It’s now been two years since the COVID-19 pandemic caused employees across the United States to be sent home to work remotely and the Church to temporarily cease all in-person meetings. Tragedy, hardship, inconvenience, and trial resulted from the global spread of the virus, but at LDS Living we’ve wondered—with two years of the pandemic now in hindsight, do members see any lasting benefits to the changes enacted by the Church?
On social media we posted the following question: “How have adjustments within the Church brought on by the pandemic positively affected how you worship, serve, or live as a Latter-day Saint?”
We received lots of responses, most of which echoed in some way the sentiment of @Locke on Twitter: “Zoom church. What a blessing!”
Here are some of the other responses we received.
“I work in Healthcare. As such I have to work every other Sunday so I often miss sacrament as you might guess. I loved having church on Zoom for a while because I got to listen while I’m working.”
—Mary Barrett
“My non-member husband began watching sacrament meeting with me, and has since began going with me in person sometimes.”
—SarahHatchPollard
“I have loved being able to watch church on Zoom while home sick or recovering from surgery. It provides a lovely feeling of connectedness to my ward family while allowing me to keep my germs to myself. I've also loved seeing my home become a holier place through Come, Follow Me, which has helped me remember that I am my children’s primary gospel teacher and need to be more diligent in my example.”
—Megan Moore Taylor
“We are a church of revelation. So many of our “adjustments” were set in place or began to take fruition long before COVID. We have been cautioned for decades to be prepared physically and spiritually, [but] the idea of home-centered, church-supported worship took on new and greater meaning.
“Come, Follow Me became an amazing blessing, especially when friends of other faiths didn’t know how to worship when their churches were closed. … Though we had many concerns, our faith in the Lord, his leaders, and the programs of the Church basically carried on, and most adapted readily. The hand of the Lord was with us and still is.”
—Shelly Hale
“I absolutely love the temple appointment scheduling that came about because of the pandemic… being a little farther away from the temple, it helps me know that there is indeed space for me to serve my ancestors at the time I am planning. It takes away all the outside worry about time, traffic and ‘will I be back home in time’… then I can settle in, focus, learn and serve. It’s a beautiful feeling for me.”
—Kirsten Wheeler Wood
“We (a three-generation family) loved having home church at the height of the pandemic. Sacrament was extremely moving. And Primary for our grandson was delightful and so fun watching him develop his testimony. I’m thankful for the guidance of the prophet during this time.”
—April Rushton Rogers
“It strengthened our family’s scripture study. Also brought us increased peace as we felt that we really had all we need in our family, scriptures and the Holy Ghost. It made us grateful for a prophet and less attached to material things.”
—Mariamne
“My family has benefitted greatly from focusing on home-centered gospel study and living, supported by Church tools such as Zoom meetings, the Gospel Library app with notebook feature, and FamilySearch.org.”
—@LDSPher
“It’s brought out more love for my family and close friends. It’s caused me to rethink my perspective when it comes to my career growth and financial situation. Instead of saying, ‘I’VE made this money it’s more like, ‘It's God’s money and I’m just managing it.’”
—@andrew_makasini
Read more responses and add your own on our Facebook or Twitter pages.
