BREAKING NEWS: Elder Soares and His Wife Experienced Mild COVID-19 Bout During Holiday Break

Hello again, everyone! Not long ago, the Newsroom shared an updated report on COVID-19 among the current apostles. It has been noted that Elder Ulisses Soares and his wife, Rosana, were diagnosed with mild case s of COVID-19 at around the same time as the holiday break occurred for those at Church headquarters. Both have since made a full recovery. Given the mildness of the symptoms reported, the fact that they made a full recovery, and the fact that Church headquarters had closed for the Christmas and New Year's holiday observances were ample reasons why this information is just now being made public.

It has been an interesting anomaly to me to observe that only the three most junior apostles of the Church were the ones so far who have been confirmed as positive for the virus. But as my wife observed, the older and more senior leaders are likely being overly cautious, given their higher susceptibility. And there is a large part of my mind that does wonder whether something in the future for Elders Renlund, Gong, and Soares made it necessary for them to be the ones that have dealt with this so far.

Maybe I'm overanalyzing that side of things, but I have seen ample examples among the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that illustrate that, in some cases, longstanding health issues for them or their wives have shaped their ministries in remarkable ways. Foremost in my mind are Elders Neal A. Maxwell, David B. Haight, Robert D. Hales, Richard G. Scott, and Joseph B. Wirthlin. For each of these apostles, the health challenges they had in the course of their ministries shaped them in ways that I don't believe would have been possible otherwise.

It has been quite a year for apostolic developments, with the pandemic limiting travel on the part of top Church leadership. Though we don't have a lot of details, we also recall how Elder Holland had some health issues unrelated to the pandemic last year. In a subsequent interview with the Church News, Elder Holland talked about how, in the course of trying to figure out what was happening with his health, the doctors discovered and were able to manage a more significant issue that would otherwise have gone undetected.

I'm going to borrow a standard phrase from the Book of Mormon here: And thus we see that the Lord in His wisdom and mercy allows His servants in our day to experience their very own "thorns in the flesh." And in similitude to what happened to Paul in the New Testament, the very real "thorns of the flesh" that our recent and currwheent apostles have experienced, are experiencing, or may yet experience can give them motivation to mold their ministry based on the lessons learned therefrom.

In view of so many of my own personal experiences in terms of my health, I can attest to the fact that that pattern does not apply exclusively to apostles. I have had numerous times in my own life where circumstances I was dealing with in terms of my health did not make snese, where answers were hard to come by and solutions few and far between. And quite honestly, almost without exception, those experiences, as challenging as they were in the moment, have, in one way or another, led me to where I am and who I am today.

Above and beyond that, however, the news of the positive diagnoses of COVID-19 for our three junior apostles is hopefully a demonstration that, even when taking all the proper precautions, a positive diagnosis can occur. Just recently, COVID-19 has impacted some in my own family circle. So simply being cautious is not nearly enough. We need to be sure as individuals that we are mindful of what we owe to each other in the world that we all share. And I think sacrificing a little freedom now is well worth it if it ensures more freedom in the future My hope and prayer is that we will all be wise with respect to our attitudes and decisions relating to COVID-19.

And I for one am grateful that each of the three apostles and each of their spouses have been spared from further issues of discomfort or illness beyond what's been reported. I love, sustain, and pray for these good men and women who, in the midst of this global pandemic, are still filling their charge to uplift and inspire people and to be witnesses of Jesus Christ to all the world. May the Lord bless them all in their continued efforts.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.