Church Tweaking General Conference B/C of Coronavirus

[smac97]

11 minutes ago, Jeanne said:

Quote

No really.  No matter what the Church does, its critics and dissidents can always pivot to another criticism, another way to find fault.

Nothing the Church and its members do will ever be "wonderful" to those relentlessly dedicated to finding fault with it and its members.

Researching diseases is not really part of the Church's mandate.

So???   I do think they care about things like this....mandate or not...there are many ways to save the Children of the Lord! 

"Mandate or not" being the operative phrase.

The Church isn't a free range animal.  It doesn't get to do whatever people like you demand of it.

11 minutes ago, Jeanne said:

They have resources and can outsource people in universities of just this one state to help.  I don't think that Jesus says...heya...that is not my job!!

Meh.  Invoking the Savior to further find fault and usurp stewardship is an ugly thing.  

-Smac

[Ahab]

1 hour ago, The Nehor said:

We need the political and social will to contain the disease.

I agree, and I think we are trying, but still it is going around.  Or maybe it is presenting itself in new places in the same way it first presented itself. 

So we also need to understand how this thing gets started.  What is causing it to pop up?  It isn't necessarily only by spreading.  It got started somehow in one place but that may not be the only place it has presented itself.

And then once we know what gets this thing started we then need to do whatever we can to get rid of it so that it doesn't pop up anywhere else anymore and also doesn't spread from wherever it is.

[Ahab]

14 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Meh.  Invoking the Savior to further find fault and usurp stewardship is an ugly thing.  

I think of it as a kind of Honey-Do list.  It seems a particular gender usually wants the other gender to do something and the list of things wanted seems to just grow and grow and grow...

Okay, already. It is on the list now.  So many other things to do though and everything can't all be done at once. Priorities.  Death is no biggie in the eternal scheme of things because wherever we go, there we will be.  And then what?  Okay, time to start another list now.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Ahab

[The Nehor]

17 minutes ago, Jeanne said:

 

Why????  Because you can....sorry about the double quote.  "Because you have been given much..you, too, must give"....I gave..and all I got was a mall!

I am sorry that your charitable giving has not personally fulfilled YOU. Clearly everyone is off base until YOU are satisfied you are working on something good even if the church has no business playing around in that arena and forming a spin-off organization to deal with it would most likely accomplish little and would be obsolete in a year or two but if it will make YOU feel better I guess we can waste the money. Would it be okay if we just converted it into cash and burned it while praying the fumes will alleviate the suffering of those who catch this disease.

I can think of much wiser charitable ventures. They would get less media attention because they would be addressing ongoing problems most everyone ignores. Would that make YOU feel satisfied? Even though these ideas are good  like to think that I would not slip into the hubris of demanding God spend money stockpiled for some purpose I know nothing of to those good causes. I was given much so I can give there when I am able.

[Robert F. Smith]

21 hours ago, smac97 said:

......................This is in addition to the Church transferring missionaries, closing temples, and canceling weekly worship services in some areas.........................

Well, the Prophet did say that this Conference was going to be special.  Maybe it should be moved back into the Tabernacle, and let most people teleconference.  Better yet, make the whole thing a mass webinar worldwide, with the Tabernacle Choir on multitrack, from their homes.  A great opportunity for showing Church videos of the First Vision and such.  We could even have live location shots at the Sacred Grove, log cabin, frame house, etc.  No large crowds.

[Ahab]

34 minutes ago, Jeanne said:

 

Why????  Because you can....sorry about the double quote.  "Because you have been given much..you, too, must give"....I gave..and all I got was a mall!

Hyperbole.  First clue that some exaggeration is afoot and reasonable discussion is not to be expected.  

There are members of the Church who know we got and continue to get a lot more than only a mall.  Count your blessings.  Name them one by one. See what God has done.

[The Nehor]

29 minutes ago, Jeanne said:

So???   I do think they care about things like this....mandate or not...there are many ways to save the Children of the Lord!  They have resources and can outsource people in universities of just this one state to help.  I don't think that Jesus says...heya...that is not my job!!

