The fast is to get across the fact that:
a) the problem is serious
b) we need to follow medical advice—including social distancing
c) we should observe Easter/focus on Christ more.
Wish the point had gotten across better.
What have you seen on preparation for the fast?
Wheat & Tares 
D&C 130
20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated
21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
I have always thought of it as the “law of natural consequences”
Can this law be overruled by fasting and prayer?
In Australia we have a population of 30 million, with a land area similar to the continental US. There are between 60,000 (census) and 155,000 (church) members.
We had a fast day on January 5 for rain and to stop the bushfires. Within a week we had rain, within a fortnight floods, and within a month the fires were out.
The majority of members (the vocal ones anyway) are climate deniers, because it is part of the extreme right culture that is percieved as required of good members. Should a climate denier be able to fast and pray to fix the climate, or should she have to live with the consequences?
We now have a fast to control the covid 19.
Should you be able to vote for Trump, who started off saying covid 19 was a hoax by democrats, moved on to china flu, and is now advocating an untried treatment, not supported by his medical advisors. Where you have a system that people who are laid off loose their healthcare. No living wage. etc etc. In the light of the first scripture should members expect to fix problems by fasting whithout repenting of their support for those contributing to the problem?
In Aust we had terrible leadership from our conservative government on the fires, but they learned and have been good on the virus.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/coronavirus-updates-live-global-covid-19-cases-surpass-1-4-million-worldwide-ruby-princess-told-to-dock-in-sydney-by-abf-20200408-p54icd.html
Health Minister Greg Hunt says the curve continues to flatten, with fewer than 100 people contracting the virus in the past 24 hours. As of lunchtime, 6013 Australians have tested positive, 260 are in hospital, 82 remain in intensive care and 35 are on ventilators. The death toll stands at 51. We reached a peak on march 28. All deaths are over 65.
America https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
435000 cases 15000 deaths and this is expected to reach between 60,000 and 100,000 deaths.
America has 11 times the population of Australia so you could have 11 times our figures, would be 66,000 cases, and 561 deaths, if you had the health services and purposefull government.
Will someone be held responsible for the extra suffering and death America is going to suffer? Or will the fast stop it in its tracks?
Will fasting and prayer help or just divert attention from the real basic systematic problems, and allow the problems to remain.
I don’t disagree with you that those would be nice purposes of the fast, but I’m not sure how many fasters would agree. Realistically, the purpose (s) are for participants to define. It looks to me like many members see some of these as purposes:
-summon miraculous protection from covid-19 (personally and/or societally)
-take the church’s rightful place as spiritual world leaders, show the world the power of faith
-obey/sustain prophet
-feel solidarity with faith community
That covers everything I’ve seen expressed among personal connections. I infer some might also say one purpose is to raise relief funds. I haven’t seen anyone but you suggest that the point is to remind everybody to cooperate with public health measures.
“He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it.” ― Dante Alighieri. God sees our need.
I’m surprised Nelson didn’t double down and institute a social media fast until the quarantine is lifted
I’m not a big fan of Church-sponsored world-wide fasts. I wonder how much of it is based on PR and a certain kind of virtue signaling. I don’t want to be too critical of this effort because I think most members who participate are truly trying to do something that they believe will make a positive difference. But aren’t these same people, like me, already praying day and night for personal, family, national, and world relief? I think private prayer is more effective than group fasting but I guess those two aren’t mutually exclusive.
What have I seen in preparation for the fast? Absolutely nothing about the three reasons listed in the OP. Good reasons they are, but they weren’t listed by President Nelson, nor by my social media friends, I’m sorry to say.
Look, let’s call it as it is. Most Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saintsians believe, or claim to believe, that fasting can result in miraculous divine intercession. You or I may fast for a different reason, but that doesn’t mean your way or my way is mainstream.
