Thinking Celestial - A ”Follow The Prophet” Series Podcast · SLCC Institute of Religion

Ep 174 S7 Kirk Burbidge 'Balm of Gilead' Boyd K. Packer

·35 min·2 clips

A grieving father spends years blaming a doctor, then finally sees "a poor country doctor" who was "overworked" and "run ragged."

1. Thinking Celestial centers on Boyd K. Packer's "Balm of Gilead" talks and a host's call for a "lens of grace." 2. The solo host speaks as a former bishop and as someone who also promotes Institute for ages 18 to 35. 3. The episode asks how Packer, Hinckley, and Faust frame forgiveness as a practical response to anger, shame, and resentment. 4. The host opens with a missed primary musical number on Mother's Day or Father's Day. 5. A primary leader tells him, "Bishop, I forgive you," and he describes the relief as "a great balm of Gilead." 6. The host links that moment to political unrest, immigration arguments, and social media frustration. 7. Boyd K. Packer's 1977 talk begins with people touched by "disappointment, grief or bitterness." 8. Packer's song reference is "There is a Balm in Gilead," arranged by Mack Wilberg and performed by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square on June 23, 2019. 9. The host says Packer's concern is that spiritual or "soul-borne disorders" are often bigger than physical problems. 10. Packer's "vacant corner lot" image becomes the episode's main metaphor for a cluttered mind. 11. The host quotes Packer: "I do not want anything coming into my mind" without "some useful purpose or some value." 12. He also quotes Packer's line about having to "evict some thoughts a hundred times before they would stay out." 13. A second major story follows John, whose wife dies after childbirth complications and who blames a doctor for years. 14. John's spiritual leader tells him, "John, leave it alone," and the host treats that counsel as obedience rather than denial. 15. The host says he was moved by the older man's realization that the doctor was "overworked, underpaid, run ragged from patient to patient." 16. President Gordon B. Hinckley appears with his October 2005 talk on forgiveness and his line about traveling "another 10,000 miles." 17. Hinckley's "house by the side of the road" poem becomes a model for refusing cynicism and choosing friendship. 18. The tone is reflective, personal, and quote-heavy, with the host reading long passages and pausing to explain their application. 19. People who like Latter-day Saint conference talks on forgiveness and restraint will get the most from it. 20. People wanting a fast, tightly edited episode without scripture and long quotations may skip it.

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