Jana Riess: Dear Latter-day Saints, please take coronavirus seriously

On Wednesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took the rare step of prohibiting attendance at its upcoming semiannual General Conference, which is scheduled for April 4–5, because of the coronavirus. The conference’s 10 hours of programming will go forward as planned, with speakers and music being streamed live online, but the 21,000-seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City will be empty.The church has been promising for months that this particular General Conference,