This is a list of acts of vandalism, arson, aggression, and active killer events of the last 10 years that have happened on property of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the Church grows, I understand that these incidents will increase just from the number of buildings being used and built. But one thing I have noticed is an escalation in violence. I’m not sure it will diminish but it will continue to rise.
I know this seems to be criticism; I don’t mean it to be. I think the Church is navigating legal and many local countries laws. They also don’t want to alarm the general membership, which I understand.
I am currently in a calling where I discuss and counsel with my Bishop. We are pretty close friends. In our discussions of security in our chapels and meetings we see a lack of almost any type of security. The Church’s answer to this is in my opinion, “Run, Hide, Fight” and call the police. I’m so glad that was not the policy when I was in combat. The whole idea of an ambush is mostly surprise. Running away is preferrable but not likely to happen. Calling for protection is also futile. And so, it is.
This is part of a list from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_against_Latter-day_Saint_churches
· March 25–26, 2016 – The construction site of the Meridian Idaho Temple was vandalized.[128][129][130]
· April 9, 2016 – A meetinghouse in Vancouver, Washington was vandalized.[131]
· July 26, 2016 – A meetinghouse in Las Vegas, Nevada was burned in an act of arson. A firefighter's union hall across the street was also targeted.[132]
· November 12, 2016 – The outbuilding of a meetinghouse in Rexburg, Idaho was vandalized with spray paint.[133]
· December 10, 2016 – A meetinghouse in Guelph, Ontario was damaged in an act of vandalism.[134]
· October 18–19, 2017 – A meetinghouse in Dublin, Ohio was vandalized.[135]
· January 9, 2018 – A meetinghouse in Twin Falls, Idaho was vandalized with graffiti.[136]
· May 7, 2018 – A meetinghouse in Idaho Falls, Idaho was vandalized with graffiti.[137]
· May 12, 2018 – A man broke into the St. George Utah Temple, broke its windows, attacked some of its temple workers, and smeared blood through an area of the temple.[138][139]
· July 14–15, 2018 – A meetinghouse in Millcreek, Utah was vandalized.[140]
· July 22, 2018 – A gunman entered a meetinghouse in Fallon, Nevada, killing one person and injuring another.[141][142]
· August 26–27, 2018 – The interior of a meetinghouse in Spanish Fork, Utah was vandalized, resulting in $5,000 worth of damages.[143][144]
· November 17, 2018 – A teenager assaulted and strangled a 70-year-old female organist who was rehearsing on the organ at a meetinghouse in Centerville, Utah; the attacker is believed to have gained entry to the meetinghouse by throwing a rock through one of its windows.[145][146]
· December 2, 2018 – Five people were injured in a mass knife attack at a meetinghouse in Goiânia, Brazil.[147]
· December 4, 2018 – A couch was set on fire in an attempt to burn down a meetinghouse in Fort Collins, Colorado.[148]
· January 26, 2019 – A meetinghouse in St. George, Utah was burned down in an act of arson. An Episcopal church was also targeted.[149]
· March 13, 2019 – Two meetinghouses in Greymouth and Christchurch, New Zealand, were burned in acts of arson.[150][151]
· March 29, 2019 – Two meetinghouses in Orem, Utah were burned and defaced with the words "Satan Lives".[152]
· March 29, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Concepción, Chile was attacked and burned via Molotov cocktail.[153][154][155][156]
· April 7, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Tejupilco de Hidalgo, México State was burned in an act of arson; a Catholic church was also burned.[157][158]
· May 15, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was vandalized, one of its windowpanes being damaged.[159]
· May 18–19, 2019 – A meetinghouse and its fence in Provo, Utah were vandalized with graffiti with hateful religious and political speech.[160]
· June 1, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was broken into, with some of its glass being broken.[159]
· June 1, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Farmington, New Mexico was burned in an act of arson.[161][162]
· June 21, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Cedar City, Utah was vandalized, causing thousands of dollars' worth of damage.[163]
· June 28, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Ogden, Utah was burned in an act of arson.[164][165][166]
· July 6, 2019 – The roof of a meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was vandalized with spray paint.[159]
· July 6, 2019 – The exterior walls of a meetinghouse in Shoreline, Washington was vandalized with spray paint.[167]
· July 10, 2019 – An outside wall of a meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was vandalized with graffiti.[159]
· July 14, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Cottonwood Heights, Utah was burned in an act of arson.[168][169]
