How My Work as a Doctor Transformed My Understanding of This Frequently Used Scripture Phrase

Keywords

spiritual blindness, divine revelation, faith and healing

Abstract

In the scriptures, blindness is a metaphor for disbelief and vision is figuratively or literally a description of receiving revelation. The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that the "eyes are a representation of light and knowledge" (D&C 77:44).

The scriptures are full of these neuro-ophthalmology (a subspecialty of medicine dealing with the connections between the brain and the eyes) references, such as stories that deal with blindness or transient vision loss. For example, Saul, who became Paul, experienced three days of blindness after his stunning conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:9). The Gospel of Mark tells the story of a blind man that Jesus healed in stages (Mark 8:22-26). Or consider the man born blind in John 9 that Jesus found in the temple. Jesus healed blindness using unexpected means (Jesus daubed the blind man’s eyes with mud) that required additional faith (Jesus asked the blind man to walk down a steep road alone to wash his eyes in the Pool of Siloam).

Original Publication Citation

How My Work as a Doctor Transformed My Understanding of This Frequently Used Scripture Phrase, Scott Haines and Taylor Halverson, LDS Living, December 16, 2017. #20 article on LDS Living.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2017

Publisher

LDS Living

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Marketing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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