The General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints instructs members of the Church in their duty to be self-reliant. In section 22.1 it says:
“With help from the Lord, members build self-reliance in the following ways:
• Develop spiritual, physical, and emotional strength.
• Gain education and employment.
• Improve temporal preparedness.”
Additional details are given in the subsequent subsections. Details for Physical and Emotional Health are as follows:
“Heavenly Father wants His children to develop physical and emotional strength. This includes doing the following:
• Obey the Word of Wisdom (see Doctrine and Covenants 89).
• Strive to eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep.
• Avoid substances and behaviors that are harmful or addictive.
• Practice good hygiene and receive proper medical care.
• Develop healthy relationships.
• Seek professional help for mental or emotional health challenges as needed.”
Receiving “proper medical care” should include preventive and routine medical, vision, and dental appointments. Most preventive care is covered by insurance which means little or no cost to you except for your time. What are the benefits?
• Preventive medical, vision, and dental care helps avoid costly treatments and care bills just like regular car maintenance does.
• Preventive care can alert you to the possible need for change in health, dietary, and exercise habits before problems become costly or irreversible.
• Regular dental visits can catch tooth problems that could result in crowns or extractions and implants if not cared for early.
• Regular vision exams can alert parents to vision problems in their children that could be affecting their grades and their ability to learn.
• Regular vision exams can monitor cataracts and detect macular degeneration.
• Preventive/routine care can detect cancers in their early stages when they are still treatable.
If you don’t already, consider making preventive and routine care appointments part of your health care preparedness routine.
