What do I do with the frustration of being attacked? Usually I “lock and load” when it is an attack that I perceive. I want to defend.
Let me say here before I get into my “violent” ways. I want to be a peacemaker. I say that being a follower of Jesus Christ should be everyone’s top priority. My advice would always be to learn about Christ, preach Christ, and follow Him and become like Him with your heart, mind, might, and strength. Many have accused me of the direct opposite but that’s neither here nor there. I advocate defense. I advocate preparedness. Being able to protect our families and the Lord’s Church can be achieved at the same time as being a Christian and seeking Christ. The reason I even talk about defense is there are very few voices out there talking about Christian defense. A big voice in this is John Lovell and the Warrior Poet society. I wholeheartedly recommend them!
But as far as a Christian LDS voice, I think I am alone. I don’t want a discussion on whether you think The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christian or not. It’s right there in our name, but I guess that’s too hard to figure out…
Most attacks we have are anti-this or anti-that. Most attacks are not physical. Until now. But most of the time the attack is not worthy of anything. Anti-mormon material is not difficult to predict. In my youth it was the movie “The Godmakers.” The Tanners were the chief attackers leading the charge. Since then, most of the attacks have moved to the internet. The CES letter is the latest thing. It is a list of questions. Jeremy Runnells likes the world to think that he is honest and a seeker of truth. He is a Zerahemnah. An ex-member who wants to tear down the church and lead as many people as he can away. He’s a snake like John Dehlin. What bothers me about Runnells is many years ago when the CES letter came out I could answer several of his questions. Why the heck couldn’t Runnells do that himself? He always claims he’s not a scholar and I agree. But you do not have to be a scholar to find most of these answers! If people would look as skeptically on his letter as they do on his amazing “discoveries”. Much of what he “found out” that lead him to questions I already knew. We as members need to study and know our history. Most members don’t put in the work and then some yo-yo like Runnells brings out this obscure bit of history and suddenly, their testimony is in “crisis”. I’m not an idiot, I know good people can have real doubts but to sit around with the information at your fingertips and wait for someone trying to tear down the church to bring this stuff “to light”, is plain lazy. There’s no excuse. I have a big problem with that. There is little out there that surprises me. I know I don’t know everything, but I continue to study and learn. Most of what they bring out is trivial and has no bearing on my salvation.
One of the things that came out of the attack in Michigan is that we learned that evangelical Christians hate us. They think we’re a satanic cult! The guy that shot up and burned the chapel in Michigan hated “Mormons”. If you listen to Christian podcasters and online influencers, you’ll learn how they feel about us. I know that there are many in other Christian religions who are positive toward us and supportive. But I noticed that several of them, after the attack, gave the Mormons “thoughts and prayers” but in the same breath said, “but you know they are a demonic cult.” That isn’t support! That is enmity!
I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did in 2022.
“But this policy is a disaster waiting to happen. I predict it will happen one day.”
From “Bishops and Security: Comment Reply” Sep 9, 2022
I don’t know if an armed person in that chapel would have made a difference. But as someone who’s been shot at and has shot back, I can tell you, when someone shoots in your direction you duck! Even if this guy was looking for a “death-by-cop” situation the attack would have been different. The police reaction was amazingly fast yet four people died. Perhaps 2 or 3 might still be alive with an armed person on station when the attack started. Someone radicalized this murderer. Was it the pastors that preach Mormons are demons? Was it another influencer getting people riled up because they left the Church but can’t leave the Church alone? I don’t know but I do know that if this type of persecution persists, something should be done. What that is I also don’t know. It’s beyond my Elders Quorum.
At the very least we should teach situational awareness. The Cooper Color code is a good place to start. These 4 conditions help to keep our heads on a swivel.
CONDITION WHITE- White is the lowest level on the escalator. In Condition White one is unaware, not alert, and oblivious. This state can be characterized as "daydreaming" or "preoccupied". People in White tend to walk around with their heads down, as if watching their own feet or looking at their phone. They do not notice the impending danger until it literally has them by the throat.
CONDITION YELLOW- This is a relaxed state of general alertness, with no specific focal point. You are not looking for anything or anyone in particular; you simply have your head up and your eyes open. You are alert and aware of your surroundings. You are difficult to surprise; therefore, you are difficult to harm. You do not expect to be attacked today. You simply recognize the possibility.
CONDITION ORANGE- This is a heightened state of alertness, with a specific focal point. The entire difference between Yellow and Orange is this specific target for your attention. Your focal point is the person who is doing whatever drew your attention to him. It might be the fact that he is wearing a field jacket in August. It might be that he's standing by a column in the parking garage, instead of going into the building, or getting in a car and leaving. It might be that you have been in five stores at the mall and saw this same guy in every one of them. His actions have caused you to take note of him, so you must assess him as a potential threat, just as the fighter pilot assessed the blip earlier.
CONDITION RED- In Red, you are ready to fight! You may, or may not, be fighting, but you are
MENTALLY PREPARED to fight. In many, or perhaps even most, circumstances where you have gone fully to Red, you will not actually physically do anything at all. The entire process of escalating from Yellow to Orange, to Red, then de-escalating right back down the scale as the situation is resolved, occurs without any actual physical activity on your part. The key is that you were mentally prepared for a conflict and thus could physically act if the situation demanded.
I’m not trying to be critical of my Church or its leaders. I’d like to think that they are discussing the soft target that they have created and are suggesting solutions. I would hope that this is a wake-up call for some who live with the delusion that past violence on Church property is not isolated cases. This was not random. It was specific. The FBI called the attack “targeted violence”. There are other nut cases out there. If we are prepared, we will not fear. Please be aware. Please teach your family what to do in case of an attack at Church. Don’t be caught in White in the chapel.
I’ve written on this topic for some time. Here are some of my past posts.
My Suggestions For Church Defense Oct 9, 2019, What, Me Worry? Security At Church Sep 20, 2019, Current State Of Our Lives: Church Security Nov 11, 2017, Choirboy and Burn's List of Security At Church Aug 23, 2017, Carrying At Church Jan 22, 2016, How To Achieve Security At Church May 28, 2015, Mormons: Low Standards of Security Aug 4, 2014, Protection in Church Jan 29, 2014.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
