Lesson to learn from this pandemic

In a series of interviews with apostles, I gathered statements of the things that we are to learn from this pandemic.

Here's a summary:

MISSIONARY WORK

1. Prepare now to a major, vital part in sharing the gospel
2. Immerse myself in the light of the Restoration
3. Ponder with my head and my heart to expand my vision of opportunities and   
    possibilities for missionary work
4. Use new and unfamiliar ways of communicating
5. Share the message of peace and hope; healing and joy of the gospel using
    technology and the help of the Spirit
6. Fulfill the great commission to show love for God and His children by
    ministering to all
7. Forget myself and go to work
8. Remember I am a missionary for the rest of my life
9. Learn and find new approaches for sharing and proclaiming the gospel in more
    creative and productive ways.

SELF IMPROVEMENT
1. Learn lessons now to make me a better person
2. Be happy and keep going forward and do the best I can
3. Do some soul-searching and self-examination to refine my faith, strengthen my
    character and increase my humility.
4. Look into my soul and see if I like what I see there
5. Be immersed in things of the soul that should be addressed
6. Take the saddle off my back and address edifying, eternally important things
7. Be positive and optimistic, doing the things I can and trusting the Lord for the
    rest.
8. Cheerfully do all things that lie in my power and then stand still, with the
    utmost assurance to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
9. Do a little more searching of my own soul, rather than somebody else’s
10.Is any of the following impeding my awakening unto God:

a.       Am I overcome by the world or natural man

b.      Am I ignorant of the gospel

c.       Am I feeling too self-sufficient

d.      Am I feeling hopeless or worthless

e.       Am I sinning

f.        Am I failing to appreciate the Savior’s Atonement overcomes the unfairness of life and poor decision of those who exercise their agency and inflict harm on others

11. Focus on things that matter most and it will be a great blessing
12. Concentrate on things that I can perfect in my life and how I can bless the
      lives of others as we awaken to God and move along the covenant path.
13. Look at career options and career growth to prepare for what could be in the
      future
14. Look for things that are ennobling and feed your soul
15. Some entertainment as seasoning is very good
16. Exercise; walk inside or out
17. Develop spiritually; feast on the words of Christ
18. Be disciplined and intentional and take personal responsibility
19. This is a time for becoming, not just experiencing; for being taught from on
      high
20. Look for compensatory blessings
21. Confess God’s hand in all things and obey His commandments
22. Shift my focus from a temporal perspective to an eternal one
23. Be humble
24. Let some of the superfluous things in life fall away
25. Take responsibility for my own spirituality, salvation and faith
26. Be self-reliant and take responsibility for my own faith and spiritual progress

PANDEMIC
1. Pray for government leaders and my family
2. Be obedient to governmental directives regarding temporal sheltering
3. Learn the lessons in all of this
4. Do what I need to so I exit this pandemic better, stronger, more devoted to
    Jesus Christ and His eternal work
5. Learn what I need to learn during this time
6. Take reasonable precautions and follow all wise public health policies so my
    prayers for safety and health are not disingenuous
7. Make this a time of great learning

MINISTERING
1. Exercise faith and prayer to watch out for others
2. Minister to make sure every individual is cared for
3. Rely on technology if needed and dedicate a certain part of my day to
    communicating with people who need a boost
4. Use creativity, my heart, my mind, my experiences, and counseling together.
5. Use creativity, my heart, my mind, my experiences, and counseling together.
6. Watch out for and stay close to others through technology
7. Keep close and attentive watch over and extend love to others
8. My ministering is very much needed because people are so isolated
9. Contemplate belonging
10. Be constantly conscious of the well-being of those around me-especially the
      single or those who don’t have traditional family networks
11. Be more sensitive to the isolation and other challenges that single adults face,
      especially single parents
12. Give added attention to creating a sense of inclusion; be thoughtful about the
      help they might need
13. Look out and care for others as part of the RS/Priesthood
14. Think about what it means and feels like to belong and all that we can do for
      one another if we have a sense of belonging and brother and sisterhood
15. Participate in RS/PQ coming into their own and providing what they are
      uniquely organized to do
16. Look for creative interactions to help members feel a sense of belonging
17. Seek personal revelation to guide my interactions
18. Be intentional in my efforts
19. Honor the law of consecration and seek the interest of my neighbor/family
20. Have a constant consciousness of another’s welfare as part of coming
      to/establishing Zion
21. Resist the natural tendency to look inward – turn outward to others
22. Reorient myself a little more towards others and their well-being
23. Don’t wait for leaders to provide all my opportunities to serve others
24. Make it a natural way of living and thinking by growing in my awareness of
      others
25. Be aware of loneliness or the negative physical and mental health
      consequences of forced solitude
26. Look outside myself to lesson my own isolation
27. Look at community opportunities to contribute, to help, to be kind
28. Call someone; find ways to interact with others – talk, converse
29. Fulfill my assignment to serve as a ministering brother or sister.
30. Organize/participate in a study group online
31. Be creative
32. Find things that are uplifting and things that are fun
33. Be supportive and mindful of others, even in unanticipated matters
34. Be conscious of others
35. Appreciate those who live with daily physical or emotional challenges
36. Be more sensitive to the person who is not at church – reach out in
      ministering
37. Think about what it means to be lonely or isolated to care more for others
 

