Mormon Reflection: Medicine and the Gospel
Sarah is a student at Brigham Young University and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the “Mormon Church” by friends of other faiths). She is currently taking a class where she was asked to write a paper about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ and her specific discipline in school (which is exercise science) are related. Mormons are counseled in modern-day scripture to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). She shares her thoughts and feelings concerning this principle below:
I have chosen to pursue study in the field of medicine. Medicine is principally based on science and research based data. Science itself is seen as a field of study in which there are clear rights and wrongs. Something is fact, or it is not. There is very little room for interpretation of chemical reactions, quantitative results, and physiological and biological processes; however, some explanation can be made in regards to why certain chemical reactions occur, why quantitative results appear how they do, and why physiological and biological processes occur a certain way. Medicine is such a broad and yet vitally important field of study, and many important and ultimately life-saving details can be learned. Incorporating religion and the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the study of medicine can only bring positive results. (more…)
