The church’s fasts for the end of COVID-19 failed, and failed miserably. In fact, their failure deepens with each passing day as more and more people continue to pass.
Why? Here are a few possibilities. Hopefully, we can learn from them, so the next time collectively fast, we’ll be able to hit the broad side of a barn.
First, a Gap Analysis
A “Gap Analysis” is the comparison of actual performance with potential or desired performance; that is, the ‘current state’ and the 'desired future state’. Gap analysis can be used in many areas, such as: sales, financial performance, human resource management, productivity, quality assurance, cost control, employee satisfaction and more. The list is endless. [1]
When the Savior was alive, his healings were unmistakable and immediate.
In Mark 5:41, when he said "Talitha cumi" ("Little girl, I say to you, arise!"), those witnessing the miracle didn’t need to wait at all to view the results. In fact, Mark 5:42 says “straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.” (my emphasis)
In John 5:8-9, Jesus said to a man with a 38-year infirmity, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.”
I could give you more examples of the Savior’s immediate blessings, but I think you get the point.
Some might say, “Well Jesus was God incarnate, so of course he could heal immediately.” Immediate healings were also evidenced when brother Joseph healed. Wilford Woodruff reported what happened when a group of priesthood holders led by Joseph Smith visited the home of one sick man:
“The next place they visited was the home of Elijah Fordham, who was supposed to be about breathing his last. When the company entered the room the Prophet of God walked up to the dying man, and took hold of his right hand and spoke to him; but Brother Fordham was unable to speak, his eyes were set in his head like glass, and he seemed entirely unconscious of all around him. Joseph held his hand and looked into his eyes in silence for a length of time. A change in the countenance of Brother Fordham was soon perceptible to all present. His sight returned, and upon Joseph asking him if he knew him, he, in a low whisper, answered, ‘Yes.’ Joseph asked him if he had faith to be healed. He answered, ‘I fear it is too late; if you had come sooner I think I would have been healed.’ The Prophet said, ‘Do you believe in Jesus Christ?’ He answered in a feeble voice, ‘I do.’ Joseph then stood erect, still holding his hand in silence several moments; then he spoke in a very loud voice, saying: ‘Brother Fordham, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to arise from this bed and be made whole.’ His voice was like the voice of God, and not of man. It seemed as though the house shook to its very foundations. Brother Fordham arose from his bed and was immediately made whole. His feet were bound in [bandages], which he kicked off, then putting on his clothes, he ate a bowl of bread and milk, and followed the Prophet into the street” [2].
I believe this is how healings are supposed to be. This is because with “immediate healings”, at least two powerful forces are in play: Faith (that the person will be healed on the spot) and Love (from heavenly parents, granting said healing). This is the upper part, or dot, on our gap analysis -- the “potential or desired performance” part.
The ‘actual performance” part begins with Pres. Nelson’s March 26, 2020 call for a March 29th worldwide fast, in which he invited all “to join with me in a worldwide fast—for all whose health permits—to pray for relief from the physical, emotional, and economic effects of this global pandemic.” [3]
It continued on April 4, 2020 with a second invitation “in as many weeks” for a worldwide fast “on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized.” This announcement was even accompanied with the expectation, “Good Friday would be the perfect day to have our Heavenly Father and His Son hear us!” [4]
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of fasts. If the Savior found it necessary to fast 40 days and nights, then my puny efforts to skip a couple of meals is at least a baby step in the right direction. Plus, fasting on a limited basis may actually have some health benefits, including a temporary boost to your immune system.
Yet the church never stated why a second fast was needed.
Nevertheless, if we put a stake in the ground on April 10, 2020, we can and ought to expect immediate healing to have taken place (remember that “potential or desired performance” part?) “straightway” or “immediately” thereafter.
