Masks: Removing politics, inserting Christlike love
For months now, a handful of people have used my Twitter feed to try to make points about COVID-19 and wearing masks.
On one extreme, one or two have denied that the disease exists at all. On the other hand, some who believe it does exist and strongly support mask wearing have incorrectly said Latter-day Saint leaders don’t support the use of face coverings.
So when Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in a video released on Monday that “wearing a face covering is a sign of Christlike love for our brothers and sisters,” we put together this story headlined: “11 times church leaders have required, encouraged and demonstrated the use of face masks during the pandemic.”
Elder Renlund was clear that his statement was apolitical.
“Sadly, responses to the pandemic have been politicized and contentious. Ours, need not be,” he said.
Here is the start of my story:
An apostle said Monday that wearing a face covering during the pandemic is “a sign of Christlike love,” adding to numerous statements supporting masks made over the past nine months by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Loving one’s neighbor as oneself since the arrival of COVID-19 includes wearing a mask, said Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“As it relates to this pandemic, especially in temples, that means social distancing, wearing a mask and not gathering in large groups,” he said.
Read the rest of the story. |
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| What I’m Reading ... Last week, some of you had trouble finding the right link to watch the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Collection broadcasts. You should find them here. A church spokesperson told me the broadcasts must be watched live. They cannot be archived because that would require additional licensing for the music used by the performers. See the schedule.
Stick with me here, because this blew my mind. The National Football League is an American monster. It generated $15 billion in revenue last year. Its games make up the vast majority of the top 100 most-watched television broadcasts each year. I reeled when I heard the following fact while listening to a podcast this week: Americans pay $34 billion a year in bank overdraft fees. As massive as the NFL is, it doesn’t generate half of the total of what Americans pay when they overdraw their bank accounts. The podcast is about coaching better financial awareness.
A Christmas star will appear in the heavens on Dec. 21. Jupiter and Saturn will align, for the first time in centuries, to appear as a double planet on the winter solstice. The conjunction of the planets as they pass each other will be bright, the reason the observation is nicknamed “Christmas star.” Here’s when and how to see it.
National Geographic posted a slideshow of 19 of the best travel photos of 2020. My favorites were the yaks in Nepal (photo No. 6) and the woman on a train in Mumbai, India, (No. 17).
NatGeo also published its best animal photos of 2020. I’m a sucker for bears fishing in a river. There also is a photo of locusts descending on Africa, wild chimpanzees looking in a window in Uganda and a lovely male snow leopard in the Himalayas, a harpy eagle providing a freshly killed armadillo to a hungry chick in the Amazon and baby ostrich and more. Another that captured my attention was a photo of western honeybees slurping water with their tubular tongues in Langen, Germany, the first city I served in on my mission.
Here’s a story about how a woman trained in suicide prevention reached out to a BYU football player after seeing a Twitter post he shared. He eventually admitted he was suicidal and got help. (Hat tip to Dick Harmon for including the link in his Cougar Insiders newsletter.)
A Latter-day Saint apostle kept a journal for 70 years. Here’s why that matters. |
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Elder Quentin L. Cook taught young single adults in Mexico that their choices are critical to future happiness.
Elder Patrick Kearon, of the Presidency of the Seventy for the church, encouraged Latter-day Saint college students to avoid the poles in public discourse.
This piece is nearly 18 months old, but I just found it, and it’s a great profile piece on Darrell Bevell by Sports Illustrated legend Robert Klemko. Bevell, a returned Latter-day Saint missionary, is now the interim head coach of the NFL’s Detroit Lions. Good read.
Church leaders held the groundbreaking for the Okinawa Japan Temple. See the list of my stories above for my look at the groundbreaking for the landmark first temple in India. |
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 | | Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Mary Cook, wear masks as they arrive at the Conference Center Theater before the 190th Semiannual General Conference on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. (Intellectual Reserve, Inc.) |
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 | | I hope you are finding time to walk or otherwise exercise during the pandemic. My wife and I found about 50 ducks enjoying a lawn in our neighborhood during an afternoon stroll this week. Please stay safe and healthy! |
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