Who Needs a Prophet Who Already Agrees With You?

On Thursday, the Church issued another First Presidency message urging members to mask or socially distance and to get vaccinated in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. This comes on the heels of a similar message in January of this year, soon after the vaccine became available in much of the developed world. Whenever the Church speaks on culturally and politically divisive issues, a familiar drama unfolds online. A vocal few on one side of the issue in question will rejoice in seeing their views vindicated, using prophetic counsel as a blunt instrument to swing at their ideological opponents. The other side, instinctively sensing the insincerity of those triumphing at having chosen "the winning side," takes refuge from the Church's counsel by nursing these grievances. While it's true that "the wicked take the truth to be hard," even the righteous will be distracted from the truth when their brothers and sisters in Christ indulge in victory laps at their expense on social media.