The Global Mormon and Restoration COVID-19 Stories Project features and collects the religious experiences and perspectives of adult individuals claiming connections to Restoration traditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Restoration tradition” refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Community of Christ, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and any other religious group rooted in the teachings of Joseph Smith, Jr.
The Project, conducted by the Global Mormon Studies coalition with the Center for Global Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University, seeks to feature the COVID-19 experiences of individuals throughout the world. Given this global perspective, this website will feature individuals’ submissions in a variety of languages.
Possible Ideas
The following are some possible ideas for stories and submissions:
- ♦ What has it been like for you to experience the COVID-19 pandemic as a member of a Restoration tradition?
- ♦ Have you come to any new insights or reflections on your faith or culture because of this experience?
- ♦ Do you have a story related to the COVID-19 pandemic and your connection with Restoration traditions that is meaningful to you?
- ♦ What have been the challenges and benefits of this time period for you as a member of a Restoration tradition?
- ♦ Do you have any photographs that illuminate your experience or your religious community’s experience coping with COVID-19? How do the photos illuminate that experience?
- ♦ Do you have social media posts that feature your thoughts or experiences during this time? Please submit the pasted text of those posts, as well as the URL, if applicable.
We suggest that stories and posts range from about 150 words to 2000 words. Please note that longer stories will be excerpted and formatted for the website, but a full version of the submitted story will be available in a downloadable pdf format as part of the person’s webpage. With the exception of excerpting, these stories are presented unedited, as contributors presented them to us.
Are you affiliated with a Restoration tradition? Please consider sharing your own story, photographs, or social media posts that bear witness to your experiences during this pandemic.
Are you interested in volunteering to help solicit and collect COVID-19 stories, photographs, or social media posts from a Restoration community or individuals?
We have already received many submissions of stories.
For more details on the terms of contribution and confidentiality policy, please see the Project’s Agreement to Participate form and email COVIDlds@gmail.com with questions.
We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of volunteers who translated our project submission forms: Jason Palmer for Spanish translations, Chrystal Vanel for French translations, Vicky Ong for Chinese translations, and Melissa Inouye for Chinese translations.