There were many in Jesus’ day who suffered from the infectious chronic disease known as leprosy. Contracting this disease meant you were in for a miserable experience. Consider the physical symptoms:

“There comes a white swelling or scab, with a change of the color of the hair … from its natural hue to yellow; then the appearance of a taint going deeper than the skin, or raw flesh appearing in the swelling. … The nails loosen and drop off, the gums are absorbed, and the teeth decay and fall out; the breath is a stench, the nose decays; fingers, hands, feet, may be lost, or the eyes eaten out.”⁠

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As awful as the physical affects were, the emotional anguish associated with the disease was arguably even worse. Lepers in ancient Israel were quarantined, being required to live outside the community. They were commanded to call out “Unclean!” to warn anyone approaching them, and were considered to spread their uncleanness to anyone who came in contact with them. They were perceived as outcasts and required to social distance. Leprosy was considered a living death because the person’s social standing was immediately destroyed, leaving the victim isolated and alone.

Consider the shame and fear that would characterize reactions to this disease today. Think of the disdain people would have for the diseased, and how eager they would be to socially distance themselves from them. One need only to briefly contemplate the attitudes and overreactions arising out of the COVID-19 “plandemic” to get an idea. 

But what about Jesus, the Spirit of Truth?⁠

“And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and, kneeling down to him, said, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; and said unto him, See thou say nothing to any man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in solitary places; and they came to him from every quarter.” (Mark 1:36-40)

The New Testament is filled with examples of Jesus performing miraculous healings in different ways. Often the afflicted were healed simply from a spoken word of Jesus, whether they were present or not. However, in this account, Jesus—who is fully aware of the physical and social consequences of this disease—elects to come up to the leper and cleanse him with his touch. Why? Imagine how long it had been since this afflicted child of God had been touched by another human being. This was exactly what the leper needed, not only to be cleansed, but to be touched, and not to be treated like an outcast.

A moving depiction of this scene can be watched here, taken from VidAngel’s new series on the life of Christ called The Chosen.

If this was Jesus’ reaction to someone who was clearly afflicted with the disease, you can imagine how He would treat those who did not have the disease, potentially had the disease, or had possibly been in contact with someone who had the disease. He would not be socially isolating himself from them in fear. He would not begin to treat other humans as potential threats to his well-being. He would not avoid shaking hands with someone or hugging them. He would not cover his face in terror and then shame anyone else who refused to do so because they apparently put him at risk.

Why didn’t Jesus get sick when He healed the leper? Why didn’t He contract the disease if it was so contagious? He was not afraid. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1John 4:18). Surely Jesus thoroughly understood the findings of Dr. Bruce Lipton in his book The Biology of Belief regarding sickness, energy, belief, and fear:

• A cell’s environment determines its well-being. In a healthy environment, cells thrive, in a toxic environment, cells become sick. (p. 25)

• The expression of genes are activated by signals from the environment, not the genes themselves. (p. 28)

• Energy fields are influential in controlling our physiology and our health. (p.87)

• Disease is preceded by a measurable change in an organism’s energy field. By altering the frequencies of the cell’s energy field, disease and sickness can be alleviated and mitigated. (P. 113)

• “Thoughts, the mind’s energy, directly influence how the physical brain controls the body’s physiology. Thought energy can activate or inhibit the cell’s function-producing proteins.” (p. 119)

• The power of the mind can be more effective than drugs. Energy is a more efficient means of affecting matter than chemicals. (p. 119)

• The thoughts, beliefs, and fears in our subconscious mind shape 95 percent of our life’s experiences. (p. 122)

• Emotions serve as regulatory signals for the functioning of cells. (p. 126)

• Perceptions, or in other words—beliefs, control biology. (p. 129)

• Our perceptions, accurate or inaccurate, impact our behavior and our bodies. (P. 131)

• Focusing on darkness and fear will compromise the body’s health as it physiologically closes down in a protection response. (p. 138)

• Stress and social isolation are two of the most robust, major risk factors in the expression of disease. (p. 140)⁠

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Because Jesus had such control over His mind and body there was no fear, no negative emotions, no toxic environment, and thus no sickness. There was not an ounce of belief within Him of even the possibility of contracting leprosy. The energy field surrounding His cells was full of light, hope, faith, and most powerful of all: love. And guess what, one does not have to be a God in a mortal body to experience this. Consider the following story from the life of Elder James E. Talmage who chose not to social distance in the face of a disease much more serious than COVID-19: 

