Covid 19 has really crushed the usual activities of many groups from Mormons to Jehovahs Witnesses.There has been no event to stop mormon church activity since the 1890 manifesto where the church was nearly crushed for not ending the practise of polygamy.

Will church attendance and missionary activity return to the level before Covid,or is it permanently crushed and changed?

I have not seen Jehovahs Witnesess going back to their kingdom Halls and they have not set up literature stands on street corners.

Once the Judas Goats start down the paths of righteousness, enough of the sheep will follow to make things look 'normal' again. ...or normal-ish...

If theaters make it back to what was considered normal, then mormonism has a shot at presenting a normal façade later this year.

I sure would hate to give my lazy Sunday routine.

Had not the Mormon church already cut way back on their missionary program, several years before the pandemic?

I know it had completely withdrawn from the Scouting program,

Rusty had cut out Young Men/Young Women's, or MIA, or whatever it was named. There were no more "Deacons" or "Teachers". There were no more "Home Teaching" or "Visiting Teaching" programs. No more Road Shows, 1-Act Plays, Dance Festivals, Youth Conferences, Bazaars, Bake Sales, Halloween parties.

Wasm't Relief Society discontinued, too? The more interesting RS lessons were dropped, and the "Singing Mothers" choir.

At least in our old neighborhood Mormon ward, there wasn't a girls' softball team, or volleyball team. No boys' baseball or basketball. Maybe this was because our old ward didn't have enough kids to support teams--even after they combined with two other wards!

I think Covid will probably mark the beginning of the end of the Mormon organization as a religious group for families. The Mormons members of my family, who, reluctantly at first, took that year of freedom during the pandemic, say that they will never return to the Mormons church! LDS, Inc. will never end as a business, however.

I've said before, my nonmo boyfriend skis on Sundays at Beaver above Logan. He refuses to ski other days as he is tired of crowds. He used to live by Denver and skied all over the place there, but he wanted to take advantage of the lack of crowds on Sundays in Utah. This year has not been that way. He has met a few mormons who told him they are sure God would think it is okay that they are skiing on Sunday.

I got a "Neighborhood newsletter brought to you by the Hyrum 4th Ward" hung on my door yesterday. Of course, it was all about meetings and a bishopric message. Nothing newsworthy for me to read, but it said they can go to a live meeting or a zoom meeting. Hey, sign into the zoom meeting and leave. My daughter, of course, is a perfect little mormon. She even has gotten dressed for church every Sunday since they haven't had public meetings. I was devout, but no way would I have put on nylons when I didn't have to.

I attended a SM today as a condescension to the family I am living with.
The attendance was pathetic. I really don't know what to make of it!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2021 08:55PM by thedesertrat1.

I don't intend to do any searching, but since this is America's, Utah's, and the church's second pandemic, one wonders what the recovery process was like back in the early 1920s.

But I don't see it as an apples-to-apples comparison, then v. now, for a number of reasons, the principal one being the internet/social media.

This combo has, I think, weakened the grip the church has on members, in that there's more 'truth' out there and less of an opportunity to 'shame' members into staying faithful.

It did hasten the work of changing the administration of the sacrament"

https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/blog/sacrament-cup-influenza-epidemic-1918?lang=eng

"The influenza epidemic of 1918 created a sense of urgency for Latter-day Saints to make the switch to individual sacrament cups"
"On March 21, 1912, the First Presidency issued a letter to stake presidents with a directive to make the change.4 Yet because members of the Church at the local level were expected to raise the funds for new sacrament sets, the transition to individual sacrament cups was gradual at first and took place mostly in wards in the Salt Lake City area."

There are remarkable similaritiies to Utah's response in 1918 and 2020

https://www.influenzaarchive.org/cities/city-saltlakecity.html

https://www.kuer.org/health-science-environment/2020-10-14/a-tale-of-two-pandemics-utahs-response-to-the-1918-flu-and-coronavirus-outbreaks-chronicled-in-u-of-u-digital-exhibit

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2020/03/31/kristy-money-learn/
"By the time the Spanish flu ran its course, Utah set the third highest death rate record in the United States, behind only Philadelphia and Colorado, beating the high rate of deaths per capita even in tight urban spaces like New York City. Four percent of those Utahns who were infected died."

It didn't seem to have a significant effect on membership growth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints_membership_history

1918 was a year of slower growth, but that may have been due to the war as much as influenza. Growth (unfortunately) picked up again afterwards.

The small groupings in the little rooms are going to be problematic, and the nursery has always been the biggest spreader of all kinds of diseases especially lice. Young families who care about their health are likely going to discontinue attendance at least until primary age or something.

I'm 76 now, and I've never been in a situation where I've met/been with people who had lice. That includes being Mexican, spending some summers in Mexico in the mid-1950s, growing up in the church, my two-year stint in Mexico, which included tracting out some very low-rent areas, and living in Utah!

I know lice exist, and I'm not doubting Maca's expertise, so I guess I've been . . . Blessed!!

I don't see how ChurchCo can or will adapt well to the New Normal; Russ appears totally clueless to anything important!!