- Gas price here in Boise, ID is $1.80 (down from $3.74 this past year)
- School cancelled (public school students left March 12 and will be closed for the remainder of the school year)... After several weeks off, many school districts are trying to implement Virtual School Learning over the internet and many families are thrown into (what has quickly been termed) "Quarantine Schooling". Many posts a day on Facebook are about the frustration parents are feeling. Luckily for us - school has been pretty much the only thing NOT affected! haha... although the kids' weekly Co-op has been cancelled - which has been a bummer for them!
- Official Stay at Home orders from our Governor issued. Nathan, Aubrie, Lexi and myself (mom) don't really leave the house except to get a daily walk in or play in the backyard with Maggie. Luckily, we're still able to go outside to exercise as long as we keep a minimum of 6 feet distance from anyone else. Ben, Seth and August are deemed essential (anyone in the food business is Essential) so they have still been going to work. We try to have them wash, shower and wash their uniforms upon getting home to prevent bringing in any unwanted germs...
- Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other. Masks and glasses are also being worn for protection.
- Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
- Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed. Thankfully, dad's business is deemed "Essential" and so he's been able to continue to work and bring home a paycheck (unlike many others in the country)...He was given an official document with this declaration in case he is ever stopped while being "out"...
- BYUI moved all of their classes to be online so Seth came home from school and finished up his semester here at home. He finished taking his last Final on April 8th and ended the semester with ALL A's!! He has worked really hard and we're all so proud of him! Sadly, we couldn't really do much to celebrate him and his hard efforts!
- Entire sports seasons cancelled. At this point, we're not even sure if there will be a Boise State Season and so our season tickets are "on hold" until further notice.
- Disney closed indefinitely on March 13th and furloughed employees beginning March 19th
- Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - all cancelled. John and the boys had tickets to THREE concerts that have all been cancelled. They are waiting to hear about (hopefully) rescheduled dates in the future but haven't heard anything as of yet. All 4 boys and dad had tickets to go see Killswitch Engage in Salt Lake City, and then Dad and Seth had tickets to go see Coheed and Cambria. And then dad had tickets to go see Tool with Ryan Aten.
-Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings, graduations - all cancelled. Temples are closed! Courthouses are closed! We've seen a son of a family friend get married civilly (since the Temple was closed) and just had a justice of the peace marry them outside and only the parents were allowed to go. They broadcasted in onto Facebook so people could join in remotely and watch.
- Funerals, family only are allowed to attend. Again, these are now being streamed online so families can "attend"
- All Churches closed - for all religions. We've been doing Home Church for almost a month now. Our Bishop gave the authority to all Priesthood holders to be able to bless and pass the Sacrament - for this I am soooo grateful for! Ben and Seth have been Blessing the Sacrament and Nathan has been passing it to us. We then have a Sacrament meeting with hymns, talks, interactive lessons, videos, etc.. We've get dressed in our church clothes and have been starting around 12:30pm (which I suppose is one positive - we no longer have to be at church by 9am! haha)...
- It's now against the law to have a gathering of more than 10 people.
- Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.
- Children's outdoor play parks are closed.
- The grocery stores are still open and we have started just paying to have our groceries shopped for and delivered here to the house. They leave the groceries on the front porch and we have no interaction with anyone.
- Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers. People have stepped up and everyday I see where many of my friends have been working hard on sewing masks to donate and give to others.
- Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill. This is the main reason for the Social Distancing and the Stay at Home orders... we are trying to "Flatten the Curve" and not overwhelm our hospitals. In other parts of the World (since the USA was not the first to be hit with the virus - it started in China at the beginning of December 2019 and then made it's way over to Italy before cases were confirmed here in the USA) they have had to prioritize who to admit to the hospitals and who to turn away. We are attempting to prevent this scenario from happening here in America. So far, it's working!
