The Coming Testimony of Earthquakes

Let's examine Matthew 24:7 for a minute:

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places."

See famines, pestilences and earthquakes?

First, in the original Greek, the main words are in that same sequence: limoi (famines), loimoi (pestilences) and seismoi (earthquakes). Second, divers doesn't refer to a place where you can go scuba diving. It's actually related to the adjective diverse, meaning "various or assorted" Sure enough, the original Greek uses the term topous panta, meaning "all places." [1] [2]

(The Lord uses this same sequence -- famine, plague and earthquake -- in Mark 13:34 (JST) and D&C 87:6. Coincidence? I don't think so).

Let's add this up:

Have we seen famines over the last few years in various, assorted places? Yes.

Have we seen Covid-19 -- a pestilence -- in various, assorted places? Yes.

Have the famines remained during the Covid-19 era? Yes.

The scriptures are clear: Earthquakes are next on the list of judgments for mankind. And they could very easily run simultaneous to famines and current/future pandemics.

They will occur not just in one or two places, but topous panta -- ALL places -- just like Covid-19. Does that mean places which aren't typically home to earthquakes? Perhaps. 

Does that mean we'll see earthquakes more severe than we've seen in the past? Well, if the progression of events (from famines to pestilences) is any indication, then it would be a safe assumption that yes, these earthquakes will be more lethal than the ones we've seen in the past, killing hundreds or even thousands at a time. After all, your usual, run-of-the-mill, 4-5 pointers aren't that rare anymore. But 8s? 9s? 10s? I'd say those ought to catch people's attention, which (in my estimation) God has been attempting to do…without much success.

Despite what the mass media-government-pharma triumvirate would have you believe, there are medicines which cure Covid-19. In days.[3]

But tell me this: What medicines are there for earthquakes? How can we prevent them? How can we escape them? If our homes or buildings collapse, what do we do? Put on a mask? Get an injection? Talk about how grateful we are? YES! Have a churchwide fast for geologists and seismologists!

Let's get real: All these measures (via trusting in the wisdom of medical experts and government leaders, per the First Presidency's prophetic insight) aren't going to make a difference at all. 

When those tectonic plates start moving and bringing about disastrous consequences, it will be because of God's anger. 

Any why is his anger revealed? Because of the sins and iniquities of people. And also because the blood of the martyrs and innocents cry for vengeance (see Revelation 6:9-11). I would imagine that included in the list of innocents would be those who were aborted as fetuses. And how about all those who have been murdered, raped, tortured and terrorized? Them too.

Take a look around you. Have you seen society moving closer to, or further away from, God? 

Blessed is the one who abides under the shadow of the Lord, for he will have shelter and refuge. [4] [5]   

There is only one way out of what's happening (and about to get worse). And it doesn't involve masks, because masks aren't going to do you much good in a severe earthquake. Neither will swabs up your nose, injections or booster shots. And gratitude? That's great, but it's not the bullseye.

God has said again and again, through true prophets, that repentance is the key to circumventing these judgments. Those who do so will be protected under his loving, metaphorical wings. 

Here's what I said in a previous post:

"There are over four dozen references to "pestilence" in the scriptures. In the days of Moses, God sent pestilences to persuade Pharaoh to let Israel go [6], and then to an unrepentant Israel [7].  In Psalms 78; we are reminded that pestilences were sent to Israel because it "remembered not his hand."

Pestilence is almost always tied to sin  [8]. In 2 Chronicles 6:28, Solomon prayed that God would "forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel" in order to stave off pestilence. In response, the Lord said, "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." [9]. Pestilences are also linked to unbelief in God  [10] and for not remembering him [11]."

In fact, check this out:

"Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.

Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.

When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." [12]

(Hmmmm, have you heard of any fasts within the last year or two where it seems like the Lord didn't respond to their pleas?)

When you repent, God is moved to compassion, which in turn makes way for God's mercies to take over in your life. Just the mere fact that he hasn't exacted more severe judgments yet upon the world is a testament to the infinite mercies he has for us.

But repentance is not the only thing you need to do. You also need to be able to hear God's voice…

"And even so will I gather mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, even as many as will believe in me, and hearken unto my voice." [13]

"And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me." [14]

"And upon them that hearken not to the voice of the Lord shall be fulfilled that which was written by the prophet Moses, that they should be cut off from among the people." [15]

"And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake you; in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved." [16]

…and hear it well enough so that you KNOW God:

"Verily, I say unto you, It is not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, that shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

For the day soon cometh that men shall come before me to judgment, to be judged according to their works.

And many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name; and in thy name cast out devils; and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I say, Ye never knew me; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." [17]

Whom seek ye?

Anybody standing in between you and Jesus today?

These days, hearing God's voice well enough that you know God might be a bit of a challenge. There are lots of competing voices out there.

This year, many sought God's counsel as to whether they should take the Covid shot or not. Of those who sought God's advice, many received crystal clear, definitive answers not to go through with it. Many held to that counsel until the First Presidency urged members to take the jab. They disregarded the personal revelation they received and instead followed a man, not their God-given inspiration.

What do you call it when someone or some thing stands in between a person and God? Oh yeah! "Idolatry."

Speaking of which, General Conference will be held this weekend. I'll be interested to hear the Brethren's counsel on how to overcome the challenges mankind faces with Covid-19. If the past is any indication, the results will be dismal. In the April 2021 General Conference, the word "Nelson" was used 58 times. "Oaks" 18 times. "Repent" (and any variations of that word) 31 times. And pestilence was mentioned zero times.  [18] [19]

It's fascinating that the church's top leaders refer to themselves

more than they acknowledge the true cure for what ails mankind.

In times of uncertainty, people yearn for certainty. Vaccines have given back that sense of control to many people.

But what will you do when these attention-grabbing earthquakes (which, again, are next up on God's to-do list) start to "diversify" themselves in your area? Will you be consulting medical experts? "Trusted" government leaders? Looking for that Covid mask?

When power, internet and cell phone service is indefinitely knocked out in your area, who will you seek then?

How about the leaders who could have preached the preventative gospel of repentance but didn't…or leaders who continually refuse to mention the R word in the first place?

Better start contemplating your answer soon. You'll need it.

Sources

 1.   https://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/mat24.pdf

 2.   https://wikidiff.com/divers/diverse

 3.   https://jabupdate.com/#aftercovid

 4.   Psalm 91:1

 5.   Psalm 18:2

 6.   Exodus 9:15

 7.   Leviticus 26:25; Numbers 14:12; Deuteronomy 28:21; 2 Samuel 24:13-15; 1 Chronicles 21:12-14

 8.   Mosiah 12:2-7; Helaman 11:15; D&C 97:26

 9.   2 Chronicles 7:13

10.   2 Nephi 6:15

11.   Helaman 12:3

12.   Jeremiah 14:10-12

13.   D&C 33:6

14.   D&C 84:52

15.   D&C 133:63

16.   D&C 45:2

17.   Matthew 7:30-33 JST

18.   https://lds365.com/2021/04/08/analysis-of-text-of-april-2021-general-conference-talks

19.   https://lds365.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/gc-april-2021-word-frequency.txt

Are there Modern-Day Non-Prophets and False Prophets?

