Alma 15:3 -- On Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Illness

"And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom, with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his wickedness, for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more; and he supposed that they had been slain because of his iniquity. And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance; therefore he began to be scorched with a burning heat."
Alma 15:3


It is interesting here to note that sin and anxiety in general can make us physically ill, because our mental / emotional / spiritual state seems to be tied into our physical being. I think that means that part of staying truly healthy is taking care of our mental, emotional, and spiritual needs just as much as we take care of our physical health... something that we should do regularly, whether or not we are doing so currently.

Since the New Testament and the Book of Mormon don't have a lot to say about the preparation of food and what we should do about disease and bodily function as the Old Testament law did, I think sometimes we just blow that part off as not being relevant to religion. Even the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89) we sometimes discount because it was given to the prophet in response to a question and was general advice rather than introducted initially as a commandment. Instead, we go on chasing diet fads or sometimes just not caring at all about our physical well being... the spiritual is the more important after all, and we need our spirits to triumph over our bodies anyway, right?

The problem with this is that our bodies are gifts from God, and the temples of our spirits. One of the major reasons we are here in this life is to learn to work together with our bodies and fuse ourselves into being whole, spirit and body united as one. We need to overcome our physical desires that war against God, for sure... but we do that by finding righteous ways to feed and fill our bodies rather than just giving up and not taking care of them. Christ proved that he could overcome his body when he fasted for a very extended period of time (something we should certainly not try unless we reach his spiritual level, which is unlikely in this life), but after that he still ate and slept and took care of his physical self.

Today, let's take care of our bodies and treat them well. Not placing them before our spiritual needs, or considering those desires before the Lord's will, but still valuing and caring for them as important components of our selves, and as gifts from God that we should value and love. Let's especially remember this lesson of Zeezrom, and be wary of sin and its effect on our minds and emotions, which can turn into physical illness... making sure that we repent and improve rather than losing ourselves in that mental and physical illness caused by spiritual dissonance.