Uh, Jesus said pretty much exactly that:

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

In mortality He took mortal frailness including, in a way, the limit of resources to accomplish things. There was probably enough suffering in Galilee He could have spent His whole life there alleviating it but He had a different mission. He could not do both. If the Church blows all their money on trying to build a pharmaceutical research organization in response to a specific threat that might be gone by the time they can do anything that means there are other things they cannot do later. Possibly more important things.

 

[Ahab]

8 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Well, the Prophet did say that this Conference was going to be special.  Maybe it should be moved back into the Tabernacle, and let most people teleconference.  Better yet, make the whole thing a mass webinar worldwide, with the Tabernacle Choir on multitrack, from their homes.  A great opportunity for showing Church videos of the First Vision and such.  We could even have live location shots at the Sacred Grove, log cabin, frame house, etc.  No large crowds.

I just bought a new smart TV (modest 55"), AVR (Audio Video Receiver), and new speakers, so I feel ready for whatever is coming.  What is most important to me and my wife is closed captioning.  I hope they're able to do that at least as well as they have done that in the past.'

 

edited to add:  I can hear, my wife can't or at least not very much or very well.  Probably helps her to be able to put up with me.  But anyway thought maybe it would help to explain why we have speakers at all.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Ahab

[cinepro]

I like this overview of how society usually reacts to these things (from 2016):

 

Quote

Every disease provokes its own unique dread and its own complex public reaction, but themes recurred across outbreaks.

1. Governments are typically unprepared, disorganized, and resistant to taking steps necessary to contain infectious diseases, especially in their early phases.
2. Local, state, federal, and global governing bodies are apt to point fingers at one another over who’s responsible for taking action. Clear lines of authority are lacking.
3. Calibrating the right governmental response is devilishly hard. Do too much and you squander public trust (Swine flu), do too little and people die unnecessarily (AIDS).
4. Public officials are reluctant to publicize infections for fear of devastating the economy.
5. Doctors rarely have good treatment options. Nursing care is often what’s needed most. Medical professionals of all kinds work themselves to the bone in the face of extraordinary danger.
6. In the absence of an effective treatment, the public will reach for unscientific remedies.
7. No matter what the route of transmission or the effectiveness of quarantine, there’s a desire to physically separate infected people.
8. Victims of the disease are often thought to deserve the affliction, especially when those victims are mainly from marginalized groups.
9. We plan, to the extent we plan at all, for the last pandemic. We don’t do enough to plan for the next one.
10. Historical memory is short. When diseases fall from the headlines, the public forgets and preparation falters.

 

https://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/contagion/

 

[provoman]

1 hour ago, Ahab said:

I just bought a new smart TV (modest 55"), AVR (Audio Video Receiver), and new speakers, so I feel ready for whatever is coming.  What is most important to me and my wife is closed captioning.  I hope they're able to do that at least as well as they have done that in the past.'

 

edited to add:  I can hear, my wife can't or at least not very much or very well.  Probably helps her to be able to put up with me.  But anyway thought maybe it would help to explain why we have speakers at all.

It is likey your tv has bluetooth, I will post a link to the bluetooth headset we have, it can booth AND regular speaker audio at the same time.

[The Nehor]

33 minutes ago, cinepro said:

I like this overview of how society usually reacts to these things (from 2016):

 

 

I wish I had no conscience. Lots of money to be made peddling stuff to make you safe and prevent contagion.

[Ahab]

12 minutes ago, provoman said:

It is likey your tv has bluetooth, I will post a link to the bluetooth headset we have, it can booth AND regular speaker audio at the same time.

