Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, the suspension of classroom teaching at Brigham Young University, and the temporary cancellation of all Church meetings, I\u2019ve been seeing a raft of genuinely juvenile comments by embittered and disaffected former believers.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
They pretend, at least, to be puzzled at the lack of faith that Church leaders are demonstrating by following best epidemiological practices. \u00a0And, anyway, can\u2019t the Church\u2019s purportedly magical priesthood power simply put an end to COVID-19? Couldn\u2019t Church leaders just say a prayer over our meetings that would keep the virus out? \u00a0Heck, couldn\u2019t they cure it worldwide?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I have a difficult time imagining that they ever really imagined such things when they were believers as they now mockingly ascribe to the faithful Latter-day Saints among whom they were once numbered. \u00a0Did they never know a Latter-day Saint physician before their apostasies? \u00a0A Latter-day Saint dentist? \u00a0A Latter-day Saint nurse? \u00a0A Latter-day Saint physical therapist? \u00a0A Latter-day Saint optician? \u00a0A Latter-day Saint counselor or psychologist? \u00a0(Such folks aren\u2019t exactly rarities. \u00a0I\u2019ve known them most or all of my life. \u00a0At least one example of each lives in my local neighborhood ward.)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Have any reputable Latter-day Saints or Latter-day Saint leaders seriously contended that medicine, dentistry, and health care are unnecessary, on the grounds that priesthood blessings will take care of everything? Have any reputable Latter-day Saints or Latter-day Saint leaders counseled the Saints to ignore modern medicine and to take no scientific counsel for maintaining their health?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
(I realize, of course, that Brigham Young and certain other early Church leaders were critical of the \u201cmedicine\u201d of the first several decades of the nineteenth century. \u00a0But their complaints were not without merit in the days of leeching and quack elixirs, before such things as Louis Pasteur\u2019s germ theory and the antiseptic procedures of Joseph Lister and Ignaz Semmelweis entered into general medical practice. \u00a0Their criticisms aren\u2019t relevant to my point, which is about modern medical science \u2014 something that, it can be argued, only really arose in the latter part of the nineteenth century.)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do these critics really, seriously, imagine that Russell M. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., the current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints \u2014 a man who, prior to his call to the apostleship, had a highly successful and influential career as a heart surgeon, disdains medical science? \u00a0That he (or, for that matter, his fellow apostle and fellow former professor of medicine, Elder Dale G. Renlund, M.D.) believes that people should ignore medical advice and dispense with medical precautions but rely solely on prayer?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Were the critics ever taught in the Church that we should take no reasonable actions or precautions on our own, but simply wait for the Lord to do everything on our behalf without our lifting a finger?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
They mock the Church for behaving with prudence and caution.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But guess who would be the first to attack the Church if it failed to take reasonable precautions against the spread of the coronavirus. \u00a0Go ahead. \u00a0Try to guess.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Particularly in the wake of announcements about \u2014 to choose some prominent examples \u2014 the coronavirus-driven withdrawal of missionaries from certain areas, the closing of the Conference Center to the public for the approaching annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the suspension of classroom teaching at Brigham […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1809,8031,909,1812,1815,6147,55,1667,743,1510,62,243,138],"class_list":["post-83502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints","tag-coronavirus","tag-faith","tag-latter-day-saints","tag-lds","tag-medicine","tag-mormonism","tag-mormons","tag-religion","tag-religion-and-health","tag-religion-and-science","tag-science","tag-science-and-religion"],"yoast_head":"\n
Medicine Versus the Priesthood?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" Particularly in the wake of announcements about -- to choose some prominent examples -- the coronavirus-driven withdrawal of missionaries\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Medicine Versus the Priesthood?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" Particularly in the wake of announcements about -- to choose some prominent examples -- the coronavirus-driven withdrawal of missionaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-13T04:38:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-16T05:05:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/05\/Albert_Edelfelt_-_Louis_Pasteur_-_1885-842x1024.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html\",\"name\":\"Medicine Versus the Priesthood?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-13T04:38:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-16T05:05:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" Particularly in the wake of announcements about -- to choose some prominent examples -- the coronavirus-driven withdrawal of missionaries\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Medicine Versus the Priesthood?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Medicine Versus the Priesthood?","description":" Particularly in the wake of announcements about -- to choose some prominent examples -- the coronavirus-driven withdrawal of missionaries","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Medicine Versus the Priesthood?","og_description":" Particularly in the wake of announcements about -- to choose some prominent examples -- the coronavirus-driven withdrawal of missionaries","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2020-03-13T04:38:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-16T05:05:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/05\/Albert_Edelfelt_-_Louis_Pasteur_-_1885-842x1024.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html","name":"Medicine Versus the Priesthood?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-03-13T04:38:52+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-16T05:05:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" Particularly in the wake of announcements about -- to choose some prominent examples -- the coronavirus-driven withdrawal of missionaries","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/medicine-versus-the-priesthood.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Medicine Versus the Priesthood?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Edelfelt's](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/05\/Albert_Edelfelt_-_Louis_Pasteur_-_1885.jpg\")
<\/a>