- Panic buying set in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towel no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer. These staples are VERY hard to come by! People line up for hours before a store opens in hopes they might be one of the lucky ones to get some TP! We've been very blessed and have been doing ok and making due with what we have (I've resorted to cutting paper towel rolls in half to extend their life and making our own disinfectant wipes).
- Shelves are bare. Seriously - as in NOTHING THERE! As the weeks have wore on, this is getting a bit better (at least for regular food items but NOT for paper goods and cleaning supplies - those shelves continue to be bare). Most stores have put a limit of purchasing only 2 of the same item (think cans of beans, soup, milk, pasta, etc)...
- Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses have switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
- Government and many countries have closed the border to all non-essential travel. As you can imagine, this has had a HUGE impact on airlines and other travel businesses...
- Fines are established for breaking the rules depending on where you live
-Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.
- Press conferences daily from the President. -Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths. (As of today - April 11, 2020 the total number of cases throughout the world is 1.8 million with over 108,000 deaths. The United States currently has 528,275 cases and over 20,000 deaths. Here in Idaho our numbers are definitely smaller at 13,996 cases and 25 deaths )
- Press conference daily from state our Governor
- Many, Many people working from home now.
- Roads are much more bare and traffic has significantly gone down. This is another positive aspect - dad can get to work in half the time and the reports that we've been getting is that the atmosphere and our environment are thriving with many of the people staying inside!
- People wearing masks and gloves outside.
- Those that are sick and in the hospital are not allowed to have any family near their side - even when death is imminent. They are alone with the hospital staff.
- Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families. Our Stake President from Minot, ND is a Doctor and hasn't been inside his home for quite some time now... His wife and 2 sons are immune-compromised and they don't feel it's worth the risk to have him come home at night. So he looks through the window while talking to his wife and kids on the phone. They always kneel and have family prayer together before he heads to another location to sleep.
- The Olympics set for this summer have been postponed and will now take place NEXT Summer
- School cancelled (public school students left March 12 and will be closed for the remainder of the school year)... After several weeks off, many school districts are trying to implement Virtual School Learning over the internet and many families are thrown into (what has quickly been termed) "Quarantine Schooling". Many posts a day on Facebook are about the frustration parents are feeling. Luckily for us - school has been pretty much the only thing NOT affected! haha... although the kids' weekly Co-op has been cancelled - which has been a bummer for them!
- Official Stay at Home orders from our Governor issued. Nathan, Aubrie, Lexi and myself (mom) don't really leave the house except to get a daily walk in or play in the backyard with Maggie. Luckily, we're still able to go outside to exercise as long as we keep a minimum of 6 feet distance from anyone else. Ben, Seth and August are deemed essential (anyone in the food business is Essential) so they have still been going to work. We try to have them wash, shower and wash their uniforms upon getting home to prevent bringing in any unwanted germs...
- Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other. Masks and glasses are also being worn for protection.
- Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
- Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed. Thankfully, dad's business is deemed "Essential" and so he's been able to continue to work and bring home a paycheck (unlike many others in the country)...He was given an official document with this declaration in case he is ever stopped while being "out"...
- BYUI moved all of their classes to be online so Seth came home from school and finished up his semester here at home. He finished taking his last Final on April 8th and ended the semester with ALL A's!! He has worked really hard and we're all so proud of him! Sadly, we couldn't really do much to celebrate him and his hard efforts!
- Entire sports seasons cancelled. At this point, we're not even sure if there will be a Boise State Season and so our season tickets are "on hold" until further notice.
- Disney closed indefinitely on March 13th and furloughed employees beginning March 19th
- Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - all cancelled. John and the boys had tickets to THREE concerts that have all been cancelled. They are waiting to hear about (hopefully) rescheduled dates in the future but haven't heard anything as of yet. All 4 boys and dad had tickets to go see Killswitch Engage in Salt Lake City, and then Dad and Seth had tickets to go see Coheed and Cambria. And then dad had tickets to go see Tool with Ryan Aten.
-Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings, graduations - all cancelled. Temples are closed! Courthouses are closed! We've seen a son of a family friend get married civilly (since the Temple was closed) and just had a justice of the peace marry them outside and only the parents were allowed to go. They broadcasted in onto Facebook so people could join in remotely and watch.
- Funerals, family only are allowed to attend. Again, these are now being streamed online so families can "attend"
- All Churches closed - for all religions. We've been doing Home Church for almost a month now. Our Bishop gave the authority to all Priesthood holders to be able to bless and pass the Sacrament - for this I am soooo grateful for! Ben and Seth have been Blessing the Sacrament and Nathan has been passing it to us. We then have a Sacrament meeting with hymns, talks, interactive lessons, videos, etc.. We've get dressed in our church clothes and have been starting around 12:30pm (which I suppose is one positive - we no longer have to be at church by 9am! haha)...
- It's now against the law to have a gathering of more than 10 people.
- Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.
- Children's outdoor play parks are closed.
- The grocery stores are still open and we have started just paying to have our groceries shopped for and delivered here to the house. They leave the groceries on the front porch and we have no interaction with anyone.
- Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers. People have stepped up and everyday I see where many of my friends have been working hard on sewing masks to donate and give to others.
- Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill. This is the main reason for the Social Distancing and the Stay at Home orders... we are trying to "Flatten the Curve" and not overwhelm our hospitals. In other parts of the World (since the USA was not the first to be hit with the virus - it started in China at the beginning of December 2019 and then made it's way over to Italy before cases were confirmed here in the USA) they have had to prioritize who to admit to the hospitals and who to turn away. We are attempting to prevent this scenario from happening here in America. So far, it's working!
- Panic buying set in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towel no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer. These staples are VERY hard to come by! People line up for hours before a store opens in hopes they might be one of the lucky ones to get some TP! We've been very blessed and have been doing ok and making due with what we have (I've resorted to cutting paper towel rolls in half to extend their life and making our own disinfectant wipes).
- Shelves are bare. Seriously - as in NOTHING THERE! As the weeks have wore on, this is getting a bit better (at least for regular food items but NOT for paper goods and cleaning supplies - those shelves continue to be bare). Most stores have put a limit of purchasing only 2 of the same item (think cans of beans, soup, milk, pasta, etc)...
- Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses have switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
- Government and many countries have closed the border to all non-essential travel. As you can imagine, this has had a HUGE impact on airlines and other travel businesses...
- Fines are established for breaking the rules depending on where you live
-Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.
- Press conferences daily from the President. -Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths. (As of today - April 11, 2020 the total number of cases throughout the world is 1.8 million with over 108,000 deaths. The United States currently has 528,275 cases and over 20,000 deaths. Here in Idaho our numbers are definitely smaller at 13,996 cases and 25 deaths )
- Press conference daily from state our Governor
- Many, Many people working from home now.
- Roads are much more bare and traffic has significantly gone down. This is another positive aspect - dad can get to work in half the time and the reports that we've been getting is that the atmosphere and our environment are thriving with many of the people staying inside!
- People wearing masks and gloves outside.
- Those that are sick and in the hospital are not allowed to have any family near their side - even when death is imminent. They are alone with the hospital staff.
- Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families. Our Stake President from Minot, ND is a Doctor and hasn't been inside his home for quite some time now... His wife and 2 sons are immune-compromised and they don't feel it's worth the risk to have him come home at night. So he looks through the window while talking to his wife and kids on the phone. They always kneel and have family prayer together before he heads to another location to sleep.
- The Olympics set for this summer have been postponed and will now take place NEXT Summer
This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020.
The Church of Jesus Christ has made many significant (temporary) changes due to the Pandemic. Some of which are:
* Church and activities are no longer being held. Everything is done at home with the family now.
