>[!Properties]+ Talk Details >Speaker: [[Camille N. Johnson]] >Conference: 2025-Apr > > >#Gospel/Wholeness #Gospel/Faith #Gospel/JesusChrist > [!ai]- AI Summary > - Wholeness is distinct from physical or emotional healing and is rooted in faith and conversion to Jesus Christ. > - We can be spiritually whole even as we wait for physical or emotional healing, as demonstrated by scriptural examples and parables. > - Keeping covenants, developing spiritual conversion, and sharing our light helps us remain whole in Christ. > > **Invitation:** Choose to be spiritually whole in Christ now by deepening conversion, keeping covenants, and letting your light shine for others. # Notes # Talk [Gospel Library](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/04/14johnson?lang=eng) ## Featured Quotes ##### Quote 1 "QUOTETEXT" — [[Spiritually Whole in Him — Johnson Apr 2025]] | [Library Link](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/04/14johnson?lang=eng) ## Talk Text Wholeness does not necessarily mean physical and emotional restoration in this life. Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ. ###### 1 1 Ten lepers hollered to the Savior, “Have mercy on us.” And Jesus did. He told them to show themselves to the priest, and as they went, they were cleansed of the disease. ###### 2 2 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, shouted praises to God. He returned to the Savior, fell at His feet, and expressed gratitude. ###### 3 3 And the Savior said to him who was thankful, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”[^1] ###### 4 4 Jesus Christ had healed ten lepers. But one, coming back to the Savior, received something in addition. He was made whole. ###### 5 5 Nine lepers were physically healed. ###### 6 6 One was physically healed and made spiritually whole. ###### 7 7 In pondering this story, I have wondered if the converse is true. If healing and wholeness are not the same, can one be made spiritually whole by Him but not yet physically and emotionally healed? ###### 8 8 The Master Healer will heal all our afflictions—physical and emotional—in His time.[^2] But in the waiting to be healed, can one be whole? ###### 9 9 What might it mean to be spiritually whole? ###### 10 10 We are whole in Jesus Christ when we exercise our agency to follow Him in faith, submit our hearts to Him so He can change them, keep His commandments, and enter a covenant relationship with Him, meekly enduring and learning from the challenges of this earthly estate until we return to His presence and are healed in every way. I can be whole while I wait for healing if I am wholehearted in my relationship with Him. ###### 11 11 Faith in Jesus Christ begets hope. I find hope in striving to be whole—a wholeness born of faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Him increases my hope for healing, and that hope reinforces my faith in Jesus Christ. It is a powerful cycle.[^3] ###### 12 12 The Lord told Enos his faith had made him “whole.”[^4] Wholeness came as Enos pondered on the words of his prophet-father, Jacob, as he hungered to understand the opportunity for eternal life, as he cried unto God in mighty prayer. And in that state of desire and humility, the voice of the Lord came to him, announcing his sins were forgiven. And Enos asked the Lord, “How is it done?”[^5] And the Lord responded, “Because of thy faith in Christ, … thy faith hath made thee whole.”[^6] ###### 13 13 Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we can seek to be spiritually whole while we wait and hope for physical and emotional healing. ###### 14 14 By virtue of His atoning sacrifice, and when we sincerely repent, the Savior heals us from sin, as He did with Enos. His infinite Atonement also reaches our griefs and sorrows. ###### 15 15 But He may not provide healing from illness and disease—chronic pain, autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, cancer, anxiety, depression, and the like. That kind of healing is on the Lord’s time. And in the meantime, we can choose to be made whole by exercising our faith in Him! ###### 16 16 To be whole means to be complete and full. Much like the five wise virgins who had their lamps full with oil when the bridegroom came, we can be whole in Jesus Christ as we fill our lamps with the nourishing oil of conversion to Him.[^7] In that way, we are prepared for the symbolic wedding supper, His Second Coming. ###### 17 17 In the parable all ten of the virgins were in the right location, awaiting the bridegroom. Every one of them came with a lamp. ###### 18 18 But when He came, at the unexpected midnight hour, the five foolish did not have sufficient oil for their lamps. They were not described as wicked but rather as foolish.[^8] The foolish failed to adequately prepare to keep their lamps burning with the oil of conversion. ###### 19 19 And so, in response to their petition to be permitted to enter the wedding supper, the bridegroom responded, “Ye know me not.”[^9] ###### 20 20 Implying, then, that the five wise virgins did know Him. They were whole in Him. ###### 21 21 Their lamps were full of the precious oil of conversion, which allowed the wise virgins to enter the marriage feast on the right hand of the bridegroom.