I’m sure most people could make a long list of the negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. I know I could.

Recently, I heard someone say, “Don’t you think it is God’s will that this is over? That we can get temples open again and continue work there? That missionary work returns so people can be baptized?”

I think the answer is obvious.

No. At least not yet.

If it were his will that this were over, then it would be over. God is all powerful. He could end it if he wanted to. We fasted twice in the spring as a church along with friends of other faiths, yet we are still in the midst of the pandemic–and possibly even a resurgence. Is it because God didn’t hear us or because we didn’t have enough faith? I don’t think that is it either.

I think there are things He wants us to learn.

Yesterday I saw this from Elder Holland and it inspired me to be more attune to what I need to learn from this situation:

Other members of Church leadership have posted similar “lessons learned” on social media. Here are a few:

There are others. The fragility of our freedoms is one of them.

Right now I think the message for me is that I need to recalibrate, refocus, and renew my relationship with God and my family.