Look (or do) and live

This morning at church one of the messages mentioned the “look and live” story, if you are not familiar with that, it can be found in the Old Testament, Numbers 21. The Israelites were complaining or murmuring against the Lord so the Lord sent fiery (as the burning pain of the bite) serpents among the people. As they repented, Moses was instructed to lift a serpent of brass and mount it on a tall pole, so if anyone was bitten by a serpent they still lived if looked at the serpent of brass.

Even while that was an easy or simple thing to do, many Israelites would not even look because they did not believe, some others were just lazy or maybe too proud to follow a simple task.

If we look at the current context of things, it seems the story repeats: because of the pandemic we all probably prayed, fasted or at least hoped that somehow things get back to normal. In particular early on during the pandemic church leaders invited everyone to fast and pray that the pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized.

No long after that couple companies developed vaccines and by the end of the year vaccination started, church leaders received the vaccine and sent a letter urging everyone to do the same:

January 2021 The First Presidency and Apostles Over Age 70 Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine (churchofjesuschrist.org) and also “urges its members, employees and missionaries to be good global citizens and help quell the pandemic by safeguarding themselves and others through immunization”

With approval from our physician, my wife, Wendy, and I were vaccinated today against COVID-19. We are very grateful. This was the first week either of us was eligible to receive the vaccine. We are thankful for the countless doctors, scientists, researchers, manufacturers, government leaders, and others who have performed the grueling work required to make this vaccine available. We have prayed often for this literal godsend. As a former surgeon and medical researcher, I know something of the effort needed to accomplish such a remarkable feat. Producing a safe, effective vaccine in less than a year is nothing short of miraculous. I was a young surgeon when, in 1953, Dr. Jonas Salk announced that he had developed a vaccine against the cruel and crippling disease of polio. I then watched the dramatic impact that vaccine had on eradicating polio as most people around the world were vaccinated. For generations, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has donated considerable resources to making vaccinations available for people in developing countries. Vaccinations have helped to eliminate diseases such as diphtheria and smallpox. My professional and ecclesiastical experiences convince me that vaccinations administered by competent medical professionals protect health and preserve life. Receiving the vaccine today was part of our personal efforts to be good global citizens in helping to eliminate COVID-19 from the world.

Russell M. Nelson

The advice was maybe not taken into account, as later during the year the church sent another letter:

August 2021 The Church Urges More Action to Limit the Spread of COVID-19 (churchofjesuschrist.org) “we urge the use of face masks in public meetings whenever social distancing is not possible. To provide personal protection from such severe infections, we urge individuals to be vaccinated. Available vaccines have proven to be both safe and effective”

So well, that’s how we roll. Even while most of the people (depending on the country/location) follows church leaders or medical advice, even while the way out is simple (vaccination and wearing masks when needed), still a fraction of the population refuses to follow that counsel, instead they go their own ways, with excuses like “I have an immune system” to alternatives like using essential oils, breathing/meditation techniques, worm killer medicine for horses etc.

For the future generations, we did our part, we followed the prophet and science recommendations, it was just a small fraction of the people making a business out of disinformation and another fraction of the people too lazy or too proud to follow any advice that does not resonate with their own personal beliefs or ideas. Story repeats.