* All Temples are currently Closed. Dad and I had been going to the Temple every week since January 2019 so we have certainly felt this one! We decided to dedicate 1 night a week to do Family History work together as our "Temple Attendance" for the week until they open back up.
* Seminary has been moved to be online. Ben will be finishing up his final semester of Seminary in this way.
* All Church Historical Sites are currently closed
* General Conference was only broadcasted. No one was allowed to view it in person. Only the Prophet, his counselors and those speaking in any given session were allowed to be in the room. Their large, velvet wing-backed chairs were also set 6 feet apart from one another. The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square still provided the music but it was pre-recorded songs from over the years that was used.
* Close to 40,000 Missionaries have been sent home to self-quarantine for 2 weeks. They then have 2 options to choose from: 1) As soon as it's deemed safe to return to Missionary service, they can go back/be reassigned and keep their finish date OR 2) choose to delay going back out for 12-18 months and be given a new release date. The Missionaries that did not return home are not to leave their apartments and are quarantining themselves wherever they may be. As of today, only 2 Missionaries have tested positive for the Cornavirus.
Even with all of the upheaval, The Church has been preparing for a pandemic like this! The magazine LDS Living recently published an article on March 26, 2020 that was titled:
"19 Ways The Church Was Prepared for the COVID-19 Pandemic"
1. Home-Centered, Church-Supported Worship
Since the start of 2019, individuals and families have brought gospel teaching into the home. When the program was first introduced, Elder Quentin L. Cook said, "We know the spiritual impact and the deep and lasting conversion that can be achieved in the home setting." Thankfully, we have had a year to get used to home-centered worship before we went to worshipping exclusively from home and the blessings of home worship have already been felt by many.
2. New Handbook Released
When Church meetings were temporarily suspended, bishops were given the charge to counsel with their stake president to make the sacrament available to members at least once a month. Many bishops have given authorization for priesthood holders to administer the sacrament at home. One of the new updated chapters in the handbook, released in February 2020, contains directions for how to administer the sacrament. I find it to be no coincidence that “the First Presidency and [Quorum of the] Twelve felt that the [handbook] updates were important enough to release as soon as possible,”
3. Ministering
When ministering was announced in April 2018, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “Much of our ministering effort will be in settings other than the home.” Now some people can't visit others in the home. Ministering took away the protocol for how to reach out to others and made way for ministering via technology or in other ways.
4. The New Combined Elders Quorum
In April 2018, President Nelson announced a restructuring of the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums which combined the elders quorum and the high priests group. Elder Ronald A. Rasband said, “These adjustments will help elders quorums and Relief Societies harmonize their work. They will also simplify the quorum’s coordination with the bishopric and ward council.” Surely this harmony and coordination are coming into play now as wards account for their members during the pandemic.
5. Tithing and Donations Done Online
When was the last time you picked up an envelope and a tithing slip from outside your bishop’s office to pay tithing? Starting in 2015, the Church implemented a way for tithing and other donations to be done virtually instead of needing to hand the envelope to your bishop.
6. Discontinuation of One-Year Waiting Period after Civil Marriage
It used to be that when couples elected to be married civilly, they had to wait a year prior to being sealed in the temple. In May 2019, the First Presidency announced the discontinuation of that practice saying that “couples who have been married civilly may be sealed in the temple when they receive their temple recommends.” With all temples temporarily closed worldwide, many couples may elect to have a civil marriage until temples resume normal operations.
7. Missionaries Using Smart Devices for Online Missionary Work
In a worldwide broadcast in June 2013, Elder L. Tom Perry announced missionaries would use the internet and digital devices in their work. Now, seven years later, “missionaries who remain in regions where COVID-19 is of particular concern are taking precautions to stay healthy, including staying in their apartments as much as possible, avoiding personal interaction with other people and teaching through phone calls or other technology,” according to Church Newsroom. The process for online teaching had been developed for seven years and now, many are utilizing technology to maintain contact with those they have been teaching in person.