· July 21, 2019 – An intruder attempted to set fire in a bathroom of a meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho.[159]
· July 21, 2019 – Two seminary buildings in Herriman, Utah were vandalized with racist graffiti.[170]
· July 23, 2019 – A gunman fired his weapon at a group of individuals at a meetinghouse parking lot in St. George, Utah.[171]
· August 12, 2019 – An intentional fire was set in a meetinghouse in Layton, Utah.[172]
· August 16, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Logandale, Nevada was targeted in an act of attempted arson.[173]
· October 11–12, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was vandalized.[159][174]
· December 24, 2019 – A man broke into and vandalized the Logan Utah Temple.[175]
· January 9, 2020 – Joshua Adams Hale pled guilty to willfully and maliciously set fire to and burned the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cherry Creek, South Dakota.[176]
· February 5, 2020 – A missionary training center in São Paulo, Brazil was infiltrated by an intruder armed with a knife; the intruder was shot and killed by police.[177]
· May 26, 2020 – Honolulu police launched an arson investigation involving an early morning church fire in Kalaeloa, Hawaii that investigators determined was intentionally set.[178]
· June 2, 2020 – A meetinghouse in Plano, Texas suffered under $30,000 worth of damage on one of the exterior walls of its property.[179]
· August 3, 2020 – A gunman fired shots at the church's missionary training center in Provo, Utah.[180]
· September 7, 2020 – A meetinghouse in Eagle Mountain, Utah was vandalized and partially burned.[181]
· November 12, 2020 – A meetinghouse was vandalized in Moab, Utah.[182]
2021–present
· January 17, 2021 – Randy Louis White, 35, of Sacramento admitted to breaking the window of a meetinghouse in Willows, California, entering the building and purposely starting fire to the building.[183][184][185]
· February 25, 2021 – A meetinghouse in Provo, Utah was damaged in an act of arson.[186]
· April 18, 2021 – A meetinghouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri was burned down in an act of arson.[187][188][189][190][191] The offender was sentenced to serve 111 months in prison and to pay $6,968,223.36 in restitution for damages.[192]
· April 26, 2021 – A meetinghouse in Fruita, Colorado was burned down in an act of arson.[193][194]
· June 15, 2021 – A meetinghouse in West Jordan, Utah was vandalized, resulting in $50,000 worth of damage.[195]
· August 31, 2021 – Three meetinghouses in St. George, Utah were damaged in acts of arson.[196][197][198][199][200][201]
· October 9, 2021 – A meetinghouse in Syracuse, Utah was damaged in acts of arson and vandalism.[202][203]
· November 12, 2021 – Two men carrying firearms entered a meetinghouse in Torreón, Coahuila during a zone conference among the missionaries of the Church in that area. There were 70 missionaries (57 elders, 13 sisters) in attendance along with the mission president and his wife. The two men demanded cell phones, tablets, and wallets, assaulting some of the missionaries in the process; the mission president and his wife were also assaulted and threatened with a knife.[204][205][206]
· November 7, 2021 – The Brigham Young Family Cemetery, a historical site owned by the Church, was damaged in acts of vandalism.[207][208]
· December 2, 2021 – A monument at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site in Presidio Park in San Diego, California was vandalized.[209]
· December 4, 2021 – A missionary was shot five times in a meetinghouse in Birmingham, Alabama.[210][211][212][213][214][215][216]
· December 28 or 29, 2021 – $30,000 in property damage occurred during a break-in at a meetinghouse in Kirtland, New Mexico.[217]
· January 2, 2022 – A meetinghouse's windows were damaged in an act of vandalism in Park City, Utah.[218][219]
· March 27, 2022 – Windows of the Brigham Young Winter Home and Office (a historic site and museum of the church) in St. George, Utah were broken in an act of vandalism, resulting in approximately $4,000 in damage.[220]
· April 28, 2022 – The roof of a meetinghouse in Modesto, California was intentionally but minimally damaged in an act of vandalism.[221]
· May 21, 2022 – A pro-abortion group vandalized a meetinghouse in Olympia, Washington as well as the buildings of three other faiths in the area.[222]
· June 29, 2022 – A meetinghouse in Monroe, Utah was tagged with graffiti.[223]
· July 20, 2022 – Fourteen meetinghouses were vandalized in St. George, Utah, in Hurricane, Utah, and in Washington, Utah by a group of three individuals.[224][225][226]
· July 25, 2022 – The Orem Utah Temple was damaged in an act of arson while it was being built.[227][228][229][230]
· August 2, 2022 – A meetinghouse was damaged in an act of arson in Boise, Idaho.[231][232][233]
· August 16, 2022 – Several meetinghouses were damaged in acts of vandalism in Sandy, Utah and in Draper, Utah.[234]
· October 14, 2022 – A meetinghouse in Pocatello, Idaho was damaged in an act of vandalism.[235][236]
