“LDS General Conference: Discussion on President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s Talk: Medical Truth, Doctors, and the Internet” by grego

“LDS General Conference:  Discussion on President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s Talk:  Medical Truth, Doctors, and the Internet”

I wonder if President Uchtdorf realized the irony of using the opening story in this talk…

I’ve never taken Pres. Uchtdorf for an alternative kind of guy, but his talk on Saturday, “It Works Wonderfully!” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/10/it-works-wonderfully?lang=eng), really started off bad…:

“After a recent medical procedure, my very capable doctors explained what I needed to do to heal properly…
“I decided to expedite the healing process by undertaking my own internet search.” (audience laughter)
“I suppose I expected to discover truth that my doctors were unaware or tried to keep from me…” (more audience laughter)
Of course, researching these things for ourselves is not a bad idea BUT…
…regarding truth I could rely on and instead found myself being drawn to the often outlandish claims of internet lore.
Sometimes the truth might seem just too straightforward, too plain, and too simple for us to fully appreciate its great value.
So we set aside what we HAVE EXPERIENCED and know to be true in pursuit of more mysterious or complicated information.
Hopefully we will learn quickly that when we chase after shadows we’re pursuing matters that have little substance or value.”

Yes, there are outlandish claims on the internet.

Fortunately, I know that at least some of those “outlandish claims” are true. I cannot tell you how incredibly thankful I am for the internet and what it’s brought to my life, especially in regards to physical and emotional health for me and many others. It has brought lots of truth in many areas, and simplified and eased my life.

I can tell you many things ARE hidden from doctors, even very professional and caring ones. And I know, through experience and anecdotes, that many DO keep things hidden from patients.

To assume that doctors are vessels of healing truth is ignorant, naive, close-minded, or worse.

In addition, doctors are rarely trained in, and rarer know, what one needs to do for health. Even physical therapists are often empty of how to recover.

Just as sad as Pres. Uchtdorf’s anecdote was the laughter of many in the congregation when he shared it.

As he said of something else, “This saddens me.” Yes, it does. That so many who profess to know the truth, and the process of reaching it, laugh at and mock truth and those who search for it. Those who have often HAD to do so because of the incredible pain, suffering, and lack in Western emotional (called “mental”) and physical medicine; many who were led by the SPIRIT to search the internet in order to find truth, and have found much.

The truth IS often very straightforward, plain, and simple. Let me ask:
are complicated medical procedures straightforward, plain, and simple?
are complicated and dangerous drugs straightforward, plain, and simple?

Let’s look at cancer, for an example.

Western medicine:
*Go for surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
*Explain to a child how those help people with cancer (good luck!).
*Show the death and recurrence statistics.
*Quote the medical research (and doctors’ anectodes) about how useless and harmful they are.
*Explain the pain, suffering, side effects, costs and burdens, the victimhood of the patients, and the eventual death within months to just a very few years of almost all people treated in these ways (including about every apostle who has used these means to try to heal their cancer).

Alternative medicine:
*Find out what contributed to the state of cancer (using unobtrusive means such as matrix response testing, muscle testing, autonomic response testing, bioresonance, etc.).
*Use muscle testing et. al. and simple means, such as: moving a bed, energy healing, music/ frequencies/etc., colors, herbs, many very old and proven household “medicines”, etc.–to neutralize those reasons.
*Explain the simpleness, the straightforwardness, the easiness of understanding what cancer is and the healing processes.

I join with others in “…avoid[ing] putting unnecessary burdens on our members” by keeping them ignorant of many temporally-saving truths—that are often found on the internet.

I wonder which of those “outlandish claims” or anything else President Uchtdorf [has experienced], and welcome him to discuss this topic.

Elder Ballard, who followed President Uchtdorf, comforted and soothed my heart and soul with his comment, “[Leaders] have the best intentions, but sometimes make mistakes.” :)