8. Missionaries Given More Options to Communicate with Families
In February 2019, the Church gave missionaries more options to communicate with their families on preparation day including text messages, online messaging, phone calls, and video chats in addition to letters and emails. I can only imagine how helpful these calls have become as missionaries have been thrown into uncertain times with pending reassignments and shifting travel plans.
9. Financial Reserves
In a rare interview with Deseret News earlier this year, the Presiding Bishopric discussed the Church’s financial reserves. “There will come a time when all of these resources, reserves, will be necessary,” Bishop W. Christopher Waddell said. “We don’t know when, we don’t know exactly in what form . . . . We want to be ready for any contingency.” While it is not known if the Church is currently using its financial reserves during the pandemic, I find it comforting to know that the Church likely won’t need to go into debt to support members through the pandemic or return tens of thousands of missionaries to their home countries.
10. General Conference Broadcast Online
General Conference was first broadcast online in 1999. Now, the Church provides multiple streaming options: online, through mobile apps and internet-connected tvs, and even by asking Amazon’s Alexa.
11. Church Communication Emails
As the Church has released new information about COVID-19, many members have received word of the updates from emailed Church newsletters. The first newsletter was sent by the First Presidency in 2014, using emails listed in members' Church accounts. These email lists also provide local leaders an easy way to send out messages to their wards and stakes.
12. Official Communication Library
When the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, or Presiding Bishopric used to send out official notices from Church Headquarters, the letters were mailed to local leaders worldwide. In 2017, the Church implemented the Official Communication Library, which allows leaders worldwide to log in and view important notices from Church Headquarters.
13. Emergency Preparedness
The Church has long taught the importance of emergency preparedness, from food storage to 72-hour-kits to avoiding debt. In October 1995, Elder L. Tom Perry taught, “The need for preparation is abundantly clear. The great blessing of being prepared gives us freedom from fear.” As grocery stores have empty shelves, I think about how the Church has over 100 Bishop's Storehouses and how they are stocked for emergencies just like this. Latter-day Saint Charities has even increased production at its canneries and food processing plants during the COVID-19 crisis, according to Deseret News.
14. Book of Mormon Videos
The videos many families are enjoying in their homes as they do their Come, Follow Me studies started filming three years ago. By May, over 20 episodes will tell stories ranging from Nephi’s family in Jerusalem to Alma counseling his sons.
15. Gospel Living App
Released earlier this year, the Gospel Living App allows youth classes and quorums to connect in a safe way during this period of social distancing. The Circles feature allows the youth to share their goals and uplifting content with each other.
16. Member Tools App
Growing up, our family’s paper ward directory was taped inside multiple kitchen cabinets so we could look up phone numbers of those we needed to call. I love that now if I want to find the number for my ministering brothers, it takes me three clicks in the app. At the end of 2012, wards and stakes were strongly encouraged to start hosting stake and ward tools through the Church’s homepage, according to Church News. In 2018, Church News reported a major update to the app that has allowed contact information to remain current.
17. Gospel Library App
The Gospel Library app was first released in 2009, according to ChurchofJesusChrist.org. In 2013, major updates were announced to the app and it became the Gospel Library as we know it today. Now, families and individuals can find all kinds of talks, videos, and lessons in the app.
18. FamilySearch App
In 2019, FamilySearch celebrated 20 years of being online. Its initial 1999 release was ahead of the rest of the genealogical world at the time offering free access to hundreds of millions of genealogical records, according to FamilySearch.org. Now, FamilySearch has over 7 billion searchable names.
19. Sacred Music App
In 2011, the Church released LDS Music 1.0 for iOS which granted access to the sheet music, text, and instrumental music of the songs in the hymnbook and the Children’s Songbook. The app, now called Sacred Music, has continued to be updated over the years. One feature allows users to play words and music so they can sing along as they do hymns in their homes.
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