 NOTE

• My last post, "Is the Church's COVID-19 vaccine advocacy leading you astray? Could it kill you, or is it OK?", is an in-depth look at the link between "trusting the prophet" and the so-called COVID-19 pandemic. 
• It contains many, many organized COVID-19 related facts (as of this date, 70 source citations) which the mainstream media has chosen to ignore. 
• Just so you know, I tend to shy away from rumors and gravitate towards statements by verifiable experts/patients. 
• Because it continues to be updated almost daily, I encourage you to re-visit it regularly. Be smart. Stay informed.

Last week, the Church released a New Dew video. It was a nine-minute sermon on why we should trust the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve as "unfailing" prophets, seers and revelators. 

Here are some of her quotes:

"I know that President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God and that his counselors in the First Presidency and each member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are also prophets, seers and revelators. I testify that you can know for yourself that this is true, if you will seek a witness of your own."

"We have 15 prophets, seers and revelators - meaning the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles - and many consider their teachings inconvenient and politically incorrect. But prophets are under covenant to teach truth, which is why they seem unbending at times - especially to moral relativists who love to pretend that there is no such thing as truth."

"Prophets are one of God's greatest gifts to His children. They form an unfailing safety net of truth."

"There is no greater safety in this life than following the prophet."

What's disturbing is what Sis. Dew stated near the end of her video:

"Some get tangled in asking whether prophets, seers and revelators are infallible. That's the wrong question. A better one is, 'Who exactly are prophets?' They are the ordained holders of priesthood keys that authorize the Lord's power to be distributed throughout the earth. They may not be perfect. But they are the most perfectly inspired leaders on earth, and their only motive is perfectly pure - to help us find our way back home by pointing us to Jesus Christ."

For the time being, I'll ignore the implications of her encouraging us to trust in the arm of flesh; I confronted that topic in my last post. Instead, let's focus on just four words - "That's the wrong question" - with which she entirely minimized the importance of prophetic accuracy. 

Should we follow Sis. Dew's lead and just assume that whatever a prophet says is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

The Bible consistently says otherwise. We are told to "PROVE all things; hold fast that which is good." [1] 

How do we prove that a prophet is a true one? Again, I turn to the Standard Works:

"The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him."  [2]

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."  [3]

In fact, the Apostle Paul took discernment of truth in preaching so seriously, he said:

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."  [4]

If God required 100% accuracy for His people in both the Old and New Testaments so they could discern a false prophet,  how much more so do we need that standard for discernment now, when we are told false prophets would abound and that the Anti-Christ would come with lying wonders so good that if it were possible, he would deceive very elect?

It's a dangerous world we live in, and a pretty dangerous time. That is indisputable.

Might I submit that now, more than ever, we need to be "asking whether prophets, seers and revelators are infallible." That's not the wrong question at all. And you know it.

"there came many prophets, and prophesied again unto the people"

I am, however, intrigued by two of the scriptures Sis. Dew included in her video. First, she quoted 2 Nephi 5:6: 

"And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the warnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words."

Then, she quoted Ether 11:12-13:

"And it came to pass that in the days of Ethem there came many prophets, and prophesied again unto the people; yea, they did prophesy that the Lord would utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth except they repented of their iniquities.
And it came to pass that the people hardened their hearts, and would not hearken unto their words; and the prophets mourned and withdrew from among the people."

Here, we see accounts of prophets with "warnings" and prophecies "that the Lord would utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth except they repented of their iniquities." 

I don't think they were the only ones. Lehi tells us in 1 Nephi that there were many prophets doing the same thing in his neck of the woods. Samuel the Lamanite prophesied, too. In fact, I'd hazard a guess that there's a strong, scripturally-based correlation between prophets and foretelling doom lest the people repent. 

The Lord says, "For I am the Lord, I change not". [5]   He "is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing" [6]  In fact, anyone who imagines "a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles."  [7]

Sure enough, as I've elaborated in several past posts on this blog, God has ALWAYS preceded plagues and pestilences with warnings by His prophets. And logically, because God doesn't change, if He sent prophets in the past to warn us of calamity and destruction, then I'm sure He would be doing so again, today. 

Yet as I read every General Conference address, and the transcripts of every public video Pres. Nelson has produced, not one of them has linked this pandemic with the need to repent. Perhaps mankind as a whole is getting holier, more righteous, and less inclined to do evil.  But something in me says that's definitely not the case at all; if anything, mankind is headed in the wrong direction these days.  

One truth remains: Prophets who don't "prophesy" are not prophets. Seers who don't "see" are not seers. Revelators who don't "reveal" are not revelators.

With God not being changeable, where are the unique "warnings" and prophecies pronounced by Pres. Nelson "that the Lord would utterly destroy" us "from off the face of the earth except" we repent of our iniquities? 

If you know of one, please include it in the comments below. 

"Nothing but truth"

In his September 17, 2019 BYU Devotional "The Love and Laws of God," Pres. Nelson said,

"It is precisely because we do care deeply about all of God's children that we proclaim His truth. We may not always tell people what they want to hear. Prophets are rarely popular. But we will always teach the truth!"

"Thus our commission as apostles is to teach nothing but truth."

So, there is the bar: Prophets and apostles always teach the truth. A true prophet will bring forth true prophecies. A true revelator will bring forth true revelations. Just like an apple tree will bear apples, not bananas, a true prophet will bring forth true prophecies and not some other work.

A man whom the church believes was a true prophet of God -- Brigham Young - never considered himself such:

"I am not going to interpret dreams; for I don't profess to be such a Prophet as were Joseph Smith and Daniel; but I am a Yankee guesser."  [8]

"I do not profess to be a Prophet. I never called myself so; but I actually believe I am, because people are all the time telling me that I am."  [9] 

"I have never said that I am not a Prophet; but, if I am not, one thing is certain, I have been very profitable to this people."  [10]

I tend to believe Bro. Brigham. After all, if Brigham didn't think he was a prophet, why should we?

Even if we were to consider him a prophet, then how do we explain this statement of his:

"In the days of Joseph [Smith] it was considered a great privilege to be permitted to speak to a member of Congress, but twenty-six years will not pass away before the Elders of this Church will be as much thought of as the kings on their thrones."  [11]  

As far as I understand (and feel free to correct me on this), but I've seen nothing indicating that "the Elders of this Church" were "thought of as the kings on their thrones" 26 years later, or in 1882.  In fact, 8 days shy of that 26 year deadline (on August 23, 1882), Elder Rudger Clawson was tried and convicted of practicing polygamy (in fact, he became the first practicing polygamist to be convicted and serve a sentence after the passage of the Edmunds Act). [12]   He was imprisoned and fined for his marriages. [13]   

Let's call that "Strike One."

In 1961, another "Prophet, Seer and Revelator" -- Joseph Fielding Smith - said at a Honolulu Stake conference in 1961:

"We will never get a man into space. This earth is man's sphere and it was never intended that he should get away from it. The moon is a superior planet to the earth and it was never intended that man should go there. You can write it down in your books that this will never happen."  [14]

Strike Two.

