"So tonight, my dear brothers and sisters, in the spirit of the sons of Mosiah, who gave themselves to much fasting and prayer, and as part of our April 2020 general conference, I am calling for another worldwide fast.
For all whose health may permit, let us fast, pray, and unite our faith once again. Let us prayerfully plead for relief from this global pandemic. I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthen, and life normalized."
Did the fasting have any effect? Were blessings laid up in store? Latter-day Saints know the power of fasting and prayer. We've proved Him many times.
Consider the following item--and the reader may add hope and possibilities of his or her own--which I noticed on the very day following the fast--on Holy Saturday. The item comes in the form of a tweet, a "small and simple thing," and was posted by a well-known UK medical doctor, Professor Karol Sikora, a man of great optimism and kindness. Dr. Sikora is the CMO of Rutherford Health plc and Founding Dean and Professor of Medicine at the University of Buckingham Medical School. The entire Sikora family blesses all of our lives: Mrs. Sikora, a nurse, has come out of retirement as the battle rages on.
Here is the tweet from Saturday, April 11:
"Extremely encouraging report in The Times this morning.
Professor Sarah Gilbert is '80% confident' the Coronavirus vaccine she is developing at Oxford will work and if all goes perfectly, it could be ready by the Autumn.
80% is a very positive number indeed."
I've seen additional good news about the Oxford vaccine, so let's see what continues to develop.
Alma speaks to fools like me:
37:6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.
Again:
Ether 3:4 "And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones [or elements], O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.
5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men."Despite it being "the worst of times," we live in a season of hope, "the best of times," and fasting and prayer intersect with every hope and righteous endeavor at all times.
Each reader, following our fasting for Italy and the two worldwide fasts led by our Prophet--the Prophet to the world--may see budding "signs of Spring." In fact, Dr. Karol Sikora himself, through his candid but encouraging tweets awakens hope in many a reader. Grateful comments accompany his every post.
The Lord tells us in a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, that "fasting and prayer" really amounts to "rejoicing and prayer." And our current Prophet teaches how "Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!
My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives" ("Joy and Spiritual Survival," General Conference, October 2016).
That focus returns us to Easter morning. And it returns us to the joy of this special bicentennial year in which we commemorate the appearance of the Father and His resurrected Son, "early in the Spring of 1820," to the boy prophet, Joseph Smith.
Let's see what continues to develop from the vital work at Oxford.
And elsewhere:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2020/4/25/21236187/coronavirus-uchicago-medicine-cannulas-ventilator-alternative-hospital-covid-19
https://www.foxnews.com/science/uk-coronavirus-vaccine-trial-could-deliver-30-million-doses-september-government-says
