I live in Michigan. Our ward still limits in-person sacrament meetings to under 50, socially distances, wears masks, has no singing or musical numbers, wipes down the pulpit between speakers, and Zooms in the remainder of the ward. I applaud the leaders for doing what they can...

It should be noted that not every ward in my area is as restrictive. Our bishop has a health condition that puts him at higher risk of illness. Also secular views that support greater caution, and (lest we forget) the keys & spiritual intuition for our specific ward’s needs.
I don’t doubt there are ppl sitting in my ward building today feeling despair about what they’re witnessing, maybe singing quietly behind their masks, looking for who to blame, trying to focus on the Lord’s hand in it instead of their own misgivings. It’s very hard to endure.
I’m also sure the bishopric is tired of wearing masks, tired of wiping down the pulpit, tired of listening to recorded hymns while they sit silent, & that they too fight not to blame. Some are inclined to blame those who create mandates, & some blame those who don’t comply.
We’ve had our year to feel reactionary. We’ve learned a lot abt ourselves & others by watching reactions under pressure. Some surprised us with their resilience, others with how quickly they came undone. It’s a new year now. Time to stop reacting & start responding with intent.
It’s hard to draw out real relevance from so many other valid priorities. Does God care what principles we hold regarding mortal affairs like culture & politics? Of course he does. Are there matters of infinitely greater importance than culture or politics? Yes! Yes there are.
What made it possible for Christ’s own tribe to convict & murder their Savior? Politics & culture. They sought a different kind of savior. They wanted rescue from their Roman overlords. He not only refused to provide it but stood as a testament against their small-minded desires.
Love God. Love one another. Suffer long, show mercy, forgive repeatedly, be meek, cease to find fault, love even your enemy, bless them that curse you, offer your other cheek for a second blow, give up your coat and your cloak—what politically volatile society will hear that?
How would Jesus fare on Twitter today, or in front of Congress? Would Hollywood, media, celebrities, sports stars, the intelligentsias of sciences & universities, billionaires, or world leaders embrace him? Could they even resist killing him, any better than Jerusalem did?
If he came among us, as one of us, as he did in the meridian of time among his own, he would be (say it with me) *cancelled.* The most important man in human history, the only one who could redeem each and all and EVERYthing on earth, would be as willfully devoured now as then.
He—the Son of God—would still have to surrender himself to our insipid mortal issues because as a whole, we CANNOT rise above it. But there is an “above it.” So much up there, so much higher than politics & culture. Getting our heads up *there* is the whole point of existence.
This life is a test. We just had a huge level-up moment: 2020, the year of reaction. 2021 must be the year of calculated response. Love God. Love one another. Suffer long, show mercy, forgive repeatedly...
Will I beg Christ to liberate me from government & forget he came to liberate me from sin? Will I ask him to “call down fire from heaven” to burn the wicked when he came w/mercy to call them to repentance? Will I “cancel” him if his methods don’t change my mortal circumstance?
There are people you love who are mad at you for your political & cultural positions. You too resist hating those who condemn your choices & those whose choices conflict with your own. We don’t win by getting our way. We win by getting through this Christ’s way. This is a test.
When the veil lifts, we will ask “How did I do?” We will not wonder who won an election or which of us was right about mask-wearing. These conditions, this corruption, this treacherous terrain—it was made to make *us*. It was made to reveal our nature. This is a test.
We can’t change everything. God gives us exactly the conditions we need to become the mightiest versions of ourselves, the finest offspring of his eternal species. We must focus on changing ourselves, becoming fire-refined gold, being a force for good in our sphere of influence.
Be not as the pharisees or mobs, the Caesars, the hypocrites. Disciples of Christ have greater goals. Seek righteousness, be holy, show mercy. Open your mouth in testimony, not to revile. Raise your hands in praise, not anger. Seek your brother’s redemption, not his demise.
We’ve all been thrown to the ground many times this past year. Get up. Wash it off you. Christ will bind your wounds. Devote yourself entirely to his will & his methods, leaving no room for cankering pride. You don’t yet know how powerful you are under his guidance. But you will.
@threadreaderapp unroll

More from Society

The Nashville Operation - A Battle in the War

A thread exploring the Nashville bombing in the context of the 2020 Digital War (via SolarWinds) against the United States perpetrated by our enemies, likely China, Iran and/or Russia.


SolarWinds Hack

A digital "Pearl Harbor" moment for the United States, whoever was responsible had access to the keys to the kingdom for months during 2020, including sensitive military infrastructure. This is war!

SunGard + SolarWinds

SolarWinds software company is owned by same company that owns SunGard, which essentially provides data center services. A secure place to host internet servers with redundant power and "big pipe" data connections.

https://t.co/U3P3SrrkM1


SunGard Data Center

In Nashville, around the corner from their "big pipe" connection, AT&T. Like any data center, highly secure. Only authorized personnel can enter, and even fewer can access the actual server rooms. Backup generators are available in case of power failure.


If the SunGard hardware was being used to "host" critical command and control software related to SolarWinds, the US powers would be very interested in gaining special access keys that are stored on the hard-drives of specific servers.
I've seen many news articles cite that "the UK variant could be the dominant strain by March". This is emphasized by @CDCDirector.

While this will likely to be the case, this should not be an automatic cause for concern. Cases could still remain contained.

Here's how: 🧵

One of @CDCgov's own models has tracked the true decline in cases quite accurately thus far.

Their projection shows that the B.1.1.7 variant will become the dominant variant in March. But interestingly... there's no fourth wave. Cases simply level out:

https://t.co/tDce0MwO61


Just because a variant becomes the dominant strain does not automatically mean we will see a repeat of Fall 2020.

Let's look at UK and South Africa, where cases have been falling for the past month, in unison with the US (albeit with tougher restrictions):


Furthermore, the claim that the "variant is doubling every 10 days" is false. It's the *proportion of the variant* that is doubling every 10 days.

If overall prevalence drops during the studied time period, the true doubling time of the variant is actually much longer 10 days.

Simple example:

Day 0: 10 variant / 100 cases -> 10% variant
Day 10: 15 variant / 75 cases -> 20% variant
Day 20: 20 variant / 50 cases -> 40% variant

1) Proportion of variant doubles every 10 days
2) Doubling time of variant is actually 20 days
3) Total cases still drop by 50%

You May Also Like

"I lied about my basic beliefs in order to keep a prestigious job. Now that it will be zero-cost to me, I have a few things to say."


We know that elite institutions like the one Flier was in (partial) charge of rely on irrelevant status markers like private school education, whiteness, legacy, and ability to charm an old white guy at an interview.

Harvard's discriminatory policies are becoming increasingly well known, across the political spectrum (see, e.g., the recent lawsuit on discrimination against East Asian applications.)

It's refreshing to hear a senior administrator admits to personally opposing policies that attempt to remedy these basic flaws. These are flaws that harm his institution's ability to do cutting-edge research and to serve the public.

Harvard is being eclipsed by institutions that have different ideas about how to run a 21st Century institution. Stanford, for one; the UC system; the "public Ivys".