FAITH
1. Turn my heart to and look to Father in Heaven and my Savior
2. Respond to trouble and turmoil with ever-greater faith
3. Demonstrate my faith
4. Look to the Lord for my shelter, abide in Him, Trust Him
5. Let my heart be comforted concerning Zion – all flesh is in His hands; be still
    and know that He is God.
6. Refine my faith
7. Trust more in the Lord
8. Press forward with fortitude, courage and expect miracles to follow
9. Exercise faith to press forward
10. Recognize the scope of eternity and see beyond the grave so I can fresh
     courage take and continue to press forward
11. With eternal perspective and the grace that comes from the Savior’s
      Atonement, I can learn lessons from adversity that prepares me for the
      blessing of eternity.
12. Press forward with faith
13. Remember to make the Savior central to all I do
14. Focus on the Savior and what He has done for me and offered to me so I can
      be with Him forever
15. Increase faith in Heavenly Father and His Son to receive personal revelation
16. Increase my faith by acting in faith and focusing on the needs of others and
     concern for my fellowman
17. Keep an eternal perspective
18. Focus on Jesus Christ and the joy that He can bring to not be bothered by
      individual circumstances
19. Be a faithful, humble follower of the Savior
 

PRAYER
1. Consider my dependence on God and the blessing I often take for granted
2. Be a little more grateful, thankful
3. Remember many problems are resolve because of God, angels, covenantal
    promises, and prayer
4. Cry out in prayer
5. Pray, Seek, Ask
6. Have eyes to see and ears to hear
7. Be patient and wait upon the Lord as I seek to know what needs to be done
8. Have eyes and ears to see and hear things I have never or heard before
9. Learn to Hear Him
10. Develop increased capacity to recognize and receive personal revelation
11. Turn more to the Lord
12. Humbly get on my knees and turn to the Lord and my covenants
13. Ask, “What am I to do? What am I to learn? How am I to grow?
14. Be more prayerful
15. When trying to Hear Him - eliminate distractions; follow thorough and
      consistent patterns; put in the work; tune my ears; practice
16. Do the individual hard work to receive inspiration daily
17. Don’t get casual about personal acts of private devotion or daily
      repentance (scripture study, asking God questions in prayer)
18. Learn to receive and act on personal revelation
19. Truly receive the Holy Ghost and learn to discern and understand His
      promptings to be guided in matters large and small
20. Open the heavens with a combination of daily repentance, daily scripture
      study, regular temple and family history work, and by expressing gratitude
      and patiently honoring the Lord’s timetable
21. To open the channels for revelation                     

a.      I must study it out

b.      Not let my mind dwell too much on earthly things

c.       Not be angry

d.      Not be excessively frustrated

e.       Not be excessively anxious

f.        Be at peace

22. Do the spiritual work necessary to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear
     the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly to survive spiritually
     coming days
23. Refine my ability to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost
24. Know how the Spirit speaks to me  - It’s imperative to know this right now
25. Fast and pray and petition God to learn that He lives and listens
26. Seek the messages of the Holy Ghost that are quiet, plain and simple instead
     of the worldly messages that are loud, confusing and brash
27. Seek wisdom, knowledge, and understanding through the Holy Ghost in quiet
      places as I communicate with God
28. Do whatever it takes to increase my spiritual capacity to receive personal
      revelation

TEMPLE
1. Focus on what I learn and the Spirit I feel in the temple
2. Observe patterns and learn principles in the temple and make them evident in
    my home
3. Implement and apply teachings learned in the temple to have spiritual power
4. Remember the principles and patterns taught in the temple and live them.
5. Invite the covenants and ordinances to pass through me
6. Recall lessons learned in the temple and access them anytime
7. Have and carry and always be worthy of a current temple recommend
8. Have increased appreciation for temples. Don’t be casual or take them for
    granted
9. Focus on having the blessings of temple covenants and ordinances pass
    through me
10. Focus on and ponder covenants related to obedience, sacrifice, consecration,
      the spirit of the gospel and moral purity
11. Learn more about family history research, indexing, and how to prepare   
      names for the temple
12. Do more family history work
13. Learn about family history and teach others to do the same
14. Pray more often and more fervently
15. Stay on my knees longer and see what the Lord will teach me
16. Seek spiritual nourishment in peaceful, quiet and contemplative moments
17. Yearn for the temple to be taught from on high

 HOME
1. Have a home that is a sanctuary of faith
2. Prepare for future blessings
3. Honor the Sabbath by being spiritually fed at home
4. Make my home a sanctuary of faith
5. Be more appreciative with my verbal expressions of gratitude
6. Testify of the Savior to my own family; speak more directly to those who are
    closest to me
7. Have Sunday family devotionals
8. Have greater appreciation for the sacrament and what it means to me
9. Keep the covenants associated with the sacrament ordinance so the power of
    godliness can be manifest in my life
10. Make home-centered church spiritually rich