As I write this, I note that tomorrow is April 24, 2020 -- exactly two weeks after not the first, but second, worldwide fast. Here is a comparison of the worldwide stats on 4/10/2020 and yesterday (4/22/2020) (remember, these were worldwide fasts, so our scope of analysis should also be worldwide):
| As of 4/10/2020 | As of 4/22/2020 | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide COVID-19 cases * | 1,691,022 | 2,635,716 | 944,694 |
| Worldwide COVID-19 deaths ** | 105,771 | 184,066 | 78,295 |
* Includes deaths and recovered or discharged patients (cases with an outcome). [5]
** [6]
See those two figures on the right-hand column? That’s the “gap” part of the gap analysis.
Now, some apologists might say:
- “It’s only natural that there should be a few deaths and cases in between the worldwide fast(s) and now.” But that unequivocally flies in the face of that “potential or desired performance” part, because you and I both know that based on the scriptures and church history, a proper healing has what attached to it? Unmistakable, immediate, decisive, compelling results. In other words, FRUITS. You know, that little “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt. 7:15–20) criteria. The one where Elder Dean L. Larsen of the Seventy stated in the October 1985 General Conference that “the Lord’s test is the only one that will stand with the passage of time and reveal the truth about those who claim to do his work.” [7]
- “Well, the faith of the Saints needed to be stronger to produce the desired results.” If that were the case, then why didn’t the April 2020 General Conference talks focus like a laser beam on faith development, not the restoration?
- “Our faith needs to be tried before the miracles can happen.” But the history of ancient and modern immediate healings blows that argument out of the water.
- “Maybe it’s God’s will that those people were supposed to die. It was just their time.” But that’s (by their own admission) an assumption. Such needn’t be the case. The people the Savior healed (including Lazarus) and Elijah Fordham prove that assumption dead wrong.
Face it -- 944,694 COVID-19 cases and 78,295 deaths since 4/10/2020 are not really positive results. Just click on the source links at the bottom; you’ll see that as of this date (4/23/2020), the worldwide curves aren’t flat at all. Not even close.
How long do we need to wait for the “immediate” and “straightway” fruits to kick in?
A Second Gap Analysis
In my second post, I showed how COVID-19/coronavirus is a latter-day pestilence. I also showed that God brings pestilences upon mankind to spur them to repentance. He’s done so all throughout history. And with God’s ways never changing, he’s doing the same again today.
So first, in a theoretical gap analysis chart, let’s consider “worldwide repentance” the top dot, the “potential or desired performance” part.
Next, let’s look at what President Nelson asked us to fast for (the “actual performance” dot): “I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized.”
Praying for the worldwide economy is problematic for two reasons: First, the current materialistic, idol-based economy is the same one which Isaiah mercilessly tears to shreds time and again. It encourages purchase and/or investment in “treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal” [8] while discouraging investment in things that don’t provide a return on investment, like building wells or schools in third-world countries. You know, the less fortunate.
Secondly, it’s absurd to pray for the revitalization of the worldwide economy. (Now make no mistake: I, too, want to see people back at work and earning their incomes). But there’s a right way and a wrong way to bring about that result. To see the economy restored, to get people back to work, we need to first ensure that the true cause -- not the effects -- of the economic destruction goes away.
Some might believe that the cause of the economic shutdown is COVID-19. No, it isn’t. COVID-19 is itself a symptom, a result, of something else: sin. And sin is erased via repentance and receiving the atonement of Jesus Christ.
| “For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root.” -- Henry David Thoreau |
How will the pandemic be controlled? Repentance!
How will caregivers be protected? Repentance!
How will the economy be strengthened? Repentance!
How will life be normalized? Repentance!
But in Pres. Nelson’s invitation to the world, in directly addressing a clearly-defined pestilence, he was silent on the topic of repentance! This is a huge omission, because one of a prophet’s primary missions is to cry repentance! to the world. That was true with Old Testament and Book of Mormon prophets, New Testament disciples and the Prophet Joseph Smith.
