The Man Sick of the Palsy

Brother McConkie did a deep dive into the story of the man sick with the palsy. The story is not a parable but this talk felt similar to Elder Bednar’s.

Let’s talk about the story. But first, let’s give one answer to the question Brother McConkie starts off with.

How do you show God you love him?

Answer: you spend time with him. Most of all in prayer when you pray in such a way that we can call “talking to God.” Sometimes you just need to talk to God. I love it myself when my kids come to me and say, Dad, I just want to talk to you, I don’t care what about.

And now for the story.

Four men are bringing a palsied man on his bed to Jesus for healing. The crowd is so thick around the house where Jesus is preaching that they despair of getting inside. Instead they lever the man in the bed up on the roof, open a hole in the roof, and lower him down. Jesus forgives the man’s sins and then responds to everyone’s shock by also healing the man.

The following comments are not based on the talk, which I haven’t read since Conference, though skimming the talk right now I see there are parallels and its possible those parallels are subconscious recollections of Brother McConkie’s preaching. Either way, I recommend his talk. It’s wise and joyful.

First lets talk about the guys going through the roof. It worked and it was worth it. But most of us would have hesitated or not even thought of it (this is true even if in a different cultural context opening up part of the roof would not have been quite as destructive as it would have been for us). They guys knew what their goal was and they kept adjusting their tactics until they achieved it. For pretty good reasons, we grow up with an unconscious understanding that when trying to accomplish our goals we are only supposed to use those methods that are society generally approves of or at least that aren’t going to put you uncomfortably outside the mainstream. We often rule out many viable methods for doing what needs to be done without even consciously realizing. It would be extreme. It would be unreasonable. It wouldn’t work because, because, well, it just wouldn’t. The mocking from the Great and Spacious Building is a way of hacking this instinct. It takes a conscious choice to stay at the tree. Without that, one reasonably, moderately, commonsensically drifts towards the building. So many dire problems–porn, raising children, children who are having their identity shaken–are dire problems because the actual solutions have already been ruled out. Have a nice talk or get some counseling, ok, when what’s really needed is to throw out all devices, cancel all subscriptions, move states and even countries, quit your job and live in the desert if need be. Is the devil such a gentleman you can afford to wrestle him with all holds barred? These men started with their goal and worked backwards. We need to get our friend to Jesus. The door is blocked. So we will go through the roof. If you means aren’t adequate to your ends, adjust your means. Jacksonian shock and awe can be the wisest spiritual policy.

Second, lets talk about the guys. There were several of them and probably not a single less than they needed. Imagine trying to lift a crippled man and his bed onto a roof by yourself. But also, imagine having the foresight and determination to break through the roof without your friends sharing their determination with you, its so much harder to do. It is much much easier to be radically mission-focused in a small, tight knit group. We need each other.