(Even cooler: A decade later, on September 14, 1971, the Apollo 15 astronauts presented Joseph Fielding Smith a Utah state flag that traveled with them to the moon).  [15]

On March 11-19, 2017, Elder Neal A. Andersen visited the Caribbean. He spent a week visiting the "tropical paradises" of Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, giving all kinds of wonderful assurances to the Latter-day Saints. He presided over a host of different meetings all over the islands.

Speaking of the Caribbean area saints, Elder Andersen said, "The Lord is blessing these people, and He's giving them His peace and His Spirit."  [16]

Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy and member of the Caribbean Area Presidency, said "Elder Andersen had a message of hope in the future of Puerto Rico that resonated with many members," [16]

Five months later -- August 30, 2017 to September 12, 2017 - Category 5 Hurricane Irma hit Saint Martin, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. It left 134 fatalities and $1 billion in damages.  [17]

Then, a few days later -- September 16, 2017 - October 2, 2017 - Hurricane Maria hit the Caribbean. A deadly Category 5 hurricane, it is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect those islands. 

• Puerto Rico: Its 175 mph winds killed 2,975 people in just Puerto Rico. A month and a half after the hurricane left, San Juan Puerto Rico Stake President Wilfred Rosa said, "The hurricane was so tough. We still have people struggling just to find food and water. We wait in long lines to get supplies. And, for most people, there's still no [running] water or power." [18]   Three months after the hurricane, 45% of Puerto Ricans (over 1.5 million people) still had no power.  [19]
• Dominica: More than 85% of the island's houses were damaged, of which more than 25% were completely destroyed, leaving more than 50,000 of the island's 73,000 residents to be displaced. [20] 
• U.S. Virgin Islands: Nearly a month after the hurricane, electricity had been restored to only 16% of people in St. Thomas and 1.6% of people in St. Croix. [21]   Three months after Maria, about half the entire U.S. territory still had no power, and 25% of the U.S. territory had no cell service.  [22]

Hurricane Maria is still ranked as the third costliest U.S. Atlantic hurricane in U.S. history -- $90 billion in damages.

I don't know very many people who would consider twin Category 5 hurricanes which killed a combined 3,100+ people a "blessing" which led to them experiencing "His peace and His Spirit."

Strike Three.

Ironically, in October 2017, while Caribbeans were still reeling from the after-effects of Hurricane Maria, Elder Andersen gave a talk in General Conference. Entitled "The Voice of the Lord," he stated, "In the commotion and confusion of our modern world, trusting and believing in the words of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve is vital to our spiritual growth and endurance."  [23]

His speech included no mention of Hurricanes Irma or Maria just months after he went and blessed the land and its people as an apostle of the Lord. As the poor saints in the Caribbean had no electricity at the time, they were not favored to hear the Lord speak through his apostle in General Conference as they pondered whether the Lord had forsaken them.

"But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."  [24]

"What are we to understand by a Prophet? It is his character to predict things that are in the future. I ask what right has any man or set of men or priest of set of priests to say if a man will not do so and he shall be damn'd. Is he not taking upon himself or assuming the character of a Prophet? Consequently he must either be a true of false Prophet."  [25]

The bottom line:

If these "Prophets, Seers and Revelators" are clearly wrong about a few things, what else are they wrong about?

Again, as has been demonstrated numerous times here on this blog, we are commanded in the scriptures to trust in no man; only Jesus Christ. Those who trust in the arm of flesh will invariably see falsehoods and inaccuracies. In fact, I shutter to think of the fate awaiting those who consider themselves unfailing (a synonym for infallible)  [26]  and therefore like unto God.

SOURCES

 1.   1 Thessalonians 5:21
 2.   Jeremiah 28:9
 3.   Matthew 7:15-18
 4.   Galatians 1:8
 5.   3 Nephi 24:6
 6.   Mormon 9:9
 7.   Mormon 9:10
 8.   Journal of Discourses 5:77
 9.   Journal of Discourses 5:177
10.   Journal of Discourses 10:339
11.   A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 31, 1856; Journal of Discourses 4:40.
12.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudger_Clawson
13.   Wikipedia, 19th Century (Mormonism), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century_(Mormonism)
14.   D. Michael Quinn, Elder statesman: A Biography of J. Reuben Clark (2002), p. 498
15.   http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com/2008/10/september-14th.html
16.   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/elder-andersen-shares-message-of-hope-with-members-in-caribbean
17.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Irma#Caribbean
18.   https://www.thechurchnews.com/archives/2017-10-12/mormon-leader-in-puerto-rico-we-dont-want-to-be-forgotten-15941
19.   Robles, Frances; Bidgood, Jess (December 29, 2017). "Three Months After Maria, Roughly Half of Puerto Ricans Still Without Power". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018
20.   Ian Pannell; Emily Taguchi; Ashley Louszko (October 18, 2017). "'It's all gone': Hurricane-ravaged Dominica, on the front line of climate change, fighting to survive". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017.
21.   Erdman, Jonathan (October 20, 2017). "Why Hurricane Maria Was Such a Catastrophe in Puerto Rico". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018.
22.   Pérez-Peña, Richard (December 18, 2017). "Recovering What Was Lost in the U.S. Virgin Islands, One Boat at a Time". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018.
23.   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/10/the-voice-of-the-lord?lang=eng
24.   Deuteronomy 18:20-22
25.   Words of Joseph Smith, p. 230
26.   https://www.google.com/search?q=unfailing&rlz=1C1CHBD_enUS911US911&oq=unfailing

Wendy Watson Nelson’s Wacky, Wayward Wisdom

On Friday, May 7, 2021, a former family therapist and the beloved wife of President Nelson - even Wendy Watson Nelson  - was the keynote speaker at Utah Valley University's commencement. 

Her address encouraged attendees to drop their contentions, open space "for the existence of another" and, through those actions, come to find love in their lives. [1]   She also said that we should be open to other ideas, dropping contention and expectation.

I agree with her to an extent. Decades ago, author Stephen R. Covey promulgated the notion of "Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood." [2]  It's a wise, timeless principle which the church, its leaders and members could really benefit from using.

Yet Nelson has consistently taken the stance that any contention or anger is bad. This belief is undoubtedly rooted in 3 Nephi 11:29, where we read that "the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another."

Nelson's anti-anger advocacy may have begun when the then-never married (and beloved) Wendy L. Watson wrote a book in 2009 entitled, "Spiritual Truths about Intimacy that Will Strengthen Your Marriage" - specifically, the chapter called "The Alienating Influence of Anger." 

(Now, admittedly, I haven't read that chapter; I'm just intrigued by the chapter title. I haven't read the book because I fear that amidst her ideas on incorporating prayer, fasting, and scripture study into "God-Ordained Marital Intimacy," I'll need to embrace "Truth #4: For true marital intimacy, the Holy Ghost needs to be involved. It is simply not possible to have the kind of intimate experiences outside of marriage that you can have within because the Spirit will not be present." Ummm, no. I do not want anyone other than my spouse involved in intimacy, spirit or not).