· November 13, 2022 – A meetinghouse in Perry, Utah was damaged in an act of vandalism; it is estimated that thousands of dollars' worth of damage was done.[237]
· November 18, 2022 – The Logan Tabernacle in Logan, Utah was damaged in an act of vandalism.[238][239]
· November 25, 2022 – A meetinghouse in Saanich, British Columbia was damaged in an apparent act of arson.[240]
· January 11, 2023 – A Molotov cocktail was thrown at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.[241]
· February 12, 2023 – A meetinghouse in Elko, Nevada was damaged during a break-in, wherein two fires were set.[242]
· May 10, 2023 – The windows and property inside of a meetinghouse in Johnstone, Scotland were vandalized.[243]
· July 2, 2023 – The Bountiful Utah Temple in Bountiful, Utah was vandalized with graffiti.[244]
· September 21, 2023 – Nearly 3 dozen meetinghouses in the southwest portion of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah were burglarized and vandalized.[245][246][247][248][249]
· September 27, 2023 – A meetinghouse in Berthoud, Colorado was vandalized with graffiti depicting obscene language, phallic images, and antagonistic statements.[250][251][252]
· October 1, 2023 – A meetinghouse in Idaho Falls, Idaho was vandalized by two juveniles.[253]
· December 12, 2023 – The Provo Utah Temple in Provo, Utah was vandalized by a man with a hammer.[254][255]
· March 27, 2024 – At least three people attacked a meetinghouse in Henderson, Nevada by throwing an explosive into the meetinghouse while it was occupied; four people inside the meetinghouse were injured.[256][257][258]
· June 6, 2024 – A meetinghouse in Brentwood, California was vandalized with politically charged claims written in graffiti and two windows broken.[259][260]
· July 7, 2024 – A meetinghouse in Wiggins, Mississippi was vandalized and subjected to arson by a homeless, convicted sex offender.[261][262][263] The offender has been found guilty of two counts of arson, damaging of religious property, and use of fire to commit a felony; he faces up to life in prison, and will receive his sentence in January 2026.[264][265]
· July 28–30, 2024 – A meetinghouse in Magna, Utah was vandalized, resulting in damages totaling at least $60,000.[266][267][268]
· October 4, 2024 – A meetinghouse in Santa Clara, Utah was vandalized.[269][270]
· October 8, 2024 – An arsonist set a fire at a meetinghouse in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.[271][272]
· December 17, 2024 – The Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah was vandalized, resulting in an Oceanic tapa cloth (valued at approximately $10,000) being destroyed.[273][274]
· January 9, 2025 – A meetinghouse in Calgary, Alberta was damaged in an act of arson.[275][276]
· April 29, 2025 – A meetinghouse in Provo, Utah was vandalized, resulting in thousands of dollars' worth of damage.[277][278]
· September 28, 2025 – Grand Blanc Township church attack: A meetinghouse in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan was attacked by an active shooter. At least five people were killed, including the shooter.[279] The building was also set on fire in an act of arson.[280] The attack received significant national and international[281] media attention, as it came during a time of heightened political and religious tensions in the United States.[282]
· December 8, 2025 – The windows of a meetinghouse in Idaho Falls, Idaho were shot out.[283]
· December 14, 2025 – At a meetinghouse in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic, a man attempted to intimidate and assault Church members with a toy gun designed to resemble a real firearm and with a homemade caustic substance.[284][285] No casualties were reported.
Please don’t misunderstand. I am not encouraging breaking the law or church
policy. But I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. On one hand the church insinuates having faith in God’s protection. Then on the other they say call someone with a gun or hope law enforcement attends the meeting you are attending and that they are carrying. Does this make any sense to anyone?
I have been a firearms and tactical training instructor for over 35 years. I don’t see the preparedness or self-sufficiency the Church teaches in any of this! I’m sure the reasoning is something I’m not aware of. Liability or something! Whatever the reason, I will defend my family.
There are those out there who think the Church’s culture is violent. I’m not sure what religion does not have a violent past. From the Crusade’s to the Ku Klux Klan, religion has embraced violence. I’d like to think that most Christian religions have overcome its past and progressed. But passiveness, in my experience, will get you killed!
I know what you’re thinking. “That Burn guy is going off about Church security again!” And you would be right. I just wish someone would make sense of this attitude and policy to me. How can anyone protect anyone this way?
I’ll entertain any and all answers…
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
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