The Home Healer: A Question Social Norms Thought*

Not long ago I read an article called The Family Healer (The Herb Quarterly Spring 2011). In it is the following introductory paragraph:

Once upon a time, the homemaker of the family (usually the wife and mother) used to serve as the primary healer in the family. This caretaker tended to the fevers, the bruises and scrapes, and the coughs and colds, while doctors were reserved for dire emergencies only. Over the years, however, the health of our families has come to depend on hospitals, emergency rooms, and even insurance companies. The result? An overloaded medical system that sees costs soaring through the roof. It seems that at some point we lost our faith in the ability to look after ourselves. According to the national Center for Health Statistics, over half the people who go to emergency rooms don't even need urgent care. As for the doctor's office, it's estimated that 70percent of visits to physicians are for mild, time-limited disorders that could easily be treated in the comfort of home."

Bruce R. McConkie has said, "...the Lord intends that men should exercise faith in him so as to be healed, but he also intends that men should use the agency and intelligence he has given them, in both preventing and curing sickness. It is proper that the sick should, 'be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food.' (D & C 42:43.) The Book of Mormon speaks 'of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases.' (Alma 46:40.)" (Mormon Doctrine p. 573)

This brings to mind some questions I put in my Question Social Norms series (which I didn't finish, sorry). I asked about foods we eat, are they the only resource for what they provide.
Are meat and beans the only source of protein? Is milk the only source of calcium? What is actually in the food I eat? What is really our greatest societal ill? Is it lack of health care? Is it faith?

Some questions I failed to ask then but would add now, especially in relation to this post are: Are vaccinations right for me and my children? Do I really need to keep my childs fever down, especially when it's not over 104? Is this (fill in the blank) something I really need to go to the doctor for or can I find ways to treat it here at home? Is radiation therapy the only way to "cure" cancer? What are hospitals for?

My eyes have been opened to many alternative answers. Some are never featured in mainstream coverage. I believe this is due to purposful deception. We Latter-Day Saints have The Word of Wisdom to guide us in health matters. D & C 89:4 states:

"...In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation"

I recently learned that some hospitals in Utah were built for those people who needed medical care but could not afford it. This caused me to ask: Was this the original purpose of hospitals? I know doctors used to make house calls. How much of our medical industry is due to "conspiring men" and how much is truly needed? The connections are so broad and deep, I can't type fast enough to explain. So, to you dear reader, I suggest you ponder on these questions and do some research yourself and see what connections you make that you may have never considered.

*Please note this article is highly geared toward members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For those not members please consider quotes used and I would love any comments you may want to share from your particular view that you may find complimentary to the discussion.