God "does not like anger"

Fast forward a decade, when Watson (now Nelson), while accompanying her beloved husband on a tour of Indonesia, publicly pronounced her anti-anger beliefs in a talk: "Jesus Christ makes it very clear that he does not like anger. By anticipating an interaction in advance, we can learn how to respond with love rather than anger, even when provoked. We can pray right in the moment to be given an extra measure of patience or compassion for a person who is lashing out in anger."

She continued, "Now the scriptures are filled with inspiring examples [of those] who were serious about living the Savior's doctrine of zero contention." [3] 

This is really interesting to me, because as I scan the scriptures for words like anger, angry, contention, indignation and wrath, a different God appears:

• "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation." (Isa. 10:5)
• "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is their indignation." (2 Ne. 20:5)
• "I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath." (Hosea 13:11)
• "For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction." (2 Ne. 20:25)
• "For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction." (Isa. 10:25)
• "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him." (Hosea 14:4)
• "And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth." (Isa. 63:6)
• "And the word came to Alma, saying: Go; and also say unto my servant Amulek, go forth and prophesy unto this people, saying-Repent ye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent I will visit this people in mine anger; yea, and I will not turn my fierce anger away." (Alma 8:29)
• "And the LORD said unto Noah, The daughters of thy sons have sold themselves; for behold, mine anger is kindled against the sons of men, for they will not hearken to my voice." (Gen. 8:3 JST)
• "And the fire of mine indignation is kindled against them; and in my hot displeasure will I send in the floods upon them, for my fierce anger is kindled against them." (Moses 7:34)
• "And the Lord said unto Noah: The daughters of thy sons have sold themselves; for behold mine anger is kindled against the sons of men, for they will not hearken to my voice." (Moses 8:15)
• "For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains." (Deut. 32:22)
• "And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you." (Jer. 15:14)
• "For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face," (Jer. 32:31)
• "Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day." (Jer. 44:6)
• "Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle." (Zech. 10:3)
• "But if ye will repent and return unto the Lord your God I will turn away mine anger, saith the Lord; yea, thus saith the Lord, blessed are they who will repent and turn unto me, but wo unto him that repenteth not." (Hel. 13:11)
• "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment." (Isa. 63:3)
• "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched." (Jer. 7:20)
• "Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:" (Jer. 32:37)
• "Oh, this unbelieving and stiffnecked generation-mine anger is kindled against them." (D&C 5:8)
• "Therefore I command you to repent-repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore-how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not." (D&C 19:15)
• "Hearken, O ye people who profess my name, saith the Lord your God; for behold, mine anger is kindled against the rebellious, and they shall know mine arm and mine indignation, in the day of visitation and of wrath upon the nations." (D&C 56:1)
• "But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them." (D&C 60:2)
• "For I, the Lord, have decreed in mine anger many destructions upon the waters; yea, and especially upon these waters." (D&C 61:5)
• "I, the Lord, was angry with you yesterday, but today mine anger is turned away." (D&C 61:20)
• "And I have trampled them in my fury, and I did tread upon them in mine anger, and their blood have I sprinkled upon my garments, and stained all my raiment; for this was the day of vengeance which was in my heart." (D&C 133:51)

(I could have shared more scriptures, but my copy-and-paste muscles are worn out).

With all of these anger/indignation/wrath verses well in hand, I set to work to see if the Lord is all talk and no action. Sure enough, as a God, he let his wrath and indignation loose a number of times. Ancient Israel was often the beneficiary of that anger. During his mortal life, the Lord got a little ticked off at times. For example, here is John 2:15: "And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;" (a "scourge" is actually a whip).

It's incredible that someone who is supposedly so internationally recognized and respected as (the beloved) Sister Nelson would say "Jesus Christ makes it very clear that he does not like anger" and preached "the Savior's doctrine of zero contention." The scriptures are overflowing with examples of just the opposite, with excerpts from Jesus' pre-mortal, mortal and post-mortal lives. Heck, even seminary students know Jesus used a whip to clear out the temple moneychangers.

With all due respect to Sister Nelson,

• Jesus Christ makes it very clear that he can and does get angry.
• He can love us AND be angry at the same time, even when provoked. 
• The scriptures are filled with examples of God being provoked to anger and releasing it.  

But this isn't the only time Sister Nelson has taught beliefs which run contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sin even once, and you're eternally screwed

Another book by the beloved Sister Nelson is entitled "The Not Even Once Club." It was published on September 2, 2013 by Deseret Book, [4] a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, the holding company for business firms owned by the church. [5] 

This children's book is marketed as "an adorable and appealing way to engage children in a story that will help them choose for themselves to keep the commandments and to never break them. Not even once. Children will meet Tyler, an energetic boy who is excited to make new friends in his Primary class. They have invited Tyler to join their special club, but first he has to pass the test and keep the club promise."

The promise? Here's a screen capture from one of the book's pages:

"Tyler looked at the poster. It read: "From this moment on I will never break the Word of Wisdom, lie, cheat, steal, do drugs, bully, dress immodestly, or break the law of chastity. I will never intentionally look at anything pornographic on TV, the internet, a cell phone, billboards, magazines or movies." "I promise," shouted Tyler. "Not. Even. Once."

So here, kids are being taught that if you mess up, screw up or make a mistake, it's justifiable for them to ostracize and abandon you. To make sure you're out and never part of the "club." It sets an incredibly high expectation that you will be perfect, for other kids not to be merciful, compassionate and forgiving and for you not to be open and honest with others (because of potential judgment by friends). 

The (3-star) Reviews are in on (the beloved) Sister Nelson

After pondering these (and many more) questions, I wondered if I was the only one on the planet who had these concerns. I'm not.

I pulled the book up on Amazon [4] and was surprised by its high degree of dissatisfaction:

Then I checked it out on Deseret Book. [6] 3 out of 5 stars!!!

I'm amazed! This is a book by the wife of the president of the church, an international global faith leader! She should have at least a thousand five-star reviews and maybe only a couple one-star reviews. What the heck is going on here?

Why such consistently poor reviews? Here's what people said:

"This book promotes never sinning. Since Christ was the only one who would come to this earth and never sin, this book is blasphemous to expect or to heap the pressure upon anyone to never sin. The atonement was intended to offer us a way to be forgiven from sin. If we never need the atonement, do we also not need Christ to suffer for our sins? Do we then get through heavens gate without the need for Christ? These teachings open up a Pandora's box of false truths if we allow these teachings to be taught to our kids. This book should be publicly recalled and denounced as the blatantly false doctrine it is. "

"This book sends a terrible message to young kids. In the story, in order to belong to their club, you have to promise not to sin, "not even once." This message goes against everything Christ stood for: tolerance, inclusion, repentance, and forgiveness. This book teaches children to be exclusionary and that if a child sins, "even once," that they are somehow less than and aren't worthy of being friends with. This book should be retracted by the publisher."

