to stay away from those things that brought him pain and to take time to spiritually heal. As he did so, he felt his life coming back together as it once was and he felt stronger than ever before.

See! You can tie anything to the gospel 😉 Although I never sinned to bring this foot infection about (at least, I’m pretty sure I didn’t! :)), I believe it is fair, for the sake of the story, to compare my infection with sin, the doctor as our Healer and Physician, the Savior of our souls, and the resting process (and medications!) as repentance and scripture study.

Truly, the more we resist those basic things such as prayer, scripture study, church attendance, and altogether being a living example of the Savior Himself, the wider and more spiritually infected those wounds become. Why can’t we just take time to heal? Why can’t we trust the Savior’s Atonement so He can be the Physician He most certainly is? So, I would commit you just as I have recommitted myself, to go through that healing process, as we all must, so you too can know what it feels like to be made whole.

I love you all! Stay well,
Elder Matthew G. Leach
South Africa Cape Town Mission