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Introductory Note: Several years ago during General Conference I started journaling the messages my soul most longed to hear. I posted one of those last Conference. I’m doing so again now. This requires a suspension of disbelief: it contains a mix of true and aspirational content, and is written as if I had been asked to speak during General Conference. I do not purport to actually have any authority to speak on behalf of the Church.
Faith without works is dead.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to cast our spiritual burdens upon the Lord, rely on the grace of his Atonement, and put our faith in him during adversity. But the Gospel also preaches that our spiritual health is intertwined with the physical welfare of our neighbors. Pure religion looks not just to eternity but to now.
“If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them: ‘Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled’; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (James 2:14-17)
The temporal urgency of faith resonates throughout ancient and modern scripture. The Parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us there can be no spiritual purity for those who ignore the physical pains and sicknesses of their neighbors. Caring for the poor and needy is one of the missions of the Restored Gospel.
During the October 1856 General Conference, President Brigham Young set aside messages of abstract faith to address the temporal needs of the Willie and Martin handcart companies, stranded in freezing mountains hundreds of miles away. He called on all members to immediately commence the logistical work of a rescue: 115 wagons; 60 teams of horses and mules; 24,000 pounds of flour; as many blankets as could be spared.
“That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people. … Go and bring in those people now on the plains. And attend strictly to those things which we call temporal, or temporal duties. Otherwise, your faith will be in vain.”
Within hours, rescue teams gathered around the Tabernacle laden with donated goods.
Today, we are inspired by Brigham Young’s prophetic urgency toward temporal salvation. For six months we had planned that this General Conference would be an historic celebration of the 200-year anniversary of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s First Vision. But world events have overtaken our plans. After much prayer, we are rescheduling our commemoration of the past. The COVID-19 pandemic is now. We call on all members everywhere to channel their months of spiritual preparation into the holy work of succoring our world during a global pandemic.
Continuing the Restoration means continuing the work of rescue. For now, Christ calls us to attend strictly to temporal things. We must urgently care for all affected by this pandemic because faith without works is dead.
The rest of this Conference will be devoted to the logistics of how. I will preview these messages, then step aside so faithful professionals can discuss their implementation in more depth.
Social Distancing
For the last few weeks, pandemic response work has been centered in our Church Office Building. We have worked tirelessly to follow public health guidelines and shut down activities that risk global contagion. We have closed our meetinghouses, our Temples, and our universities. We have delayed mission service and commissioned flights to bring presently serving missionaries home. We have urged our members to obey the stay-at-home orders percolating across states and countries. We reiterate that message now: stay at home. Check in on your friends, families and ward families, but minister remotely. Use phone calls, texts, and doorbell meal deliveries which minimize personal contact.
Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, we are blessed to still hold this General Conference. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, General Conference was cancelled alongside worship services. As we adjust to this new normal of not gathering in person, we encourage all remote forms of fellowship. We are inspired by the e-mail listserv gospel studies, Zoom relief society meetings, and access to public broadcast channels our members are creatively assembling while practicing social distancing.
Essential Services and Supplies
Even while combating the coronavirus together by engaging in social distancing, we can do more. This pandemic is unleashing a dual medical and economic crisis. It is our Christian duty to help.
We know many of you are essential personnel on the frontlines of a global response. You are public health officials, medical professionals, and scientists. You are manufacturers, engineers, and utility providers. You are agricultural workers, food service suppliers, and truck drivers. You staff food banks and unemployment offices. You are keeping supply chains running and preserving lives. We pray for your health and safety. We speak often of magnifying our callings in the service of our Lord; for now, your work is your sacred calling. God honors and blesses your selfless heroism.
To assist with your essential efforts, the Church is working to source and distribute masks and other personal protective equipment to professionals at increased risks of exposure. The Church is working daily to produce and distribute more emergency supplies. We have increased our manufacturing output at Church-owned farms and factories. We have increased deliveries to and staffing at our Bishops’ Storehouses. We have donated hundreds of thousands of respirator masks and supplied other humanitarian aid.
You at home can contribute to our efforts. If you have food storage, now is the time to consume it. If you have gardens, now is the time to plant them. If you have sewing skills, now is the time to make and donate masks. The Church has posted detailed emergency preparedness guidelines on our website to assist with these efforts. It includes delicious recipes for food storage, common gardening tips, and patterns for cloth masks.
Financial Resources
Thanks to provident living, the Church in recent years has been blessed with a surplus which the Lord prompted us to save for precisely the sort of “rainy day” global crisis we now confront. We are working withing existing partnerships to set up temporary food and supply distribution centers worldwide. Like we do after hurricanes and other natural disasters, we are converting our meetinghouses into temporary shelters, distribution centers, and in some cases medical facilities. In areas where we lack a presence and existing organizations are more effective, we are making targeted donations to bolster their work in succoring the poor and needy.
If you are in a position of economic security during this crisis, we ask you to open your hearts and your pocketbooks. This crisis has called us all to compassion. Be merciful with those who owe you debt. Please donate 10% of your surplus — more, if you are able and the Spirit inspires you to do so — to alleviate others’ economic suffering. If donated to the Church as tithing, please know that the Church has prayerfully decided to earmark all tithing donations this year for immediate humanitarian relief.
But given the severity and speed of this crisis, we do not ask that you pay your tithing to the Church. There are needs in your immediate communities which you understand better than a centralized Church Office Building in Salt Lake City. Your direct contributions can alleviate those needs more quickly. We urge you to make a generous fast offering instead of, or in addition to, your tithing. We also urge you to donate generously to other religious and secular relief organizations in your area. Maybe you can buy groceries for your neighbors. God will bless you for your generosity no matter the form it takes. Charity never faileth.
We know in the last month alone millions of you have lost your jobs and your financial security. We do not expect donations from those in need, although God will bless you for every compassionate act you undertake. Please know there is help available. We have instructed all Stake Presidents, Bishops, and Relief Society presidents on how to quickly distribute fast offerings to cover food, rent, and medical care. We are also making available additional Church funds which Bishops and Relief Society presidents can access to distribute to those under their stewardship.
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We are called to be God’s hands on Earth. Where there is suffering, we are called to compassion. Although it may seem odd to show compassion by staying home, our collective duty now is to stem the tide of this pandemic, assist our essential personnel, and support life.
Staying home, however, does not mean staying passive. Pray for the world and minister to your communities. Increase displays of patience and love as you labor in close quarters. Use your skills and resources to support food, shelter, and medical care for all of God’s children.
“Impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.” (Mosiah 4:26)
Together with Christ we can heal the world.