"Wow from a licensed mental health therapist's perspective Wendy has really missed the mark in her book. She herself as a therapist should understand the damage this all or nothing thinking can bring. It's called a thinking error Wendy. Black and white, all or nothing. Where is the atonement? How is this realistic? We are all sinners, some of us don't pretend and cover it up through writing books and putting out unrealistic expectations for our children to follow. Where is Jesus in this? Where is the plan of salvation and the plan of happiness? This is brainwashing and numbing and to the parents who read this to their children I encourage you to tell your kids its ok to make mistakes and teach them how to handle it when they do instead of sweep it under the rug and pretend they are perfect because they are in the not even once club. You were born to make mistakes not fake perfection!!!"

"This is a terrible thing to teach children. Set an impossible standard so they are guaranteed to fail and then feel bad about what is the inevitable and valuable and essential human journey, learning through experience. Give them a reason to think they are better than everyone else... right up until they screw up too and are kicked out of the club. Excommunicated if you will. This is trash."

"I read this at a local book store. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Teaching kids that they can't ever make a mistake? Seriously? While it might be focused on illegal substances it definitely is applied to every other area of sin in the religion. I can't believe this author is the wife of the president of the mormon church and this is the type of message she's pushing. What happened to repentance and forgiveness? It kind of negates the foundation of Christianity. Having grown up mormon I see a lot of their problems summed up here."

"This book uses wonderful illustrations to convey an appalling message. Instead of preparing children for real life and its obstacles, or teach them how to recover after their own occasional and unavoidable failures; it tells them they are expected to be perfect from the beginning to the end, otherwise their self-worth is reduced. This book doesn't give children tools to succeed in life, all it does is hang guilt and shame over their young heads if they ever fail to be perfect."

(I could have shared more reviews, but my copy-and-paste muscles are worn out…again).

Manipulated Reviews?

But the thing that left me scratching my head the most about the reviews wasn't their content, but how they are being misreported.

A post on the Rational Faiths blog (primarily between Sept 3-12, 2013) highlights quite a discussion about how Deseret Book has managed the reviews of this book. There are three primary categories of complaints:

• Many people posted reviews on the book between 2013 and February 25, 2015. They are now gone.
• Many reviews are dated 2/25/15
• Some negative reviews are now listed as 5 stars

Sure enough, here is what I found on Deseret Book's page of this book:

• 39 of the 42 reviews are dated Feb 25, 2015.
• Feb 25, 2015 is the oldest review date. By comparison, on Amazon (here), 106 of the 147 reviews (72%) are dated before Feb 25, 2015.
• One review (from Jeanine; Feb 25, 2015) which is clearly negative has 5 stars.

The Failed Test of a Supposed Disciple

The Lord gave us a tried-and-tested criteria to determine discipleship: "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32) His scriptures also say, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23).

Christ is not exclusive in his offering of the Atonement. He does not have an exclusive club for only perfect people. It is unrealistic to expect perfection from our little or big children. Mistakes are not only inevitable, but are also necessary, for growth.

The children in this book obey based on peer pressure and temporal incentives instead of having a desire to be obedient based on love for their Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. The book also gives limited time to the concept of repentance and only one small reference in the discussion questions.

"Be part of my plan, or else!" sounds like a summary of somebody's plan of salvation, but not God's.

A God who lacks passion isn't rooted in Christ's words. 

A gospel which preaches perfectionism over imperfection, childhood/adolescent infallibility over repentance isn't rooted in Christ's words either.

Because the church's publishing arm continues to sell this book, 
it is also tacitly agreeing with its underlying philosophy.

It has for almost eight years.

A church which has promoted these beliefs via its publishing arm for almost 8 years? 

It's supposed to discourage and condemn the philosophies of men mingled with scripture.

It's supposed to help set us up for salvation.

Instead, it's setting many up for catastrophic failure.

QUESTIONS

Based on the aforementioned facts, I have the following questions:

• How do you think the book's expectations and behaviors will surface when children need to open up and talk with their parents? 
• What about children with special needs who often do things that are considered "different" by others? Will some kids be rejected because they don't fit in with others? 
• What about kids who already struggle to be accepted in the Church?
• What are we to do with the concept of having a club for children where they receive candy and material rewards for keeping the commandments?
• What if they don't play their piano or violin concerto perfectly?
• What if they're feeling perfectionism and struggling to get straight As or to be the state basketball or volleyball champion?
• Will they expect (or feel they deserve) excommunication if they ever tell a lie?
• How will this philosophy affect them when they are in adulthood? 
• What about missionaries who are left with the impression, by Sister Nelson's husband, that they need to be perfectly obedient on their missions in order to see more baptisms?   What happens if they fail to baptize a lot of people - are they failures?
• And how will they raise their own children?
• How many parents and/or kids will have read this book and been damaged by it?
• Who do you think will ultimately be responsible for these consequences?
• Just who the heck is running Deseret Books?  ; )

SOURCES

1.  https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2021/05/07/after-tension-over-her/
2.  https://www.franklincovey.com/habit-5/
3.  https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-nelson-indonesia-2019
4.  https://www.amazon.com/Not-Even-Once-Club/dp/1609073371/
5.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deseret_Book_Company
6.  https://deseretbook.com/p/not-even-once-club-wendy-watson-nelson-88683 

CHECK THE COMMENTS BY LATTER-DAY
TRUTHS BELOW FOR UPDATES TO THIS POST

President Nelson's Prayer

"And no one dared disturb...the sound of silence."

If you saw a person dying, and you could heal them (and history and even God himself has shown that you could heal them), would you do it? 

Or would you simply sit back, pat their hand, and sooth them on their way out of mortality with gentle words and tearful stories about your loved ones who've passed on?

Which option has the greater message of healing and hope?

In my last post, I discussed how prophets have always delivered a very specific message to alleviate pestilences and prevent greater destructions: Repentance. Yet in his 11/20/20 message to the world, Pres. Nelson chose a message which deviated from the proven prescription God has always given mankind, and focused not on repentance, but gratitude. 

"Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." [1]

Pres. Nelson also encouraged members not to turn to God with all their rended hearts, not to fast with weeping and morning, but to instead implement a week-long social media blitz promoting #GiveThanks. How can we even expect to please God without a broken heart, contrite spirit and taking advantage of the Savior's atonement?

With a full-blown plague in control of the world, and abortions, murders, thefts, lyings and unbelief in God at all time highs, perhaps today isn't a day of warning and repentance, but happiness and hope! Maybe everything's hunky dorey with God and repentance for all these sins isn't a top priority with him anymore.  

Either God is now overlooking mankind's true (wicked) spiritual state, or God's true message got lost in translation. 

Messages of Power

When the prophets of old delivered their messages of divinely-decreed doom and certain solutions, they did so boldly, directly and unambiguously from God. The only time they referred to themselves was in mentioning that they were sent to deliver their message by God himself.

In some cases, their messages stuck. In Helaman 11, we read how in the 72nd year of the reign of the judges, Nephi saw a "secret band of robbers who did carry on this work of destruction and wickedness" among the people of Nephi. A year later, he prayed that God would not "suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the sword," so instead, he called down "a famine in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will repent and turn unto thee." 