My wife has a hearing aid in one ear and a cochlear implant in the other, so headphones don't work very well and she prefers not to wear them since they really don't help much if any at all.  She has had never damage in both ears since she was very young, but you wouldn't know that by listening to her speak because she had regular therapy since then to help her continue to speak well.  But anyway, thank you for your offer but headphones are not a good option for her.  And I can hear the new speakers just fine, and even she can hear them, a little bit.  She says her hearing is like Swiss cheese with a lot of holes in it.  She hears some things/frequencies/words but not everything.  Reading lips also helps her.  She is pretty good at that and most people don't realize she is doing it when they speak to her.  So that helps some too.

edited to add:  oh and I should probably also mention that she has a Roger Pen that is supposed to link audio speakers to her hearing aid, but for some reason that doesn't work for her either.  She just hears a lot of static.  It's relatively new to her so maybe it just needs some calibration or something.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Ahab

[Ahab]

10 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

I wish I had no conscience. Lots of money to be made peddling stuff to make you safe and prevent contagion.

A good conscience is better than lots of money.  Of course you're welcome to find out for yourself but I wouldn't recommend trading your conscience for lots of money. But that is an option if you want it.

[Stargazer]

For @The Nehor

Edited February 28, 2020 by Stargazer

[Stargazer]

Some guy I know posted this on his Facebook feed. I have no idea where he got it from.  Or even if it is factual.  But if true, it is kind of interesting...

"Authorities are still not acknowledging the recent medical findings that there is a racial/genetic component to the Coronavirus. The bug attaches to ACE2 receptors, an enzyme that is mainly concentrated in the lungs and mucosal membranes. East Asians, such as Chinese and Vietnamese, have much higher concentrations of ACE2 receptors in their lungs, so Coronavirus is terrible for them. The more genetic distance a person has from being Chinese or East Asian, the less likely they are to catch Coronavirus and the less likely they are to die from it.

People with weak immune systems are also more susceptible to it, obviously. For example, all the Coronavirus deaths in Italy happened in a hospital, and every victim was over age 60; two of them were cancer patients."

Edited to add that I found this on Wikipedia, so part of this seems confirmable:

"Protein modeling experiments on the spike (S) protein of the virus suggest that it has sufficient affinity to the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors of human cells to use them as a mechanism of cell entry."

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Stargazer

[Bob Crockett]

10 hours ago, Jeanne said:

This may be the rainy day that could use some billions to help navigate and research development for this disease and others.  Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing with the many talents doctors and scientists that need help.   Perhaps this is the time for saints to call upon the priesthood power of the Prophet.  A large conference and internet connection could give the nod and consecration power of surplus at Ensign and to this with the uplift of all hands of membership.

The Church spends a lot of money on health issues.  When I was bishop, lots of money went to help members with disease and depression, dental work.  I remember spending 10,000 to help some guy with dental work after he lost his teeth in a VA hospital.  I spend another couple thousand to buy expensive fitness training for a depressed mother going through a divorce; it worked.  As a transient bishop I also worked with other churches.  The church spent a whole lot more on this stuff than the other churches, and I spent money on nonmembers.  Money to help homeless drug addicts.  The money available to me was bottomless.  It was overwhelming and I was glad to be released.

Edited February 29, 2020 by Bob Crockett

[Calm]

7 minutes ago, Bob Crockett said:

I spend another couple thousand to buy expensive fitness training for a depressed mother going through a divorce; it worked.

Brilliant.

[Raingirl]

We just had our first diagnosed case here in Oregon. The patient has not traveled and has not been around anyone who has. Officials say he picked up the virus “in the community”. They’re closing the school where he works.

I work at a public university. We’re taken measures regarding foreign students and travel of faculty and staff.

I’m immune-compromised. I admit to feeling a teensy bit of anxiety. 

[Calm]

39 minutes ago, Raingirl said:

We just had our first diagnosed case here in Oregon. The patient has not traveled and has not been around anyone who has. Officials say he picked up the virus “in the community”. They’re closing the school where he works.

I work at a public university. We’re taken measures regarding foreign students and travel of faculty and staff.

I’m immune-compromised. I admit to feeling a teensy bit of anxiety. 