“Returning home from calling on a sick person on Memorial Day, a legal holiday free from regular duties, James learned of the terrible suffering and destitution of the [Martin] family, which was stricken by diphtheria and without help. Ward Relief Society officers had been unable to find anyone willing to go to the pest-stricken house. Fear of the dreadful disease had reached panic proportions, and people-especially those with children-would not knowingly expose themselves to the germs. When he heard of the Martins’ plight, James immediately changed clothes and proceeded to their home, where he found this pitiful scene: 

One child, two and a half years old, lay dead on a bed, having been dead about four hours and still unwashed. Two other children, one a boy of ten and the other a girl of five, lay writhing in the agonies of the disease. A girl of thirteen years was still feeble from a recent attack of diphtheria. .. The father, Mr. Abe Martin, and the mother, Marsha Martin, were dazed with grief and fatigue; and the only other occupant of the house, a man named Kelly who was a boarder in the family, was so ill and weak as hardly to be able to move about. 

The siege of illness had gone on so long that the entire house was in a state of utter filth. After administering to the children at the request of the parents, James attacked the physical tasks, washing and laying out the little corpse, bathing the living children and clothing them in clean things sent in by the Relief Society. Food had also been sent in. Carpets were torn up, rooms swept, soiled clothing carried out, and the accumulation of filthy rags burned. 

He worked through the day, and someone was found to come in and sit as a night watch. Before leaving for the night, James and Bishop Handy, who came by especially, again administered to the sick. The next morning, James learned that the ten-year-old boy had died during the night, and found the little girl of five apparently in her last agonies. He took her in his arms and did his best to comfort her. “She clung to my neck,” he related, “yet I could not put her from me. During the half hour immediately preceding her death, I walked the floor with the little creature in my arms, She died in agony at 10 a.m.” 

Under the harsh regulations of the plague-stricken time, an undertaker was called immediately, They were buried in a single grave and the “grief of the parents and the  surviving sister were pitiable to behold.” James delivered a brief graveside talk. … 

After making arrangement for food and clean clothing to be taken to the Martins—survivors had experienced the dread diphtheria and so were immune to further attack—James went home…The day following his return home, James’ journal consisted of this terse comment: “Confined to the house the entire day through illness- fever, lassitude, and pains in the head. All temporary, I hope–simply the effect of over-exertion and nervous strain, I think.”⁠

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Elder Talmage was not afraid of contracting the deadly disease, he was simply concerned with loving the Martin family. Notice that Talmage, the apostle and scientist, attributed the illness he did experience to over-exertion and nervous strain, not to contamination or transfer of disease from the family he had ministered to. He is certainly a Christ-like example of perfect love casting out fear!

With these stories shared as a backdrop, can you really picture Jesus, the Savior of the world, roaming the streets of Galilee performing miracles and healings social distancing and wearing a mask? Can you picture Him ministering to others or teaching and worshipping in the synagogue or temple six feet away with a mask on? I cannot.

And what of the emblematic aspect of masks? The New England Journal of Medicine recently stated: “Masks serve symbolic role. Masks are not only tools, they are also talismans that may help increase health care workers’ perceived sense of safety, well-being, and trust in their hospitals.”⁠

For those who justify wearing masks because of the advice or example of religious leaders, the bold words of the Lord’s servant, prophet, and seer Joseph Smith are relevant:

“We have heard men who hold the priesthood remark that they would do anything they were told to do by those who preside over them (even) if they knew it was wrong; but such obedience as this is worse than folly to us; it is slavery in the extreme; and the man who would thus willingly degrade himself, should not claim a rank among intelligent beings, until he turns from his folly. A man of God would despise the idea. Others, in the extreme exercise of their almighty authority have taught that such obedience was necessary, and that no matter what the saints were told to do by their presidents, they should do it without any questions. When the Elders of Israel will so far indulge in these extreme notions of obedience as to teach them to the people, it is generally because they have it in their hearts to do wrong themselves.”⁠

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Mask and quarantine mandates coming at the expense of precious individual liberties are surely not something the Lord could ever support. For it was He who “established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom [He] raised up unto this very purpose⁠,”

The economic restrictions placed on those who refuse to wear a mask should be alarming, especially when we consider this ominous prophecy by John the Revelator:

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16-17).

While the mask is not the mark, it is important to remember the conditioning principle Satan has always followed. Consider Amalickiah’s tactics of bringing Lehonti and his men down from the mount little by little and then poisoning this military leader by degrees as a type⁠ and shadow.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate advocate of personal liberty, and the perfect example of charity—the purest form of love which holds no fear. As the Spirit of Truth⁠