Reflections from the Becoming a Christ-Centered Physician Conference 2026

Though we may have many roles and responsibilities as spouses, parents, church leaders, community members, and physicians, our most important identity is that of being a child of God. This identity can influence each of our roles and help us consecrate our service to the Lord.

This conference helped me recognize a tension in being a Christ-Centered Physician that I had not been able to tease out until now. I've felt the pull to bring spirituality in my career in medicine but have felt unsure how to actualize the experience, and the many conflicting examples and experiences have brought confusion and uncertainty. I've felt the spirit teach me that I need to not BE Jesus Christ, rather I am expected to follow him and lead people to Him. He is the One with the power to heal and soothe, however I can develop myself to follow the Savior and lead people to Him where he can provide peace no one else can heal. A simple prayer for my patients, or testifying of their divine worth or invitation to turn their eyes to God. - Jeff

I have been truly blessed to have attended this conference. In the last 14 years of dermatology practice, this has been one of the best conferences with some of the best impactful calls to action both from the speakers and the spirit. I will be an even better physician now and into the future with the wonderful reminders and promptings I experienced at this conference. Thank you!

The conference is educational and helped me look at what I could be in the future - on how to balance my career, church calling, and family. It amazing to hear from health professionals that are disciples of Jesus Christ who are also very successful in handling callings in the church, spending time with families, and very good at their job.

Thank you to the organizers and participants. I found the conference inspiring and uplifting.

As I’ve thought about what it means to be a Christ-centered physician, I’ve usually thought about it on a personal discipleship level: empathy, love, compassion, presence, relieving suffering, comforting those in need of comfort. Essential attributes, for sure.

Over time, though, I’ve felt prompted to think about another type of discipleship, inspired by ideas of building Zion and how we relate to and care for each other. We’ve all inherited cultures, incentives, institutions, and policies that make it easier or harder to provide Christ-like care. I wonder if part of discipleship is not just how we care for the person in front of us, but how we shape the systems around us.

I’m not suggesting that physicians need yet another responsibility. But I do wonder what would happen if we could clarify a vision of the kind of health system we want, advance that vision together, and maybe catalyze something much bigger.

With a new medical school, a mission-driven university (BYU), a new society of Christ-centered physicians, and AI, could there be a unique opportunity here? Could we rethink some of the institutions and assumptions that shape how we practice medicine and care for people? Could we catalyze historical change? I also wonder if Christian discipleship and stewardship, systems thinking, and the growing “human flourishing” movement could provide some rigorous grounding for this.

Big picture thinking for sure. But I wonder if becoming more Christ-centered might push us to ask some of these bigger questions.

After 45 - 50 years working, between Church and Medicine, 80 to 110 hours a week, I observe the following. It was the greatest career ever. Who else has the freedom and the power to be intimately involved in other people's lives, to be respected and listened to, to never have two days that were the same. Nevertheless, there has been a cost. I am addicted to time, to always be looking for ways to try harder and do more. I think differently than most other people - more analytically, more data-based, more Christ-centered, more biologically and sociologically centered - and that is not always an easy thing, even and especially as a member of the Church. Nevertheless, I feel blessed and incredibly privileged to have had such a career. My message to aspiring physicians is certainly not to do more. It will never be enough. Really, it is to do less, and substitute Heavenly Father and Christ for some of those things. I'm not talking about reading more scriptures or spending more time at Church - although those things are important. It is more being filled with charity, placing greater value on loving children, our spouse, patients, colleagues, etc. and less on always trying to get to the next thing as quickly as possible. I'm pretty sure Christ was never in a hurry (although there are several examples of His servants being rushed). Being Christ-like might mean being more concerned with peace than accomplishments, with love than influence, with cleaving to God and to our spouse than checking whichever boxes we might have in front of us. Thanks for a great conference. Thanks to the speakers who worked so hard to give us insightful, spiritually strengthening thoughts. Thanks to those who did all the technical details so we could actually spend time communicating and thinking instead of fiddling with computers.

During Dr. Crockett's powerful presentation on feeling (and helping others feel) the love of Christ, at the moment she was helping us feel this, my minimally-verbal 39-year-old Downs son (who still lives with us due to his severe disability) came across the room to lean over me and give me a huge hug as I sat there, watching the presentation. He has a special gift, on occasion, to do or say exactly what the Lord would do or say at a given moment, and he manifested that gift again this afternoon! I am so grateful to the speakers and organizers and participants for their efforts to help us feel the presence of the Spirit at this meeting!! I also want, above all, to thank God for sending us the Spirit!!

This conference came after a particularly long and stressful week in the clinic, and I was not sure that taking the time to participate in the conference would be a valuable use of my time. I decided to listen in for the first few talks to decide, and the advice of the speakers and the lessons they taught were just what I needed to hear. I especially loved the words of Elder J Devn Cornish and the action items he gave to us to invite the gift of healing into our lives as healthcare providers. Tyler Johnson's action items for us for how to become better practitioners than the generation before were also inspiring, particularly using our power and influence for good. I already gave up social media prior to his talk, but deleted some other distracting apps from my phone immediately afterwards. I am ultimately glad that I spent my time making space for this goodness in my life, and feel uplifted and ready for the next week of work!