Looking out on masked members The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have continued to meet throughout the pandemic, either by video conferencing or in person while practicing physical distancing. But temples continue to reopen a few at a time and on a limited basis. Latter-day Saint congregations around the world continue to return to sacrament meetings in fits and starts. No physical Sunday School or Relief Society and priesthood meetings are authorized yet. I serve in a bishopric for a Young Single Adult ward that meets on the campus of Brigham Young University. While my home ward in Provo, Utah, has met just once or twice this summer, the YSA ward where I serve has now met weekly for a month now. I’ve found that what began as surreal is becoming customary. BYU requires everyone on campus to wear masks, so the first time I conducted sacrament meeting after we began to meet again, I stood up and looked out on the strange sight of our masked members sitting in small clumps spread throughout the Tanner Building auditorium where we meet. I told them it was good to look at their smiling eyes. Physical distancing is required, but the young single adults are able to sit together with those from their own apartment. Before and after each meeting, a small crew of ward members sprays and wipes down the handles on the seats. And after each person stands in front of the congregation to make announcements or to pray or to speak, we have a designated cleaner wipe down the podium. Those who pass the sacrament carry two trays when passing the water, the second one for discarding the used plastic cups. It’s really nice to be back together with our ward, but it isn’t quite the same. Our home ward is going without singing, playing only the music for a sacrament hymn. In the YSA ward, we are singing hymns in our masks, but our low summer numbers, and maybe the masks and maybe a lack of strong singers, have made the volume of our singing too quiet. And, after the meeting, BYU requires that we all leave campus immediately, no lingering longer to talk. That is a very difficult requirement to enforce or follow! | 