So here’s the gap: As long as we members continue to neglect echoing and amplifying God’s true message which he is delivering to us now, we can be assured of two things (both based on past precedent): First, God will not take COVID-19 away, and second, he will send us even stronger messages until (A) we get the point or (B) we are invited to take our party elsewhere.
The Missing Worldwide Perspective
We are consistently told to trust, to follow, the Brethren. That’s because (according to one apostle), they have considerable experience in administering the church worldwide. They have a global perspective:
“I have heard that some people think the Church leaders live in a ‘bubble.’ What they forget is that we are men and women of experience, and we have lived our lives in so many places and worked with many people from different backgrounds. Our current assignments literally take us around the globe, where we meet the political, religious, business, and humanitarian leaders of the world. Although we have visited [leaders in] the White House in Washington, D.C., and leaders of nations [and religions] throughout the world, we have also visited the most humble [families and people] on earth. … When you thoughtfully consider our lives and ministry, you will most likely agree that we see and experience the world in ways few others do. You will realize that we live less in a ‘bubble’ than most people.” [9]
Yet when I review today’s worldwide statistics [10], I see many more maladies with greater lethality than COVID-19 (as of 4/23/2020):
| Undernourished people in the world | 842,000,000+ |
| HIV/AIDS infected people | 41,735,000+ |
| Abortions this year | 13,211,000+ |
| Communicable disease deaths this year | 4,034,000+ |
| Hunger-related deaths | 3,475,000+ |
| Smoking-related deaths | 1,553,838 |
| Alcohol-related deaths | 777,411 |
| HIV/AIDS-related deaths | 522,453 |
| Traffic fatalities | 419,582 |
| Suicides | 333,273 |
| Malaria-related deaths | 304,846 |
| Deaths caused by water-related illnesses this year | 261,709 |
| COVID-19 deaths (as of 4/22/2020) | 184,066 |
| Seasonal flu deaths | 151,000+ |
Why are we members patting ourselves on the back for focusing on nearly the bottom of the list?
Where are the fasts for the undernourished millions, that they be fed?
Where are the fasts that God will soften the hearts and minds of women and dissuade them from scheduling abortions?
Where are the fasts that those who are contemplating taking their own lives are led to effective treatment facilities?
Just those three topics -- the undernourished, the abortions and those contemplating suicide -- total over 855 million people. COVID-19 is 0.00021514491 (or two one-hundredths of one percent) of that total. If we factor out the undernourished and just focus on the abortions and suicides, the total is 13,544,273. COVID-19 deaths are just 0.0135899 (a little over 1.3 percent) of that total.
If you’re one of those who prefers to wait for the results of a fast rather than expect immediate fruits, then I invite you to to tell me how long it will take for us, collectively as a church and invited by its president, to fast for any of the above mortalities which exhibit more deaths than COVID-19.
QUESTIONS
Based on the aforementioned facts, I have the following questions:
- Do you believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ?
- Do you have faith in Jesus Christ?
- Do you believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly?
- Do you believe in the phrase “By their fruits ye shall know them”?
- Do you believe Joseph Smith was a true prophet and servant of God?
- Do you believe that Jesus Christ worked miracles, including healing people instantaneously?
- Do you believe that Joseph Smith worked miracles, including healing people instantaneously?
- Why has the worldwide fast not brought about immediate fruits, similar to healings performed by Jesus and Joseph Smith?
- Why are we praying for an economy which is repeatedly condemned in the Old Testament, New Testament and Book of Mormon?
- Why are we not praying and fasting over the true cause of a pestilence?
- Why are we collectively praying and fasting for a worldwide condition (which is important) but still statistically negligible when compared with undernourishment, abortion and suicide, as well as other conditions?
- Which would the Lord encourage you to do: Focus on a gnat or a beam in front of you?
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TRUTHS BELOW FOR UPDATES TO THIS POST
2 Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History, p. 223–24
8 Matthew 6:19