In response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, President Russell M. Nelson asked members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others to plead with the Lord for “physical and spiritual healing.”

“For all whose health may permit, let us fast, pray, and unite our faith once again,” said President Nelson during general conference on April 4. “Let us prayerfully plead for relief from this global pandemic.

“I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened and life normalized.”

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, greet those in attendance at the beginning of a devotional in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

The New Testament’s Paul admonished in Corinth to “give yourselves to fasting and prayer” (1 Corinthians 7:5). And the Savior Himself taught that certain things go “not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21).

Unified fasting offers a precious opportunity to “put [their] faith in the Lord Jesus Christ into action” at a moment in the world marked by pandemic fears and commotion, he said.