In the October 1992 General Conference, then Elder Russel M. Nelson shared a message titled, Where is wisdom? that touched on pandemics and social liberties. His 1992 message with his #GiveThanks YouTube message helps us understand President Nelson’s views on pandemics, civil liberties, masks, and Wisdom.

In 1992 he specifically commented on the false argument of civil rights versus public health when talking about the AIDS and HIV pandemic;

An epidemic has been forecast - a plague fueled by a vocal few who exhibit greater concern for civil rights than for public health. … And regrettably, as in previous plagues, many innocent victims are doomed to suffer. Where is wisdom?

Interestingly, the AIDS pandemic had killed 32,000 in 1992¹, which is about 1/10th of the current COVID-19 deaths.² His message in 1992 lines up quite well with his November YouTube message.

This November, President Nelson’s #GiveThanks message started with a montage of people wearing masks from different age groups and various settings. The montage even included President Nelson wearing a mask. During this portion of the video, President Nelson said;

As a man of science, and as a man of faith, the current worldwide pandemic has been of great concern to me. As a man of science, I appreciate the critical need to prevent the spread of infection. I also honor the devoted service of healthcare professionals and grieve for the many whose lives have been upended by COVID-19.

He provided the right balance of messaging to lead by example without shaming. I appreciate how and when he shared his message. He ended with a sensitive prayer of Gratitude that continued his strong statement on our current pandemic.

Our Father in Heaven, as fellow passengers on Thy planet Earth, we humbly pray unto Thee. We thank Thee for life and all that sustains life. We thank Thee for the beauties of the earth, for order in the universe, the planets, stars, and all things of eternal significance. We thank Thee for Thy laws that protect and guide us. We thank Thee for Thy mercy and loving watch care. We thank Thee for our families and loved ones, who fill our lives with joy.

We are grateful for all who are striving to combat the COVID pandemic. Please bless them with protection and inspiration. Wilt Thou help us end this virus that has plagued so many of Thy children.

We thank Thee for the leaders of nations and others who strive to lift us. We pray for relief from political strife. Wilt Thou bless us with a healing spirit that unites us despite our differences.

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. We love Thee, our dear Father, and pray for Thy blessings upon us, in the name of Thy Beloved son, Jesus Christ, amen.

Wisdom and Pandemics

One of my previous posts connected Wisdom, Knowledge and COVID-19 that used COVID-19 as an example of understanding the difference between Wisdom and Knowledge, which was part of a series of posts on wisdom. From that post, Marion G. Romney said;

Since knowledge is an “acquaintance with, or clear perception of, facts”; and “wisdom is the capacity of judging soundly and dealing broadly with facts; especially in their practical” application “to life and conduct,” it follows that wisdom, although more than, is nevertheless a product of, and is dependent upon knowledge.

Pandemics build wisdom by giving us the chance to leverage historical knowledge while balancing competing interests in the face of indeterminacy and inexact predictability. God’s attribute of Wisdom is an attribute that we must discover and perfect as individuals and a Zion community.³ A wise community can demonstrate the ‘ability to overcome much of the divisiveness of special interests, uncontrolled individualism, and selfishness.’⁴

We find wisdom in balancing our interests with others’ interests in the face of an uncertain future with no exact historical precedent. Pandemics require earth’s people to balance varied interests in the face of an uncertain future while we discover how to handle new scenarios with no exact historical precedent. May we all use this time to develop wisdom.

President Nelson’s Message

This post is part of a series on wisdom.

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