Naaman was "captain of the host of the king of Syria, . . . and a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper." (2 Kings 5:1.)
Through some roundabout circumstances, Naaman appealed to the prophet Elisha for a cure. Elisha sent a message to Naaman, saying, "Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." (2 Kings 5:8-10.)The scriptural account relates that Naaman "was wroth . . . and went away in a rage." But his servant said, `My Father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he said to thee, Wash and be clean?
"Then he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." (2 Kings 5:11-14.)
In the April 1985 general conference, Elder Victor L. Brown of the First Quorum of the Seventy said, "Naaman needed to have the faith of a child to be obedient as a child before his flesh became clean as a little child's."
After Naaman was cured, he offered Elisha gifts for his use of priesthood powers. Elisha refused the gifts, but Gehazi, his servant, decided to "run after him, and take somewhat of him." (2 Kings 5:20.)
The use of priesthood power for personal gain was called priestcraft by Nephi. In priestcraft "men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion." (2 Ne. 26:29.) Nephi taught, " . . . the Lord hath forbidden this thing." (2 Ne. 26:30.)
