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Masks will be required in temples due to the resurgence of COVID-19, according to a letter released Wednesday morning by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
President Russell M. Nelson and his advisers again urged vaccinations in the letter. They said former church leaders made similar appeals about smallpox in 1900 and polio in 1957.
“As cases of COVID-19 increase in many areas, we want to do all we can to allow temples to remain open,” said the First Presidency. “Therefore, effective immediately, all temple patrons and employees are requested to wear face masks at all times in the temple. “
The policy will be temporary, according to the letter, “canceled as soon as circumstances permit”.
The First Presidency has renewed its repeated calls for church members to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 through vaccination and masking.
They noted 121 years of precedent for the church to call for immunizations.
In 1900, church president Lorenzo Snow and his first counselor, George Q. Cannon, recommended that members be vaccinated against smallpox.
“We have been thinking and pondering the issue of vaccination,” they said in a post in the Deseret Evening News. “… We are aware that there is a difference of opinion in the community as to the merits of this issue; and… we have been reluctant to speak out publicly about it. Now, however, we are thinking… suggesting and recommending that people generally take advantage of the opportunity to be vaccinated (.) ”
They added, “We take this opportunity to suggest (to the Saints)… that they use every precaution to prevent the spread of contagion. “
In 1957, the First Presidency supported polio vaccination and approved a fundraising campaign for the National Childhood Paralysis Foundation.
“We do not hesitate to urge all church members and fellow citizens to support the ongoing campaign by giving as generously as anyone can afford, and ensuring that all family members, unless to be exempted by order of doctors, receive Salk vaccination, ”wrote Presidents David O. McKay, Stephen L. Richards and J. Reuben Clark in the Deseret News.
The CDC reports that 63.9% of Americans have received at least one vaccine and 54.8% are fully vaccinated.
The resurgence of COVID-19, fueled by the delta variant and the opening of the new school year, produced a whiplash feeling after a summer when cases had dropped and many people had returned to much of their pre-pandemic practices.
A series of polls over the past two weeks show that a majority of Americans support vaccination, including the Axios / Ipsos Coronavirus Index. The poll found that two-thirds of people under 30 and those 65 and over support immunization mandates, compared to just over half of those in between.
A CDC study published last month shows that “vaccines offer better protection than natural immunity alone and that vaccines, even after a previous infection, help prevent re-infections.”
Last month, the FDA fully approved the Pfizer vaccine as safe and reliable.
Here is the full text of Wednesday’s letter:
Dear brothers and sisters :
We are grateful that over the past few months some level of ordinance work has resumed in each temple. Our desire is to keep the temples open.
As cases of COVID-19 increase in many areas, we want to do everything we can to allow temples to remain open. Therefore, effective immediately, all temple patrons and employees are requested to wear face masks at all times while in the temple. These security protocols are temporary, based on COVID-19 conditions, and will be canceled as soon as circumstances permit.
Our exhortation to Church members to be immunized and to protect themselves and others from the spread of disease has a precedent. The first previous presidencies shared similar messages in 1900 on smallpox and in 1957 on polio. Please do all you can to protect yourself and others so that the Lord’s work on both sides of the veil can move forward.
Regards,
Russell M. Nelson
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Henry B. Eyring
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