By President Camille N. Johnson
Relief Society General President

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.

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.

And the Savior said to him who was thankful, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Jesus Christ had healed ten lepers. But one, coming back to the Savior, received something in addition. He was made whole.

Nine lepers were physically healed.

One was physically healed and made spiritually whole.

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?

The Master Healer will heal all our afflictions—physical and emotional—in His time. But in the waiting to be healed, can one be whole?

What might it mean to be spiritually whole?

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.

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.

The Lord told Enos his faith had made him “whole.” 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?” And the Lord responded, “Because of thy faith in Christ, … thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we can seek to be spiritually whole while we wait and hope for physical and emotional healing.

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.

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!

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/04/14johnson?lang=eng

---