[^10] ###### 22 22 As expressed by the Savior, “Be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom.”[^11]  ###### 23 23 A magnificent sculpture depicting the five wise virgins was recently placed on Temple Square, just outside the doors to the Relief Society Building and in the shadow of the Salt Lake Temple.[^12] ###### 24 24 It is a location befitting application of the parable. Because when we make and keep covenants,[^13] particularly those available in the house of the Lord, we fill our lamps with the oil of conversion.   ###### 25 25 While the women represented as the five wise virgins are not sharing the oil of their conversion, they are sharing their light as they hold up their lamps, which are full of oil and burning brightly. Significantly they are depicted supporting one another—shoulder to shoulder, an arm around another, making eye contact and beckoning others to come to the light. ###### 26 26 Indeed, “[we] are the light of the world.”[^14] The Savior declared: ###### 27 27 “I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. ###### 28 28 “… Do [we] light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light [unto] all that are in the house; ###### 29 29 “Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father [which] is in heaven.”[^15] ###### 30 30 We are commanded to share His light. So keep your lamp full of the oil of conversion to Jesus Christ and be prepared to keep your lamp trimmed and burning bright. Then let that light shine.[^16] When we share our light, we bring the relief of Jesus Christ to others, our conversion to Him is deepened, and we can be whole even while we wait for healing. And as we let our light shine brightly, we can be joyful even while we wait. ###### 31 31 A scriptural example is useful in reinforcing the principle that we can be whole as we are converted to Jesus Christ and draw strength from Him, even while we wait for healing. ###### 32 32 The Apostle Paul had some kind of affliction—what he described as a “thorn in the flesh,”[^17] which three times he had asked the Lord to remove.[^18] And the Lord said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”[^19] To which Paul declared: ###### 33 33 “Most gladly therefore will I … glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ###### 34 34 “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, … in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”[^20] ###### 35 35 Paul’s example suggests that even in our weakness, our strength in Jesus Christ can be made perfect—that is, complete and whole. Those who wrestle with mortal struggles and turn to God in faith like Paul can receive the blessings of becoming acquainted with God. ###### 36 36 Paul was not healed of his affliction, but he was spiritually whole in Jesus Christ. And even in his adversity, the light of his conversion to and strength from Jesus Christ was shining, and he was joyful. In his Epistle to the Philippians, he exclaimed, “Rejoice in the Lord alway\[s]: and again I say, Rejoice.”[^21] ###### 37 37 Sisters and brothers, the answer is yes, we can be spiritually whole, even while we wait for physical and emotional healing. Wholeness does not necessarily mean physical and emotional restoration in this life. Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ and in letting the light of that conversion shine. ###### 38 38 “Many are called, but few \[choose to be\][^22] chosen.” [^23] ###### 39 39 All will be physically and emotionally healed in the Resurrection. But will you choose now to be whole in Him? ###### 40 40 I declare with joy that I am converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. I am striving to be whole in Him. I am sure that all things will be restored and healing will come, in His time, because He lives. ###### 41 41 Mary Magdalene was a woman healed of Jesus Christ. And she was a woman whole in Jesus Christ. As His disciple, she followed the Savior throughout Galilee and ministered to Him.[^24] ###### 42 42 She was present at the foot of the cross, a witness to His death.[^25] ###### 43 43 She went to His tomb to complete the burial preparations and discovered that the stone covering had been taken away, that the Lord’s body was gone. Mary was at the tomb weeping when she was asked, first by the angels and then by the Savior Himself, “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?”[^26] ###### 44 44 Mary cried, “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.”[^27] ###### 45 45 And Jesus tenderly called her by name, “Mary.” And she recognized Him and reverently replied, “Rabboni; … Master.”[^28] ###### 46 46 Prophesying of the Savior, Isaiah said, “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.”[^29] ###### 47 47 His Resurrection allowed Mary’s tears to be wiped away. Surely He will wipe away yours too. ###### 48 48 Mary was the first witness of the resurrected Savior. And she was the first to witness to others of what she had seen. ###### 49 49 I humbly add my testimony to Mary’s. He is risen. Jesus Christ lives. Ultimately all will be healed, physically and emotionally, in Him. And in the waiting for that healing, faith in the Master Healer will make us spiritually whole. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. [^1]: See [[Luke 17#11|Luke 17:11–19]][[Luke 17#12|]][[Luke 17#13|]][[Luke 17#14|]][[Luke 17#15|]][[Luke 17#16|]][[Luke 17#17|]][[Luke 17#18|]][[Luke 17#19|]]. The term “made whole” was translated from a Greek word that means to save, to rescue, to deliver, or to heal. That seems to underscore the vital truth that Jesus Christ can heal us physically and He can also deliver, rescue, save, and heal us in other ways. [^2]: See [[Alma 40#23|Alma 40:23]]. “The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.” See also Russell M. Nelson, “Jesus Christ—the Master Healer,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2005, 87: “The gift of resurrection is the Lord’s consummate act of healing.” [^3]: See [[Moroni 7#40|Moroni 7:40–42]][[Moroni 7#41|]][[Moroni 7#42|]]. [^4]: [[Enos 1#8|Enos 1:8]]. [^5]: [[Enos 1#7|Enos 1:7]]. [^6]: [[Enos 1#8|Enos 1:8]]. [^7]: See [[Matthew 25#1|Matthew 25:1–13]][[Matthew 25#2|]][[Matthew 25#3|]][[Matthew 25#4|]][[Matthew 25#5|]][[Matthew 25#6|]][[Matthew 25#7|]][[Matthew 25#8|]][[Matthew 25#9|]][[Matthew 25#10|]][[Matthew 25#11|]][[Matthew 25#12|]][[Matthew 25#13|]]. [^8]: Foolish because they did not think that having extra oil was important or necessary. [^9]: Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 25:12 (in [[Matthew 25#12|Matthew 25:12]], footnote a). [^10]: Of the parable of the ten virgins, Elder David A. Bednar taught: “Please think of the lamps used by the virgins as the lamps of testimony. The foolish virgins took their lamps of testimony but took no oil with them. Consider the oil to be the oil of conversion. … “Were the five wise virgins selfish and unwilling to share, or were they indicating correctly that the oil of conversion cannot be borrowed? Can the spiritual strength that results from consistent obedience to the commandments be given to another person? Can the knowledge obtained through diligent study and pondering of the scriptures be conveyed to one who is in need? Can the peace the gospel brings to a faithful Latter-day Saint be transferred to an individual experiencing adversity or great challenge? The clear answer to each of these questions is no.” He went on to explain that we have an “individual responsibility to keep our lamp of testimony burning and to obtain an ample supply of the oil of conversion. This precious oil is acquired one drop at a time—‘line upon line \[and] precept upon precept’ ([[2 Nephi 28#30|2 Nephi 28:30]]), patiently and persistently. No shortcut is available; no last-minute flurry of preparation is possible” (“Converted unto the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 109). [^11]: [[D&C 33#17|D&C 33:17]]. President Russell M. Nelson has counseled: “Now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority” (“The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Liahona, Nov. 2024, 121). [^12]: The sculptor of Five Wise Virgins is artist Ben Hammond, who portrayed the five wise virgins as women of various ages and racial backgrounds, representing the diversity of women who are converted disciples of Jesus Christ. [^13]: When we partake of the sacrament, we renew all the covenants we have made with the Lord and make a new covenant that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ and obey His commandments. Worthy participation in priesthood ordinances and making and keeping covenants make us whole. This principle is beautifully expressed in the sacrament hymn “Bread of Life, Living Water”: Bread of Life, Living Water, Feed my soul, fill my heart. Lord, give me new life in Thee And make me whole—complete and holy— Bound to Thee eternally. (Hymns—For Home and Church, Gospel Library; emphasis added.) [^14]: [[Matthew 5#14|Matthew 5:14]]. [^15]: [[3 Nephi 12#14|3 Nephi 12:14–16]][[3 Nephi 12#15|]][[3 Nephi 12#16|]]. [^16]: In the words of the hymn: This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. … Ev’rywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine. … Jesus gave it to me; I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. (“This Little Light of Mine,” Hymns—For Home and Church, Gospel Library.) [^17]: [[2 Corinthians 12#7|2 Corinthians 12:7]]. [^18]: See [[2 Corinthians 12#8|2 Corinthians 12:8]]. [^19]: [[2 Corinthians 12#9|2 Corinthians 12:9]]. [^20]: [[2 Corinthians 12#9|2 Corinthians 12:9–10]][[2 Corinthians 12#10|]]. [^21]: [[Philippians 4#4|Philippians 4:4]]. See also [[2 Corinthians 1#3|2 Corinthians 1:3–4]][[2 Corinthians 1#4|]]: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” [^22]: See David A. Bednar, “Put On Thy Strength, O Zion,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 94. [^23]: [[Matthew 22#14|Matthew 22:14]]. See also [[D&C 121#34|D&C 121:34–35]][[D&C 121#35|]]. [^24]: See [[Luke 8#2|Luke 8:2–3]][[Luke 8#3|]]. [^25]: See [[John 19#25|John 19:25]]. [^26]: [[John 20#15|John 20:15]]. See also [[John 20#13|John 20:13]]. [^27]: [[John 20#13|John 20:13]]. [^28]: [[John 20#16|John 20:16]]. [^29]: [[Isaiah 25#8|Isaiah 25:8]].