And boom, it happened. The famine was tremendously destructive enough that, by the 76th year, the people were sufficiently humbled and repentant. Due to a subsequent prayer by Nephi, God "turned away his anger from the people" and ended the famine. [2]

Today, we live in similar (and I suspect dramatically worse) times. The graphs detailing the spread of COVID-19 show that mankind is unwilling to humble itself nor be repentant.[3]  If this story of the people of Nephi is any indication, all it takes is for one person to pray to God (to help people remember him, be humble and repent), and God enthusiastically agrees. Last week, Pres. Nelson openly called on God to help us repent.[4] What do YOU think God will do?

One person recently surmised, "If a prophet of god really was a prophet and cared about people, wouldn't he be able to convert basically the entire world if he just said "yo covid, **** off," proving he really is a prophet?" Helaman 11:1-17 shows that's not how God operates. God will send forth his prophets to warn, and if the warnings aren't heeded, he unleashes the consequences, letting them continue until the people repent (like the people of Nephi in Helaman 11) or are all dead (like the Nephite civilization). [5]

Circumventing the Sound of Silence

Regardless of whether you think the United States presidential election is legitimate or not, the voice of the people (as expressed by its leaders) -- in the U.S. and many other countries -- has chosen to have its government run by those who proudly encourage (or are silent regarding): 

1. Murdering unborn children.
2. Admitting people into our country in direct contravention to our laws.
3. Accommodating and funding countries, and electing federal representatives and judges, who are violently opposed to God, Christians and freedom.
4. Anarchist groups fomenting riots and violence in our neighborhoods.
5. Sexual education of young children and encouraging them to reconsider their God-given genders.
6. Corrupting electoral laws, processes and procedures.
7. Eliminating divinely-inspired constitutional rights, provisions and principles.
8. Preferential treatment for individuals based on the color of their skin, not the content of their character.
9. Taking away income rightfully earned by an individual and giving it to another who has not earned it.
10. Embracing socialist and even communist ideologies.

Because of this, God has promised:

"And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." [6]

"For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted." [7]

As these circumstances have proliferated throughout the world and intensified in their evilness, a true prophet would have been sounding the warning cries years ago. Yet nothing was said. I'm confident this would have been considered God's "Plan A."

After COVID-19 started affecting our way of life last spring, not one, but two fasts were undertaken by our church. Yet these fasts did not have their ultimate origins from within people's hearts, but the LDS Church's newsroom. Naturally, COVID-19 just smiled and kept racking up numbers of unemployed, hopeless, helpless, sick and dying. There went "Plan B."

Then on November 13, 2020, we were told that a revelation was coming from the church's prophet that was so important, that we had to wait a week to hear it. There was no explanation given as to why we needed to wait a week. If it was so important and uplifting, why couldn't it have been released on the 13th? This is tantamount to saying "I have a cure for cancer, but I am not going to tell anyone right now. Let's wait a little while." It was an unnecessarily-delayed message with no prophetic warning. Because one's expression of gratitude to the masses (in this case, social media) is being used as a replacement for repentance, and has never been a prescribed remedy for pestilences, its success -- as God's possible "Plan C" -- is dubious at best.

At a time when people are desperate for real answers, real solutions and real leadership, the world has yet to be officially called to repentance. I am bewildered why it is so difficult for a supposed prophet of God, a global faith "leader", to do so. Why do the 15 men who literally stand in between you and Jesus walk on eggshells while in the proximity of the R word?

Luckily, God is implementing a Plan D: In lieu of prophets not prophesying, he's been taking his message straight to the people. 

We have been told that the prophecy of Joel (Joel 2:28-29) is fulfilled, wherein the Lord "will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit." 

Adults and children, men and women, ARE having dreams of the world's near-future. Just click here and do what one of my relatives did, and join the "Latter Day Saints Dream Dreams" Facebook group.[8] You'll see there are many people having dreams of the future, and their frequency seems to be increasing. Yes, these dreams are for individuals. But when you read variations of the same dream repeated throughout this group, you kinda start to sit up and take notice. With respect to America, these dreams often describe a lockdown due to a virus, forced vaccine tests and vaccinations, mobs, gangs, economic collapse, military-enforced lockdowns, relocation of people to concentration camps, no power grid and more. They also describe simultaneous earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and military invasions.

What Would (Helaman) Nephi Say Today?

History proves that one way or another, God's going to warn those he wants to warn. It may happen individually (through dreams or visions) or collectively (through a prophet or calamities). We know he's doing so now on an individual basis, and I have more than enough evidence to show that he's doing so collectively via COVID-19. 

But what would happen if a modern-day Nephi said roughly the same prayer as is found in Helaman 11:4 (when Nephi called down the famine)? What if he were prompted a bit differently, customized to today's circumstances?

Here is my guess:

Oh God, the Eternal Father, hallowed be your name. 

Please look upon my heart and mind. I approach you in meekness and humility, knowing I am no better than the dust of the earth. Yet I, as your son, raise my hands to the heavens, knowing that you are no respecter of persons, and give abundantly to those who knock on the doors to your Throne Room three times. So I come before your throne of grace with boldness as well, for I believe in you. I believe you. I trust you.

You have seen the sorrowful, sinful state of my people. They continue enthusiastically murdering unborn children and the elderly. They support those who are violently opposed to you, Christians and freedom. They foment riots and violence in our neighborhoods. They teach our young to reconsider their God-given genders. Corrupt representatives, judges and leaders have defiled our laws, processes and procedures. They are eliminating divinely-inspired constitutional rights, provisions and principles. At all turns, we are besieged by immorality and amorality. And all of these circumstances are increasing.

You have allowed the release of a plague and pestilence designed to stimulate a change of heart and repentance among your people. Yet mankind has lifted up it's fist in protest and seeks to rely upon its own supposed wisdom, while further entrenching itself in sin. Our leaders dare not call the people to repentance, which you have looked in times past with gladness, mercy, forgiveness, healing and abundance. Their fasts have been disregarded, as you have allowed this virus to continue infecting the world unabated.

Therefore, please hear my voice as I cry to you in the night, under these stars which gently proclaim the majesty of your light and love. I know that this people is beyond ripe for destruction. Please do not suffer that we shall be destroyed by the sword as yet. 

But O Holy Father, rather, let there be a greater, more powerful pestilence which shall instill not only fear, not only quicker death, but also a greater remembrance of the Lord their God, that perhaps they will repent and turn unto you before they, too, are consumed by this pestilence.

Please also simultaneously release your power -- the power of your Holy Spirit -- to go into the world. Enlighten and empower those who fear you, that they may preach the gospel to all creation: the gospel of peace, of miracles, of healing, of life and love, which all come in and through your Holy Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray. Amen.

QUESTIONS

Based on the aforementioned facts, I have the following questions:

• If you had the ability to heal someone from a death sentence, would you do it, or just speak soothing words to them?
• Is hopping on social media the best way to get people to repent?
• What did God do in Helaman 11 to spur people to repentance? How do you think we're different from the people of Nephi?
• What do you think happens when the majority of people choose iniquity?
• Why would one withhold a message of healing and hope for a week? Would you withhold a cure for cancer from stricken patients for a week?
• Have you or someone you trust had a dream of the future?
• When past prophets have petitioned God to help us repent, how did God respond to their prayer?

