For I, the Almighty, have laid my hands upon the nations, to scourge them for their wickedness.
And plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in righteousness. Mormon Doctrine & Covenants 84:96&97
From the plagues in Egypt to the Black Death, Smallpox, Cholera, and the Spanish Flu, humans have repeatedly faced contagious diseases that have the power to change the course of history. The UnXplained with William Shatner s2e6: The Mystery of Plagues, History 2022
According to experts, the origins of many viruses remain shrouded in mystery. ibid.
The Plague of Justinian as it became known ultimately killed an estimated fifty million people. The vast Byzantine empire was crippled. ibid.
Historians estimate that the Black Death wiped out anywhere from fifty to two-hundred million people – at least a third of Europe’s population. ibid.
A staggering 95% of the indigenous population [Native Americans] would eventually die from smallpox … Smallpox ran rampant for thousands of years. It is estimated the smallpox has killed between 300 and 500 million people in its more than 10,000 year existence. ibid.
250 A.D. A deadly uncontrollable plague sweeps the empire … The disease ravages the empire. Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire VIII: Wrath of the Gods, BBC 2008
The people of medieval Europe called it the Great Prestilence. A terrifying and bewildering sickness from the East which brought delerium and an agonising death. Fear and hysteria gripped the land, and as the death toll mounted, it became apparent that no-one was safe and no-one could offer protection. As the sickness raced across Europe, communities struggled simply to bury their dead. And they sought answers: someone to blame or a means to appease God’s wroth. This was the Black Death, the great biological disaster in the history of mankind. The Plague, History 2024