The Lord has told us repeatedly in scripture that signs and miracles would “follow them that believe.”

This leads us to ask the question: what are we to assume if the signs and gifts are not being experienced? Apostasy at its core involves a departure from the ways of God. It is chiefly caused by idolatry, which leads to the perversion of doctrine, and lowering of doctrinal expectations because people stop experiencing what the scriptures promise.

Trust in doctors and physicians is exercised to the level of idolatry in the Church today. Most Latter-day Saints are more likely to run to men in white coats than the Lord in white robes when they are sick, afflicted, or seeking deliverance from physical ailments of any kind. The same is true when it comes to taking preventative measures against sickness or receiving knowledge and advice about health. Doctors seem to have replaced the Lord who “created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.”

“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…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.”

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Notice the verbiage here: approval to receive the vaccine was sought out and received from a doctor—not God, the shot was characterized as a “literal godsend,” and the production of a “safe” and “effective” vaccine in less than a year was described as “miraculous.” He noted that receiving the vaccine was something of a moral obligation in order to be “good global citizens.”

Implied in his comments are two ideas, namely: all Latter-day Saints should get the Covid-19 vaccine, and the shot is the means God has provided to be saved from the Covid-19 virus. These falsehoods, from a physician holding a high office in the Church, are very offensive in the sight of God, and couldn’t be further from the truth. Nelson’s words bring to mind Isaiah’s prophecy of the Ephraimite leaders in the end time: “priests and prophets have gone astray through liquor (or deception)… they err as seers, they blunder in their decisions.”

In similar, albeit more urgent fashion, the First Presidency recently sent the following message to all Church members around the world back in August:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters: We find ourselves fighting a war against the ravages of COVID-19 and its variants, an unrelenting pandemic. We want to do all we can to limit the spread of these viruses. We know that protection from the diseases they cause can only be achieved by immunizing a very high percentage of the population. To limit exposure to these viruses, 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. We can win this war if everyone will follow the wise and thoughtful recommendations of medical experts and government leaders. Please know of our sincere love and great concern for all of God’s children.”

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Serious research on the Covid-19 vaccines (outside of mainstream sources) will lead the reader to understand just how farfetched the First Presidency’s statement on their safety and efficacy truly is. Perhaps the most troubling part of the message, however, is what is not in it. Notice there is not one mention of the name of Jesus Christ, the gift of healing, exercising faith, living the Word of Wisdom, or seeking out priesthood ministrations. They do not cite a single scripture, nor claim to have received a revelation from the Lord. They did not seek the Lord’s will through prayer, nor are they inviting the Church members to do so. Instead, they assure their audience that “We can win this war if everyone will follow the wise and thoughtful recommendations of medical experts and government leaders.” What about Nephi’s warning that “cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh”?

The Lord has provided very clear revelation on how we are to obtain healing from sickness. When someone is sick, we are to call for “the elders of the church” who “shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name.”

“I preached to a large congregation at the stand, on the science and practice of medicine, desiring to persuade the Saints to trust in God when sick, and not in the arm of flesh, and live by faith and not by medicine, or poison; and when they were sick, and had called for the Elders to pray for them, and they were not healed, to use herbs and mild food.”

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The Lord has also provided direction on receiving deliverance from plagues in the last days. The revelation in section 89 of the Doctrine & Covenants known as the Word of Wisdom holds many secrets within it, but one of its main purposes was to provide Latter-day Saints with the Lord’s manner of deliverance from plagues in the last days. It was given as a warning “In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days.”

“And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.”

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The part most often emphasized in these verses is where we are told that if we keep and do the sayings given in the revelation, we will receive physical health and strength. The part that is often glossed over and ignored, however, is the promise “that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.” Instead of revealing it outright, the Lord is hiding the great mystery of the revelation here in prophetic code. Paradoxically, only those who truly live the word of wisdom and are given access to the “wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” promised will be able to discern this, the last of the assured blessings in the revelation. The destroying angel and the children of Israel are being given as a type and shadow. They received deliverance from the crowning plague unleashed upon the Egyptians as they obeyed the Lord by sacrificing a pure lamb and painting its blood on their doors. To the Israelites the Lord said “the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”

You can observe the stark contrast between Jesus Christ’s words and the words of Russell M. Nelson and his associates in the First Presidency. Choosing to trust in the arm of flesh by heeding Nelson’s words over the Lord’s constitutes a serious form of idolatry and could lead many to ironically suffer and die from the very thing they thought would protect them. 

This post is an excerpt from chapter 19 of my new book “Upon My House Shall It Begin.”