“SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints urged members Saturday to listen to the faith’s leaders when they seek “pure truth” and expressed gratitude for those who have followed church guidance during the pandemic, which has been to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

President Russell M. Nelson acknowledged at a church conference that the world is “still dealing with the ravages of COVID-19 and its variants.” And while he didn’t mention vaccines specifically, he thanked members for following the advice of church leaders, medical experts and government officials.

The Utah-based faith has repeatedly encouraged its 16 million members worldwide to limit the spread by getting vaccines and wearing masks.

“Contrary to the doubts of some, there really is such a thing as right and wrong. There really is absolute truth — eternal truth,” said Nelson, speaking from inside a mostly empty conference center in Salt Lake City. “One of the plagues of our day is that too few people know where to turn for truth. I can assure you that what you will hear today and tomorrow constitutes pure truth……
… The church push for people to get vaccinated has divided the faith, similar to larger society. Members who support the stance say they fear that some Latter-day Saints who refuse to get vaccinated are allowing their political views to supersede their loyalty to a faith that largely prioritizes unity and obedience. Other church members are upset that their leaders aren’t letting them exercise their personal decision-making about vaccines and masks.

About 65% of Latter-day Saints who responded to a survey earlier this year said they were vaccine acceptors, meaning they’ve gotten at least one dose or plan to soon. Another 15% identified as hesitant, and 19% said they would not get the vaccine, according to the survey this summer from the Public Religion Research Institute, a polling organization based in Washington, and Interfaith Youth Core.

The survey found 79% of white Catholics and 56% of white evangelical Protestants identified as vaccine acceptors.

In Utah, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is based and members account for nearly two-thirds of the 3.2 million residents, a summer surge of the virus among unvaccinated residents pushed hospitals to near capacity. Cases reached a peak in mid-September before declining over the past few weeks, mirroring national trends. About 65% of Utah residents 12 and older have been fully vaccinated, according to state data.”

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-religion-utah-salt-lake-city-52e627d45c13214c36ed57c91abcb768

“Pure Truth” 35% of MORmONs reject in favor of ‘my own research’ (Google) telling me I shouldn’t get vaccinated.

Article linked in above article, about Vaccines dividing the faithful MORmONS.

https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-health-religion-coronavirus-pandemic-f42772097cf7557086f12b549e03b18a

‘ SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — After more than a year of attending church virtually, Monique Allen has struggled to explain to her asthmatic daughter why people from their congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t wear masks. Allen said she has taught her daughter that wearing a mask is Christlike, but now she worries her child feels like an outcast.

Church leaders recently issued their strongest statement yet urging people to “limit the spread” by getting COVID-19 vaccines and wearing masks. But Allen said she fears it’s still not enough to convince the many families in her congregation who refuse to wear masks and have succumbed to anti-vaccine misinformation.

Members of the faith widely known as the Mormon church remain deeply divided on vaccines and mask-wearing despite consistent guidance from church leaders as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spreads.’

Church leaders speak ‘pure truth’ -- which is a lie.

Well, it’s pure something

The jerks did not tell members to get vaccinated until way late in the game.

The Q15 were all vaccinated and had photos of the event posted on Jan 19, just a few weeks after the vaccines became available. That hardly seems like foot dragging. They encouraged vaccination from the get-go

They only jumped on the mask up/vaccination campaign after they got a wake up call when the Gongs (and a few other GAs) contracted the virus. Then they got a hell of a wake up call that it's not a hoax and that the entire church leadership could be wiped out. In the meantime, Bednar attacked the shutdown/mask mandates as a government attack on their religious liberty.

Call me sinister and sadistic, but I would love for the church to build a restored version of the Hindenburg zeppelin complete with hydrogen gas. Send all of god's chosen ones with Nelson at the helm. They could be sent ahead of thunderstorm because they are so above lightning and every other natural disaster because they are so "special." Then Nelson could land in the middle of a thunderstorm just to show the world the true power of their imaginary priesthood.

the Disconnect between their claims (Honesty, Kindness for a TR, etc.) & 'on the ground' reality are almost limitless, Covid-related is only the latest & most far-reaching - serious.

Nelson speaks with forked tongue.

If they really were talking to God, then they would be urging people to be nice to one another, to try to get along, and to take care of the planet and all of the creatures on it. But instead, they are too busy investing in stocks, buying real estate, and micromanaging their flock.

As I recall, Russ made a BIG DEAL of getting vax'd BEFORE it was commonly available, that was posted here.

The problem was they uses intermediaries.

Area presidents passed along the word first.

Then an apostle stood up and said it was christ like love to wear masks and get vaccinated. He was virtually stone in the media.

Finally Rusty got involved. He was also attacked in the media.

Yes they pushed it. I just think Rusty should have declared it strongly in no uncertain terms. He is after all a global faith leader.

That' quite a bold statement for the AP to choose to use.
I bet $20 the author is Mormon, and somehow got the AP to write an overly glowing report on MORmON conference while they exclude women from Priesthood sessions and have scriptures that are the most racist scriptures on planet Earth.
I think it's interesting that they say it's hard to tell who's telling the truth, but Trust us, we speak "pure truth'
how is 'pure truth' different from 'truth'?
What's the difference between truth and 'pure truth'?
Doesn't 'pure' kind of have white supremacist overtones?
the kind you edited out of your racist scriptures when it became clear how racist 'pure' was to have in some scriptures in relation to skin color?

Maybe it is a paid product placement advert in the form of a news article of "drink more Ovaltine" porportions. Or maybe an over the top article where Mormon reading it that is questioning but not ready to really get answers to the questions will read it and go "pure truth?" I dont even know what that is, and will ponderize their way just a little further out.

There are two issues here. Keeping your church congregation safe during a pandemic which the LDS Church has done a good job of doing.

The other issue is have the church leadership been people of decent character? I think Joseph Smith and Brigham Young come up lacking. Paul H Dunn was a liar. Gordon Hinkley got duped by Mark Hoffman because he wanted to hide what he thought were real manuscripts that would paint the church in a bad light.

Even Gordo thought Joseph Smith might have some baggage that needed to be kept from exposure. The leaders of the church will be deceptive and sneaky to protect the image of the church. An image they constantly change and adapt. The church simply is an illusion. It’s not reality. That would be too ugly to look at.

Have there ever been any church leaders who have been decent human beings? Or do they all get compromised by the church?

There are stories of William Law and Thomas Marsh that seem to point towards them being principled and decent. But that is digging in the way-back machine. It might mean that as the Church Corp matures, so does the process for vetting would be leaders to be 'decent' only for the Corp. Institutions have a process for finding what will server the institution. That's job one.

summer Wrote:
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> Have there ever been any church leaders who have
> been decent human beings? Or do they all get
> compromised by the church?

Good question.

I think there are some who possess exceptional qualities, but the church has a highly detailed training program which strips these men of such perceived qualities.

After I went through the temple, I felt like I had been lobotomized. I had no idea that there was a charge to avoid levity, light mindedness and loud laughter.

I felt that the church had stolen my unique style of humor. It took me several months to realize that it was ok to enjoy laughter. Among peers of my age group, it wasn't hard, but I worried when I was around the older temple attending members of the ward.