Why would you wear that stupid, useless mask to church Greg?
Why would you get that politicized vaccine Greg?
Well… my answer is simple. I hate wearing a mask, and I hate the thought of a vaccine even more. But not too long ago, I got an email from the prophet. Maybe you did too.
It’s not often that I get an email from the prophet. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I did. In that email, he urged me to go and get a vaccine. A vaccine that I would have never gotten.
Trump’s vaccine, Biden’s vaccine, any vaccine… I don’t want any of them.
I’m not an anti-vaxxer. I know they have their place. I know they’ve saved lives, saved countries even. I have all of my vaccinations from my childhood. (I remember those being “mandatory” in order to attend public school when I was young). I even got a big fat Tetanus shot in my rear end when I did something stupid on a dirt-bike not too long ago.
But still, I hate having a doctor inject a foreign substance into me. I’ve never had a flu shot and I’ve been grateful to have not been sick in close to 2-3 years. So the thought of making myself sick with a hyper-politicized vaccine was not something I was too excited about.
To be honest, how is anyone supposed to make an intelligent decision on the vaccine in these days. Maybe Facebook hasn’t dialed in their algorithm well enough on me yet, because I seem to get it from all sides. For and against.
Some people are telling me that I’ll have some violent reaction to the vaccine or that I’m ruining my long term health. Others tell me that it’s “safe and effective.” Each of them have an agenda. I have no idea who to listen to. Who’s right. Who’s wrong. Who’s qualified. Who’s a fraud.
I legitimately had one person whom I respect, tell me with a straight face that they thought the injection was laced with some sort of control mechanism to take out an entire population. They seem to have some image of Thanos snapping his fingers on a magical gauntlet that causes a third of the population to be erased. ?♂️
As President James E. Faust once said, we are “suffocated with information.” Many of us are paralyzed by our inability to find correct information about almost anything.
And doesn’t everyone have a friend or family member who calls themselves “informed” because they “research everything?”
But here’s the truth. Everyone is listening to someone. Everyone is getting their information from somewhere. So your informed friend who has convinced you that they have all the answers… they’re listening to someone… and now, so are you. Maybe it’s Glenn Beck. Maybe it’s Ben Shapiro. Maybe it’s CNN. Maybe it’s NPR. Maybe it’s Bill Maher. Maybe it’s Candace Owens. Or Fauci. Or Trump. Or Biden. Or Hannity. Or some Youtube channel. Maybe it’s their favorite celebrity or sports star. Maybe they read medical journals about mRNA, spike proteins, and Wuhan conspiracies.
But EVERYONE, even the self-proclaimed “most informed,” are listening to and following someone else in order to come to their conclusions and “make their stand.” Generally the decisions being made by those people are based on their political bias… but this post isn’t about politics.
For me, maybe one of the last things I ever wanted to hear from the prophet, was an urging to get this vaccine, primarily because I didn’t want to get it.
But when I got that email from the prophet, I knew I was going to get the vaccine. I didn’t want to, but I knew I would. I was going to do what was right and let the consequences follow.
Some people call me naive. Some people say President Nelson is just a man. Critics tell me that I’m drinking the “Kool-Aid.”
Sure. Whatever. I may be naive. President Nelson is a man. And yes, I drink the Kool-Aid. But whatever Kool-Aid I’m drinking when I’m actively living the gospel and following the careful guidance of the prophet… tastes good to me. That is something that “I know” through years of experience. What doesn’t taste good is trying to navigate the vagaries of the world on my own.
Are there reasons for someone to not get the vaccine? Sure there are. Would President Nelson want you to go against the advice of your doctor? Probably not. But for me, I didn’t have any other excuse. I believe in following the prophet. I didn’t get a revelation otherwise. So that’s what I did. It might have been the last thing I wanted to do. But sometimes that is when it’s most important to follow the prophet’s counsel.
If we don’t follow the prophet, then what’s the point of the restoration? The living prophet stands on the tower and tells us about things that we may not see coming. He warns us of danger. He gives direction when there is only confusion. If I can’t trust his voice on something so important, then who’s voice can I trust?
Everyone is making their decisions based on the voice and “research” of people whom they trust. Of all the voices that you would listen to… why would you not listen to the prophet’s voice? If the validity of his calling, and the decades of earned trust he’s garnered wasn’t enough, then consider the logic and science behind listening to the prophet at this time and on this subject.
Do you think it’s any mystery that the man who invented the first heart-lung machine and is also one of the the world’s top experts and pioneers in heart and lung health is the prophet during this precise moment in history? During a pandemic that attacks the lungs and the heart like no other time in human history? Maybe a conversation for another time, but do you think it’s any coincidence that President Oaks is next in line behind President Nelson as an expert in constitutional law?
If you don’t want to listen to the prophet right now… then when exactly do you think you’ll listen to him? When he tells you to leave your homes, cars, and accumulated wealth behind and go to Missouri? Jump in a wagon and leave your phone chargers behind? Yeah right. We’re tested in small things before the Lord trusts us with big things.
As I think about this further, it has become less and less about this vaccine. In my mind, what is happening now is just a precursor to the trials that will soon test even the most valiant of church members. Will we follow the prophet’s counsel only when it’s easy or convenient, or when it agrees with out political persuasions? That will be the question.
But for me, on this occasion and I hope on all future occasions, that I will follow the prophet. In this instance, I can tell you that I felt a great deal of peace on the way home from the clinic.