SOURCES

1.   Joel 2:12-13
2.   Helaman 11: 1-17
3.   https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#daily-cases
4.   https://youtu.be/tlcILxGmVrI
5.   Mormon 8:7; Ether 8:21
6.   Mosiah 29:27
7.   Helaman 5:2
8.   https://www.facebook.com/groups/LdsDreamDreams

CHECK THE COMMENTS BY LATTER-DAY
TRUTHS BELOW FOR UPDATES TO THIS POST

Prophets Who Don't Prophesy

If we've ever needed a prophet, now would be the time. 

With COVID-19, political and media deception, anarchy, riots and more, the words of the Lord, as delivered to us by a prophet, would be a welcome help.

The Tests of True Prophets

A prophet's job description has never wavered: They are "men called to speak for the Lord" who "testify of Jesus Christ and teach His gospel. They make known God's will and true character. They speak boldly and clearly, denouncing sin and warning of its consequences. At times, they may be inspired to prophesy of future events for our benefit." [1]  

Throughout the scriptures, when foreign armies or natural disasters threatened security, health or life, God frequently sent emissaries who issued urgent calls for people to turn away from sin and cast themselves upon the mercy of God. Think of calls to repentance in the face of disaster of Old Testament prophets such as Samuel [2], Isaiah [3], Jeremiah [4], Ezekiel [5], Daniel [6], Habakkuk [7], or Joel [8]; or of New Testament calls of John the Baptist [9], James [10], John the Revelator [11] and Jesus himself [12]. In the Book of Mormon, we have Nephi [13], Jacob [14], Mosiah [15], Alma [16], Helaman [17], Samuel the Lamanite [18], Mormon [19], Ether [20] and Moroni [21].

As I read the scriptures, prophets have consistently (1) been given a mission, directly from God, to preach to a people regarding their sinful state and the consequences of their sinfulness [22] if they don't repent, (2) delivered their message and (3) boldly declared that God sent them to deliver their message. Yet because their messages are rooted in inconvenient truths, they are almost universally (4) rejected by their divinely-appointed audiences and (5) often (though not always) paid for their directness with their lives. [23]

In the church's True to the Faith book (which I quoted above), "Moses, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, Nephi, Mormon" are also listed as examples of prophets. All of them did #1, #2 and #3. We know for a fact that Isaiah, Peter and Paul (and many others not listed here, including 11 of the 12 post-resurrection apostles and Brother Joseph) were rejected by their audiences (#4) and subsequently murdered by them (#5). 

I hope I have demonstrated that all throughout the scriptures, God's prophets were very direct in warning people of impending destruction, and what they needed to do to prevent it. In all these cases, it wasn't a deficiency in a certain quality (like gratitude) which was of concern to these prophets, but instead, good 'ol fashioned sin and pride.

The True Causes of Plagues and Pestilences

Often, God augments these prophets with natural calamities designed to stimulate a change of heart. Two of those are plagues [24] and pestilences [25]. These are not the result of a mutated virus released from a biomedical lab or animal market bats, but sins [26], unbelief in God [27] and not remembering him [28]. The remedy for these plagues and pestilences: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 

So, there's the carrot: The people called by his name must (1) humble themselves, (2) pray, (3) seek his face and (4) turn from their wicked ways. In return, God will (1) hear from heaven, (2) forgive their sin and (3) heal their land.  [29]

What's a good indicator when this hasn't happened? It's when God doesn't hear our prayers nor be moved by our fasts. The Lord said, "Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence."  [30]

Here, we see that God will not accept our offerings nor acknowledge our fasts if we are what? If we are iniquitous and sinning. And for that, he will continue to visit us not only with pestilence, but also the sword and famine.

Now, Let's Look at Our Current Landscape

We live in a time when people are perfectly fine with electing leaders and judges who enthusiastically support murdering unborn children. These leaders accommodate and fund countries who are violently opposed to God, Christians and freedom. They ignore and remain silent as anarchist groups foment riots and violence in our neighborhoods. They espouse sexual education of kindergarteners and encourage them to reconsider their God-given genders. They corrupt our laws, processes and procedures and eliminate divinely-inspired constitutional rights, provisions and principles. They give preferential treatment for individuals based on the color of their skin, not the content of their character. They take away income rightfully earned by an individual and give it to another who has not earned it. They embrace socialist and even communist ideologies.

Within the church, we are still under condemnation for not taking the Book of Mormon seriously. Pornography has decimated huge swaths of Melchizedek and especially Aaronic Priesthood quorums. Headlines regularly highlight active bishops and local leaders for sex-related crimes.  

On top of all of that, we still have COVID-19. Let's look at the worldwide Coronavirus trendlines since the first (March 26, 2020 [31], blue line) and second (April 4, 2020 [32], red line) church-wide fasts. [33]

Again: God has said that if we -- the people called by his name -- humble ourselves, pray, seek his face and turn from our wicked ways, then he will hear from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land. He's also said if we still have iniquity and sin, then he will not hear the cries of our fasts and he will not accept our offerings. 

Do these results indicate, in any way, shape or form, that God is healing our lands? Now, some may say, "Well, the fasts DID work, because these results could have been a lot worse." Aside from that being one heck of an assumption, the fasts didn't ask for a partial alleviation of COVID-19. They were "for relief from the physical, emotional, and economic effects of this global pandemic"[31] and "that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized."[32]

Aside from the above graphs, just a simple, casual trip to Walmart, Costco, your favorite dine-in restaurant or a movie theater will prove that COVID-19 isn't controlled. Caregivers are still raising concerns. The economy still hasn't returned to its pre-COVID heights and life is far from normal. Relief from the physical, emotional, and economic effects of this global pandemic is nowhere in sight.

Which brings us to…

A Day of Non-Warning

In his worldwide 11/20/2020 11am, 11-minute long worldwide message [34], Pres. Nelson laid out a strong case for his professional background as a medical expert. He also summarized his family life. In both cases, he was forced to confront disease and death among his patients, children and first wife.

Within seconds of its posting to YouTube, thousands of church members were praising him for his primary message: gratitude. As Thanksgiving is less than a week away, the message is entirely appropriate. 

Maybe it's just me, but something tells me that with all the sins listed above, plus this Coronavirus thing that's going on, man's ingratitude isn't the issue of the day. It's our continued sinful state and reluctance to change our hearts and repent. Do those trendlines show any progress in that regard?

Let's do a little hypothetical: Let's transport Isaiah, Jeremiah, Peter, Paul, Nephi, Alma, Mormon, Moroni and Joseph Smith back to our day, today. Judging by what they said in their times, what would be their messages today?

First, they would focus not on themselves, but Jesus Christ and his message to mankind. In this video, President Nelson spent 11 seconds on the actual "ills that plague our world, including hate, civil unrest, racism, violence, dishonesty, and lack of civility" (he included the pandemic as an ill, not an effect of a true illness, sin). He spent a grand total of 37 seconds on Jesus. And he spent 2 minutes 22 seconds talking about himself.

