Alma 7:11-13 Atonement and GNM (2014/04/03)

Alma7:11- 13 11 And he shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. 12 And he will take upon him death,that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people,and he will take upon him their infirmities,that his bowels may be filled with mercy,according to the flesh,that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. 12 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

The phrases that strike me are that he will take upon him their pains, sicknesses, infirmities so he may know according to the flesh, and so his bowels will be filled with compassion. When someone describes to me what they are experiencing physically, and it is something that I have also experienced, my understanding of them and of how to help them (within the confines of what I do) is so much richer and more complete than when they tell me of a pain I have not experienced. Because of my own experience, I can not only explain to them better what is happening in their body, but I can comprehend the physical change that needs to take place (presuming I have resolved the issue in myself). 

The other phrase idea that strikes me is that he suffereth according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. If he understands by experience and intellect and spiritually the process of target rings (the GNM explanation of how the shock experiences affect us) and the repair process of them, then he will know how to succor a person from the experience consequences. That means that the healing power of the Spirit and of His command is able to help the subconscious and neurology make the connections and go into healing. Perhaps He does not even require the connections to be made, and perhaps he does. 

My main feeling is that there is a Spiritual dimension to the healing of target rings, and that healing will be best done when we include it with the physical and neurological rather than exclude it.