Husband is professor. Brings home colds and flu or something every year it seems even though he gets the yearly shots. My daughter has diabetes and when she gets sick it takes forever for her to get over it. I get the anxiety.  We will be eagle eyeing her.
 

I am also wondering how my mom’s assisted living center will handle it. They have done a quarantine twice in the past year and an half and it gets old quickly for the residents. Quality of food goes down as it must trying to bring it to that many. And sitting in the room all day. Her mental health deteriorates faster under those circumstances. I can’t imagine a quarantine that goes on for more than a month. I am trying to think if we could bring her into one of our homes. We have only a half bath on the main floor and she can’t handle stairs, but I suppose a floor for her to walk on and family all day is better than two rooms with few visitors... but she likes her space so who knows what she would choose. 

It is her 90th birthday this year and we were going to throw a big party.  Ah well, worry about that later. I am certain we will hear soon from the center. 

Edited February 29, 2020 by Calm

[Raingirl]

2 minutes ago, Calm said:

My daughter has diabetes and when she gets sick it takes forever for her to get over it. I get the anxiety.  We will be eagle eyeing her. I am also wondering how my mom’s assisted living center will handle it. They have done a quarantine twice in the past year and an half and it gets old quickly for the residents. Quality of food goes down as it must trying to bring it to that many. And sitting in the room all day.  I can’t imagine a quarantine that goes on for more than a month. I am trying to think if we could bring her into one of our homes. We have only a half bath on the main floor and she can’t handle stairs, but I suppose a floor for her to walk on and family all day is better than two rooms with few visitors... but she likes her space so who knows what she would choose. 

Ah well, worry about that later. I am certain we will hear soon from the center. 

My understanding is that - as with most medical issues- the elderly have a greater risk, so I understand your concern and having some kind of plan in place. 

I am currently enrolled in a trial for a new drug for MS. I’m scheduled for another full day at the VA medical center in early April. I’m honestly wondering if there are precautions I should take. 

I can’t help but think about all the traveling President Nelson has been doing, and how much that might change. 

[Robert F. Smith]

1 hour ago, Raingirl said:

............................................

I’m immune-compromised. I admit to feeling a teensy bit of anxiety. 

You should be cautious.  Stock up and be prepared to isolate yourself at home for a month or more.  Shop early or late when no one else is at the store.  Wash your hands.

[Calm]

Possible good news:

https://m.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-scientists-In-three-weeks-we-will-have-coronavirus-vaccine-619101

[Raingirl]

2 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

You should be cautious.  Stock up and be prepared to isolate yourself at home for a month or more.  Shop early or late when no one else is at the store.  Wash your hands.

I actually telecommute four days a week, a schedule for which I am always grateful, but in light of this issue, particularly so. I can more easily limit my exposure to the public than most working people.  It has helped me avoid the usual types of bugs that go around. In my current position, when one person on the floor gets sick, it inevitably spreads through the entire floor.

Due to the MS, I’ve had my groceries delivered for a while now. The delivery fee has been well worth saving my energy for other things.

I seem to have missed the window of opportunity for purchasing a face mask, however. 

[mrmarklin]

On 2/27/2020 at 3:19 PM, Ahab said:

Flying is fun, and the Church has enough money to pay for their airfare.  And since they need to be somewhere, why not have them all together, at least for a little while.  We just don't want to see people getting sick when they don't need to be.

Flying is fun?

Unless you have your own airplane, I beg to seriously differ. 

[Meadowchik]

19 hours ago, cinepro said:

I like this overview of how society usually reacts to these things (from 2016):

I think the level of recent restrictions seen across many major cities of China was remarkable. People in selected areas were not permitted to leave their homes for work or school, and only allowed to leave every two days or so, to buy food. I do not see any such restrictions happening in the US, and I wonder if the known statistics on the coronavirus are optimistically skewed by those artificial contraints, constraints other countries won't necessarily adopt. And the relative lack of allowance for sick days in the US won't help, either.