Granted, Pres. Nelson did mention repentance -- twice. In his first mention, he said "We can give thanks for the opportunity to repent, start over, make amends, and build character." Note that he didn't call us to repent; just that we should be grateful for repentance. In his second mention, he said "Wilt Thou also help us repent from selfishness, unkindness, pride and prejudice of any kind so that we can better serve and love one another as brothers and sisters and as Thy grateful children." Again, this is no call to repentance; it was a petition for God to help us repent.

Nowhere in his message does he mention the word "sin." No calls to humility or repentance. No seeking God's face.

He did, however, mention "gratitude" 11 times and "grateful" 8 times. 

You've known about the concept of gratitude since you were in primary. It's nothing new. 

What President Nelson's message did do is give us "a fast-acting and long-lasting spiritual prescription" which can "soothe our feelings and can "provide[s] us with a greater perspective on the very purpose and joy of life."

This, I believe, was deliberate. He said, "Over my nine and a half decades of life, I have concluded that counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems."

Gratitude, social media blitzes, high-tech equivalents of the Rameumptom and virtue signaling are definitely NOT what God would be telling us to do to…they're not the "urgent and important" remedies for mankind's sins, and you know it. 

If anything, now is THE time for us to be counting our problems. Now is the time for humility, repentance and seeking God's face, not "soothed feelings." These days, mankind has indirectly been told by its governments to get less sunlight, smoke more weed and watch more Netflix instead of getting healthier. Today, you were told to ingest the spiritual equivalent of candy, chips, cookies, cake, ice cream, pie and soda pop, not a proven regimen of diet and exercise.

Face it: Denouncing sin and warning of its consequences is not a sound marketing strategy. I mean, who wants to be told that they are not right before God? With all the darkness, despair, disease and death in the world, additional rays of sunshine are now more readily appreciated and embraced than messages of God's displeasure and disdain for mankind.

You know…the messages true prophets of God have always been expected to pronounce.

"That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us."  [35]

But if you look carefully, President Nelson did ask, "Wilt Thou also help us repent from selfishness, unkindness, pride and prejudice of any kind so that we can better serve and love one another as brothers and sisters and as Thy grateful children."

Because this issue isn't "mask or no mask" but is "repent or not", I believe that, oh yes, God will help us to repent from sin. Pres. Nelson's petition will be granted. But very likely, it will not be in the way Pres. Nelson is hoping.

God has been trying since the beginning of the year to help us repent. By the looks of it, we aren't listening to him. And the trendlines show we're not getting any better.

As we read earlier, God says of those whose fasts are not acknowledged: "I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence."

Thus, we're in a dilemma, a "Catch-22": If God doesn't hear the words of Pres. Nelson, then that's a serious situation, for Pres. Nelson is considered by millions as God's mouthpiece to the world. If God does hear his prayer, then God will be obliged to "help us repent." And just how does God help us, persuade us, to repent? Pestilences. Plagues. Fires. Floods. Tsunami. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Wars. Mobs. Famines. Solar disruptions. Asteroid hits.

Sometimes the most important catalyst for spiritual renewal is a cataclysmic event, where God doesn't decrease suffering. He INCREASES suffering.

Thanks Pres. Nelson. Because of your prayer, 2020 may easily end up looking like a day in the park compared to 2021 / 2022.

QUESTIONS

Based on the aforementioned facts, I have the following questions:

• Would you consider that mankind, as a whole, are in a sinful state?
• Does mankind need to take repentance more seriously?
• Who is the prophet that's currently filling a job description similar to past (scriptural) prophets? Please show me their prophecies.
• When was the last time that God commissioned a prophet to prophesy destruction to a people that's sinning?
• Has God used plagues and pestilences to spur people to repentance?
• Has he stopped doing so?
• Has God said that if we do not repent, he will not hear our prayers and fasts?
• By the looks of the COVID stats, has God heard our prayers and fasts?
• What does humanity need to do to get God to hear our fasts and prayers?
• Is "repentance" the primary message of the church's leaders today?
• Did Pres. Nelson ask God to help us repent?
• Just how does God help us, persuade us, to repent when not even plagues and pestilences are doing the trick?

SOURCES

 1.   "Prophets," True to the Faith, (2004), p. 129-30.
 2.   1 Samuel 7:3
 3.   Isaiah 1:24-27
 4.   Jeremiah 4:1-4
 5.   Ezekiel 33:11
 6.   Daniel 2:18; 9:3, 9, 17-18, 23
 7.   Habakkuk 3:2
 8.   Joel 1:13-14; 2:12-17
 9.   Matthew 3:5-12
10.   James (5:1-6)
11.   Revelation 2:5, 16, 21-22)
12.   Luke 13:1-5
13.   1 Nephi 7:13, 11:36
14.   Jacob 2:33, 3:1-3
15.   Mosiah 7:31, 29:27
16.   Alma 1:12, 4:11, 9:18, 10:18-27
17.   Helaman 8:5, 26
18.   Helaman 13:5-6
19.    Mormon 6:22
20.   Ether 8:23-25
21.   Moroni 8:27, 9:22
22.   2 Nephi 9:48
23.   Revelation 16:6; 1 Nephi 1:18-20.
24.   Zechariah 14:12, 15, 18; 2 Chronicles 21:14; Exodus 9:14; Numbers 11:33; Revelation 16:9, 21
25.   Exodus 9:14
26.   Mosiah 12:2-7; Helaman 11:15; D&C 97:26
27.   2 Nephi 6:15
28.   Helaman 12:3
29.   2 Chronicles 7:13
30.   Jeremiah 14:10-12
31.   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/president-nelson-invites-all-worldwide-to-fast-for-physical-spiritual-healing-in-response-to-covid-19?lang=eng
32.   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/president-nelson-asks-latter-day-saints-to-unite-our-faith-once-again-in-fast-on-good-friday?lang=eng
33.   https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#daily-cases
34.   https://youtu.be/tlcILxGmVrI
35.   Isaiah 30:9-11

CHECK THE COMMENTS BY LATTER-DAY
TRUTHS BELOW FOR UPDATES TO THIS POST

Why the LDS Coronavirus Fasts Failed

It’s the unspoken, perhaps even un-contemplated, fact we members dare not mention:

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?
  
  

  CHECK THE COMMENTS BY LATTER-DAY
  TRUTHS BELOW FOR UPDATES TO THIS POST 

1   https://www.projectmanagement.com/wikis/233055/Gap-Analysis

2   Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History, p. 223–24

3   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/president-nelson-invites-all-worldwide-to-fast-for-physical-spiritual-healing-in-response-to-covid-19?lang=eng

4   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/president-nelson-asks-latter-day-saints-to-unite-our-faith-once-again-in-fast-on-good-friday?lang=eng

5   https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#total-cases

6   https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#daily-deaths

7   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1985/10/by-their-fruits-ye-shall-know-them?lang=eng

8   Matthew 6:19

9   https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/stay-in-the-boat-and-hold-on?lang=eng

10   https://www.worldometers.info