After working out the Atonement in an effort to save mankind from both death and Hell, JESUS appeared first to the important women in his life. These women reported to the 11 apostles (Judas having killed himself), and the 11 did not believe them. This makes them all "Doubting Thomas" in my estimation. Finally, JESUS shows up to 10 of the 11, and after some rebuking for their lack of belief in the initial witness of His resurrection, He says to the apostles,
Go you into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
Mark 16: 15. NIV
After discussing the critical nature of baptism JESUS tells them in verse 18,
They shall take up deadly serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them...
If a true servant of GOD can drink poison that would kill 100 percent of the rest of us mortals, then the 1 percent chance of getting coronavirus as a young person with a strong immune system, multiplied by the 1 percent chance you would then die from it begs a lot of questions. Too many questions for this short post. That makes the chance of a normal teenager dying from this latest virus minuscule.
If you are on the LORD's errand, you cannot be killed, until that mission is accomplished. So a teenager in the true service of the LORD would have a ZERO percent chance of dying while serving.
Joseph Smith and Hyrum were killed after years of trying to get the Saints to live the real Gospel of cooperation and service. Once GOD decided that the early Mormons were not listening, the Smith brothers were killed.
Abinadi was killed by scourging using firebrands, but not until he delivered the message GOD commanded him to impart to wicked King Noah and his court. There was only one convert from Abinadi's mission, and that convert, Alma, changes the entire arc of the Book of Mormon. Good thing Abinadi did not come home after his first attempt at preaching to these people.
Isaiah was not sawn in half by the wicked Israelite king until after he had finished his book of inspired scripture. I am glad Isaiah did not stop preaching to an apostate people and writing in an effort to prolong his life.
Ammon and the sons of Mosiah could not be killed the Lamanites or Zoramites during their lengthy mission to both peoples. There are numerous Lamanites who are eternally grateful for this group. A group of former rebels who had the courage to make things right by risking their lives to preach to their sworn enemies.
JESUS did not give up the ghost until the Atonement was complete. It is vital to every person who has ever lived that CHRIST did not shirk his duty of divine love to save us, in an effort to save Himself.
My point is this, if you are truly representing GOD, you will be protected until your job is done. After that you go back to being subject to fallen mortality like everyone else. Only if you are translated through superlative service like John the Beloved or the 3 Nephites can you avoid a normal death.
Then why is the LDS church recalling missionaries from throughout the world because of a pandemic ?
I am pretty sure GOD places maximizing eternal salvation above maximizing the length of your life. The Salvation of HIS children is more important than the life span of those children. It seems to me that getting to those people who do not know about JESUS is not something that should stop, even for a health crisis.
The LDS church knows at some fundamental level they are not GOD's messengers, and so they have to recall the teenagers they have sent overseas (to do the job the 12 and the 70 should be doing), because they are afraid. Afraid of lawsuits by parents who could lose their children to an empty cause of spreading the gospel of "follow the prophet and give us your money.". They are afraid of losing tithing money if they do not act according to the prevalent fear and cowardice of their members.
I cannot imagine Nephi coming home from an assignment from GOD because of a risk to his health. I cannot believe Captain Moroni would avoid warfare in an effort to protect his people because he might die. Emma Smith did not let the fact that she had lost several children and her husband cause her to follow a fool like Brigham Young to a desert in the West.
We need to start worrying about our readiness for the next life, which we can control, and stop worrying about how we are going to exit this one, which we cannot control.
All of us will die at some point. A small percentage of people will succumb to the Coronavirus. Ultimately, "cause of death" does not matter. What matters is there will be no cowards in the Kingdom of GOD.
