Paul the Apostle wrote, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and so looking to commandment keeping as a savior is a vain exercise. The prophet Nephi would add, “no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever” (1 Nephi 10:21). So in a sense, all who are capable of committing sin have a terminal illness.
The good news of the gospel is that this terminal illness has a known cure.
The Lord sought to teach this lesson to the Israelites of long ago through their encounter with “fiery serpents” by directing Moses to set up a “serpent of brass … upon a pole” so they could be healed from the poisonous bites (Numbers 21:5–9). This was a simple do-or-don’t exercise to teach the principle in a clear way to “cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins” (Alma 33:22).
I looked at this with some nuance added in the Parable of the Illness. Three people were struck by a terminal disease for which a cure existed, and they reacted to it differently. Their reactions and choices didn’t alter the nature of the disease itself, but rather determined the end result of the infection. Andrea denied having the illness, so she did nothing about it. Barbara downplayed the illness but had a change of heart and sought treatment before it was too late. Cora proactively obtained help and overcame the disease much sooner.
Of course, we probably all know people who refuse to believe that their choices are incompatible with Heavenly Father’s commandments and standards, so they continue to pursue a course leading to a final destination outside His presence. I don’t wish to dwell on a discussion about this group. (Though if you feel like you are among this group, I invite you to become part of the “Barbara group” next!)
It can be more instructive to identify whether you and I are more like Barbara or Cora. When I have sinned, when I have displeased Heavenly Father, how quick am I to recognize that spiritual sickness is creeping in? How quick am I to seek help—from the ultimate Healer in particular? How quick am I to repent and seek forgiveness?
When I behave like Barbara and postpone my repentance, I defer blessings the Lord wants to bestow upon me, blessings that I don’t qualify for if I’m resistant to His will in my life. The sooner I follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and His prophets and apostles, the sooner I become spiritually well again. If I hasten to repent as represented by the character of Cora, then in the end, I will not have to face spiritual death because of the mercy of my Redeemer.
Perhaps the best position of all is one not represented in the parable—to have an immunity to temptation and sin—”no more disposition to do evil” (Mosiah 5:2). For any one of us, that state may be near or it may be far, but through Christ’s power to change our nature, it’s within reach.
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The Weekly Parable 