Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Presidency of the Seventy said in October 2021 general conference:
. . . .We had a beautiful funeral that honored the life of my father. As time passed, however, and we experienced the pain of my father’s absence, I began to wonder why my father had not been healed. I wondered if my faith was not strong enough. Why did some families receive a miracle, but our family did not? I had learned on my mission to turn to the scriptures for answers, so I began to search the scriptures.
The Old Testament teaches of an aromatic spice or ointment used for healing wounds that was made from a bush grown in Gilead. In Old Testament times, the ointment came to be known as the “balm of Gilead.”1 The prophet Jeremiah lamented over the calamities that he observed among his people and hoped for healing. Jeremiah questioned, “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?”2 Through literature, music, and art, the Savior Jesus Christ has often been referred to as the Balm of Gilead because of His remarkable healing power. Like Jeremiah, I was wondering, “Is there no balm in Gilead for the Nielson family?”
In Mark chapter 2 of the New Testament, we find the Savior in Capernaum. Word of the Savior’s healing power had spread throughout the land, and many people traveled to Capernaum to be healed by the Savior. There were so many gathered around the house where the Savior was located that there was no room for Him to receive them all. Four men carried a man sick of the palsy to be healed by the Savior. They were unable to make their way through the crowd, and so they uncovered the roof of the house and lowered the man down to meet the Savior.
As I read this account, I was surprised by what the Savior said as He met this man: “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”3 I thought that if I had been one of the four men who had carried this man, I might have said to the Savior, “We actually brought him here to be healed.” I think the Savior might have replied, “I did heal him.” Was it possible that I had not fully understood—that the Savior’s healing power was not just His ability to heal our bodies but, perhaps even more important, His ability to heal our hearts and the broken hearts of my family?
The Savior taught an important lesson through this experience as He eventually physically healed the man. It became clear to me that His message was that He could touch the eyes of those who were blind, and they could see. He could touch the ears of those who were deaf, and they could hear. He could touch the legs of those who could not walk, and they could walk. He can heal our eyes and our ears and our legs, but most important of all, He can heal our hearts as He cleanses us from sin and lifts us through difficult trials.
When the Savior appears to the people in the Book of Mormon after His Resurrection, He again speaks of His healing power. The Nephites hear His voice from heaven saying, “Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?”4 Later, the Savior teaches, “For ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them.”5 The Savior was not referring to a physical healing but rather a spiritual healing of their souls. . . .
The Savior’s Atonement, which makes available both His redeeming and His enabling power, is the ultimate blessing that Jesus Christ offers to all. As we repent with full purpose of heart, the Savior cleanses us from sin. As we cheerfully submit our will to the Father, even in the most difficult of circumstances, the Savior will lift our burdens and make them light.7
But here is the greater lesson I learned. I had mistakenly believed that the Savior’s healing power had not worked for my family. As I now look back with more mature eyes and experience, I see that the Savior’s healing power was evident in the lives of each of my family members. I was so focused on a physical healing that I failed to see the miracles that had occurred. The Lord strengthened and lifted my mother beyond her capacity through this difficult trial, and she led a long and productive life. She had a remarkable positive influence on her children and grandchildren. The Lord blessed me and my siblings with love, unity, faith, and resilience that became an important part of our lives and continues today. ~ Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Presidency of the Seventy—For Elder Neilson’s complete talk including working links, click . . . Is There No Balm in Gilead?