I have said before that I really don’t claim to hold much belief in the church anymore. I also don’t fast. Well, almost never. Even so, I see some value in it. The idea of ritually abstaining from food and donating a commensurate amount, or perhaps a generous amount, of money to be used by those less fortunate has humanitarian value for the recipient and possibly meditative growth value for the person fasting. It seems particularly appropriate for the covid-19 pandemic because so many people will soon be in need of the help from fast offerings. To me it feels like a way to show we’re all in this together.
But I won’t pretend that others see it this way. No, I think most members are hoping for the divine intervention, and I’m sure they’ll find evidence of it.
I support the fast as a show of worldwide solidarity. Practically speaking, too, it means that money isn’t spent on a meal, thereby freeing up money to be spent towards helping individuals and communities and need. However, I do not subscribe to the idea that skipping a meal nudges God to intervene for collective human benefit. It would be nice if something as simple as fasting and praying made life easier. But I really don’t see any evidence that there is any correlation between the rituals and the quality of life. This isn’t to say that there aren’t spiritual benefits or purposes to fasting or praying, but it won’t cause a miracle.
It will be interesting to see how the deaths in America trend. The donald says they have peaked. The members are fasting. Problem is this is quantifiable, it will be obvious in a week or two, whether or not the trend changed today.
Fasting is an odd fit with LDS culture and theology. First, fasting is a mild form of self-denial or self-infliction of pain. Extreme forms are self-flagellation (quite popular with certain Christian groups in prior ages) and other practices. The Church definitively rejects those practices. Man is that he might have joy. So why does the Church endorse mild forms like fasting?
A cynical response is that the monthly fast is connected to financial donations to the Church above and beyond normal tithing. So apart from any moral or religious justification, it is a revenue producer, which is what really matters to the Church. Any other justification is just noise. Whatever reason keeps people writing the extra check is just fine.
Theologically, intercession (asking God, as part of the fast, to do or not do something) doesn’t make sense. If it is something God is not inclined to do, it makes no sense that fasting would induce God to do something He finds unwelcome. If it is something God is already inclined to do, He should do it, and fasting makes no difference. There is no denying that fasting for this purpose, and petitionary prayer in general, is popular, as people like the idea that they can induce God to change His mind. It just doesn’t make any sense, that’s all. It doesn’t add up. If God can be so easily swayed to do the wrong thing (or not do the right thing), He’s just not God.
On a much more practical view, as a privileged first-world person, I can generally eat as much of what I want whenever I want, and probably eat too much most of the time. Fasting for a day doesn’t do me any harm and likely does me a lot of good physically (eating less, plus I’m told intermittent fasting has its own set of beneficial health effects) and morally (learning to sacrifice some simple pleasures is part of a good character). So on this practical basis, I don’t fight it. I can skip a meal or two. There are other, more important religious battles to be fought.
Maybe we should be fasting that at the First Presidency will loosen up the pursestrings and provide some material aid to deal with the sick and their caregivers and prevent the further spread of the disease.
I see no difference between fasting for a particular outcome and the widespread cultic ritual practices in the ancient world of animal (and sometimes human) sacrifices. Makes far more sense as a personal (and sometimes corporate) spiritual practice than as a transaction to get God to do what we want (even if that’s a noble and worthwhile endeavor).
I haven’t enjoyed all the announcements on FB – ‘we’re joining the world wide fast’ etc. It doesn’t feel humble to me and I’m also feeling a little co-opted and not authentic about it. More like everyone is doing it so I guess I should. But I guess that’s on me and my attitude.
May I recommend Jana Riess’ article on the purposes of fasting in Mormon and other traditions. I have mostly associated fasting “transactionally” – this article really expanded my views in a beautiful way. https://religionnews.com/2020/04/10/going-deeper-with-mormon-fasting/
When we all fasted to stop the virus there were 435000 cases in America and 15000 deaths.
Two weeks on 830000 cases and 52061 deaths. It appears the growth plateaued the week before the fast, but at a high leve of about 2000 lives per day.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
Is this what success looks like?