Indebted to our Creator

“And thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them.”

-Doctrine and Covenants 121:3

 Wrapping up this semester has led me to reflect on the many things I have learned in anatomy and through a greater understanding of our bodies. This class has been tough. But also very rewarding. Through my scripture study, I have started noticing more references to anatomy than I had previously. Researching the “Bodies Filled with Light” exhibit, I stumbled upon a reference to the many times anatomical terms were used in the scriptures. And it’s been sticking with me since.

Our bodies are referenced so much because of how sacred and amazing they are. We are shaped after our Creator, our Father. And we owe Him a debt of gratitude. Our bodies are amazing vessels, protecting us, filtering out the bad and keeping the good. A parable for what we are to do in the world around us.

A great knowledge of who we are comes from learning about what we are made of. I cannot imagine someone looking inside a human body and not believing in a higher power. We contain inside ourselves the blueprints of the greatest architect.

I am immensely grateful for what we have learned this semester, and will go forward armed with this knowledge.

Anatomy is sweet.

Bodies and Faith

“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

-James 2:26

I now hate the smell of formaldehyde.

Sadly, after this semester, it just makes me think of cadavers. Not sure if that will ever change.

But! I am so grateful for those people who have donated their bodies to science so that we can learn more about the vessel that our spirit is contained in during this life.

We have studied off of cadavers this entire semester. Multiple times a week, for hours on end, we learn. We examine the inside working of the human body. We see with our own eyes how our bodies function, why they function that way, and it just blows my mind.

And it’s thanks to these cadavers that we can learn off of real specimens. However, it is hard sometimes seeing them as fellow human beings, who used to be alive and well, working, laughing, crying, thinking, and acting. There is a very notable difference between “them” and “us”.

It makes me think of the few funerals I’ve been to. Seeing the bodies of those who have recently passed always feels like something is missing. Because it is. Their souls have left their bodies and are now in the Spirit World, waiting for the next step in their eternal progression. It is humbling to see the bodies of others and the lack of a spirit inside.

James had it right when he compared faith to the body. It needs something more substantial to keep it alive and well. If we neglect our bodies, they degenerate. If we neglect our faith, it does much the same thing. This scripture has just a little bit more depth to it now that I have seen a body without the spirit. It reminds me to upkeep my faith with works and continue on in the path of discipleship.

I Have Veins

Have you ever had that moment when something just clicks?

I remember learning about the venous system in class. In lab we looked at cadavers, saw the highways that transport blood all throughout the body. Going to anatomy lecture, we reviewed what we had learned, gained some understanding about how our bodies work, and left.

But later that day, looking at my arm as I was typing a paper, I noticed the veins on my hand, just like they always are there, but it just hit me. I HAVE VEINS INSIDE OF ME.

I know what you’re thinking: “David, that’s stupid. Of course you have veins inside of you. Haven’t you been learning anatomy this whole semester?”

Yes. And I’ve looked at bodies of deceased people, seeing all of this stuff. But its different when you internalize something. I don’t usually see my bones’ exact shape. I (thankfully) have never seen my muscles (except my tongue of course). But looking down at my hand, seeing my veins running along, just underneath my skin, struck me in a different way. I plugged my ears and listened to my heart beat, pushing my blood throughout my body, powering my consciousness, and sustaining me. And it became so much more than just learning about dead bodies then.

My previous blog post was about how we should not aim to teach anything without the Spirit of God, for it’s not worth teaching if you are not led by that selfsame Spirit. And like I had learned on my mission, internalizing and fully understanding truth changes us. An intimate testimony of Jesus Christ is much more powerful than just the knowledge of Him.

That same reasoning can be applied in secular learning. I am not going to act like I understood everything about veins from then on out. Heck, I still struggle to understand how half of anything works that I’ve learned. But in that moment that I was typing my paper, and in this same moment that I am typing out this blog post, I have that same awe and reverence for the body that I have gained through the learning and application of truths taught in class. And that’s pretty awesome.