The Inward Vessel

For the past couple of years we have struggled with what seemed to be an illness in our now five-year-old son that wouldn’t go away.  He seemed to have a constant sinus infection, with one nostril constantly running so that it usually looked raw and red.  He also had terrible breath, and no matter what we did it didn’t seem to go away.  We took him to the pediatrician on more than one occasion and even went to an ENT who told us to use mouthwash.  But that didn’t help at all.  We were starting to resign ourselves to the fact that he would have a rough time in high school in ten years when no one wants to be his friend because his nose is always running and his breath is awful.  Last week my wife was so tired of this that she decided to investigate his nose with a flashlight and see if there wasn’t something she could do.  Way up there something looked not quite right, and sure enough she grabbed some tweezers and was able to pull something down.  It took a while for her to figure out what it was, but she eventually realized that it was a piece of scotch tape.  Our best guess is that he put it up there about two years ago when he was three.  Almost immediately after removing it his breath was better.  Within a couple of days the nose had completely stopped running, and he no longer snores like he used to.  If only we could have realized the real problem sooner!

              I’ve been thinking about this experience for a while and I believe it has something to teach us spiritually.  It makes me think of this famous quote by President Benson: “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”  We tried for so long to treat the outward signs of my son’s issues but never got to the real cause of his problems and so he never improved.  In the same manner the world treats the symptoms of the crimes of society by making tougher laws or having harsher penalties or hiring more policemen, etc.  But the root causes—such as children growing up in homes without fathers or family life disintegrating with no moral education taught in the home—are not as often dealt with.  This reminds me of another famous quote by President Packer: “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior.  The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.”  Ultimately we are to solve problems by understanding and applying gospel principles—working from the inside—not by looking only myopically at the signs of the problem itself. 

              I think we see an example of this when the Savior visited the Nephites.  They were certainly a group with many problem, most of them likely have lost everything including loved ones. Their cities were destroyed and surely the people wondered what they should do. The world would have told them to get to work immediately rebuilding the cities and making the place like it was before.  But here’s how the Lord told them to address their problems: “Return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you” (3 Nephi 9:13).  It was repentance and faith on the Lord that they needed more than physical buildings, and usually it is the same for us.  Wherever we are trying to head, whatever problems we are trying to solve, repentance—working on the inside—will always help us get there.  As Captain Moroni told us, “God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also” (Alma 60:23).  We best address problems by first looking inwardly, something we should have done a long time ago to my son….