The Tender Mercies of COVID-19
Item
Title
The Tender Mercies of COVID-19
Description
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, formerly known as the Mormon church. Members of my church often reflect on the "tender mercies of the Lord," or personal and timely blessing from God. My church's meetinghouses and temples are closed worldwide. However, my husband and I have used this occurrence as an opportunity to marvel in God's timely developments in modern religion.
Our church's prophet put into a place a home-study program called "Come Follow Me" just over a year ago. Through this program, scripture study is home-focused as opposed to purely learning in church on Sundays. I believe God brought this program to us at the perfect time, knowing worship would be forced to shift into the home by the pandemic. The "Come Follow Me" program is a tender mercy.
In a biannual worldwide broadcast called General Conference, our prophet called for a worldwide fast. He prompted us to not eat for 24 hours on April 10 while we pray for the pandemic to be controlled, caregivers to be protected, the economy to be strengthened, and life to be normalized. I witnessed everyone in my church devote themselves to this fast and inviting others to do the same. I joined a Facebook group full of people of all religions around the world sharing their experiences pertaining to fast. Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, you name it; the world was united in faith to quell the virus. Data shows that April 10 yielded the peak of COVID-19 cases in the US, and cases began to plummet after April 10. The sense of hope and community gained from the worldwide fast was a tender mercy.
When my now-husband and I first decided to get married in early fall, we were tasked with choosing a date. Since I am a college student, we thought June may be a good time, but we did not want to wait that long. I suggested June 13, but we felt prompted to turn to prayer to receive spiritual confirmation of a wedding date. The date "March 14" popped into my husband's head during prayer. To our amazement, we saw that March 14 happened to fall on the Saturday before my spring break at college, giving us a week's break to go on a honeymoon. Come March, the pandemic was slowing spreading into America. The week before our wedding became increasingly stressful as we weren't certain if we'd be able to hold a wedding. March 14 was a magical day. We were married in the Dallas Mormon Temple and held a reception of about 100 people. Just days later, the prophet announced that all temples would close until further notice and government officials ordered that large gatherings be canceled. If we had waited until June, we surely wouldn't have been blessed with our perfect wedding and temple ceremony. March 14 was a tender mercy.
During the pandemic, I have observed that God's plan is perfect. Don't get me wrong; I do not believe that COVID-19 is a blessing. I work in a hospital as a phlebotomist and come in contact with dozens of patients a day. I have seen the structural and individual stress the virus has placed on the healthcare system. However, I know that God gives us tender mercies in this trying time to show his love and bless us for our diligence and faith. Modern technology and social media have made social distancing tolerable for us, and through its wonders, we can continue to worship God and study His scripture in the era of COVID-19.
Our church's prophet put into a place a home-study program called "Come Follow Me" just over a year ago. Through this program, scripture study is home-focused as opposed to purely learning in church on Sundays. I believe God brought this program to us at the perfect time, knowing worship would be forced to shift into the home by the pandemic. The "Come Follow Me" program is a tender mercy.
In a biannual worldwide broadcast called General Conference, our prophet called for a worldwide fast. He prompted us to not eat for 24 hours on April 10 while we pray for the pandemic to be controlled, caregivers to be protected, the economy to be strengthened, and life to be normalized. I witnessed everyone in my church devote themselves to this fast and inviting others to do the same. I joined a Facebook group full of people of all religions around the world sharing their experiences pertaining to fast. Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, you name it; the world was united in faith to quell the virus. Data shows that April 10 yielded the peak of COVID-19 cases in the US, and cases began to plummet after April 10. The sense of hope and community gained from the worldwide fast was a tender mercy.
When my now-husband and I first decided to get married in early fall, we were tasked with choosing a date. Since I am a college student, we thought June may be a good time, but we did not want to wait that long. I suggested June 13, but we felt prompted to turn to prayer to receive spiritual confirmation of a wedding date. The date "March 14" popped into my husband's head during prayer. To our amazement, we saw that March 14 happened to fall on the Saturday before my spring break at college, giving us a week's break to go on a honeymoon. Come March, the pandemic was slowing spreading into America. The week before our wedding became increasingly stressful as we weren't certain if we'd be able to hold a wedding. March 14 was a magical day. We were married in the Dallas Mormon Temple and held a reception of about 100 people. Just days later, the prophet announced that all temples would close until further notice and government officials ordered that large gatherings be canceled. If we had waited until June, we surely wouldn't have been blessed with our perfect wedding and temple ceremony. March 14 was a tender mercy.
During the pandemic, I have observed that God's plan is perfect. Don't get me wrong; I do not believe that COVID-19 is a blessing. I work in a hospital as a phlebotomist and come in contact with dozens of patients a day. I have seen the structural and individual stress the virus has placed on the healthcare system. However, I know that God gives us tender mercies in this trying time to show his love and bless us for our diligence and faith. Modern technology and social media have made social distancing tolerable for us, and through its wonders, we can continue to worship God and study His scripture in the era of COVID-19.
Date Created
May 12, 2020
Community
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Denomination
LDS
State
Texas
Item sets
This item was submitted on May 12, 2020 by [anonymous user] using the form “Contribute Your Materials” on the site “Pandemic Religion: A Digital Archive”: https://americanjewishlife.org/s/contributions
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