Sunday morning was not a good morning for me, this Monday morning is far worse. Saturday evening was a pleasant one, even enjoyable. We had attended a dinner party with a lot of folks we know, ate some great food, had good conversations; just a great evening. Sunday I woke up…all of that disappeared.
First off, I read a news report that one of the men I admired most had died overnight. One of the finest men I had ever known was gone from this earth. Not just my admiration, but a goal for my manhood, a goal unattainable as it is/was. Then I saw the first news reports of the LDS church shooting in Michigan. It was almost surreal reading about a man driving his truck and crashing into a church, then shooting men, women, and children. And then setting the church on fire. I couldn’t imagine, still can’t, what would drive a person do commit such acts.
I am not sure why but I decided to read the comments of the different news stories. In a way it was a huge mistake; in another, eye-opening to say the least.
There was mostly what I expected; the liberals blaming MAGA and Trump, the right blaming liberals, and the obvious…the anti-gun crowd calling for gun restrictions. There was a small contingent, atheists I presume, that mocked those in the church, any church. They maintained that had they not been deceived into believing in fairy tales they would not have been in the building and not become a casualty. Odd, from a purely logic perspective they are right in a way. But, what other aspects of their lives would have been negatively affected by their lack of belief and faith.
These last two categories of those leaving comments disturbed me the most. There were two other groups that really made me pause; 1) folks claiming that the LDS church was a cult and they deserved what they got, 2) people claiming that those in the church building weren’t “true Christians” and no one should be upset they were shot and killed and burned to death. These comments struck me deeply and put a horrible feeling deep in my soul. Here are people justifying, even excusing, a horrible act of unspeakable violence against people, even children…because their beliefs in God differ.
Now, don’t get me wrong…I’ve been exposed to those people for nearly 50 years. It’s sad to be sure, but unfortunately, part of human nature. With so many people there will always be a difference of opinions and beliefs…but his took it to a new level…a very dark and sinister level. It bothered me all day, all evening, and I also woke up several times during the night thinking about it. Then this morning it clarified in my mind…it was all too “familiar”.
I am a student of history, I love reading about different historical events, different time periods, battles, reigns of kings and 
queens, especially when it delves into the people and the context of history. I enjoy watching documentaries and even docudramas if they are mostly accurate. And one thing I have learned that is important is the “context” of why people behaved as they did…it was their time-period, not ours. The other thing I learned…human nature doesn’t change at the macro level. Meaning, taking people as a whole (i.e. civilization, nation, culture, etc.) they will essentially behave (i.e. human behavior) today as they did 5000, 1000, or 100 years ago…with few exceptions. And that is where this morning brought me “fear”.
I recently wrapped up a month’s long review of England during the reign of King Henry the VIII of England during the 1500’s. And it brought to the forefront of my mind a series of historical events that I will outline:
During the 1500’s English Catholics burned Protestants alive for their beliefs that differed from the Catholic Church, then Protestants burned Catholics alive for their contrary beliefs.
Starting int the late 1400’s and lasting for 350 years the Spanish had their “Spanish Inquisition” in which non-believers, Protestants, and non-devote Catholics were horribly tortured and burned 
alive.
From about 1100 – 1270 Christians embarked on the “Crusades”, under direction of the Pope, presumably to take back lands in and around the Holy Land and make it safe for pilgrims to visit those lands. The crusaders killed million’s of Muslims in that span of holy war. However, the crusaders weren’t content to kill only Muslims, 10’s of thousands of Jews were killed as well; justification being that Jews killed Christ. But, the crusaders were not done there…10’s of thousands of Christians were also killed by the Christian crusaders. Even Constantinople (center of the Eastern Christian Church) was conquered and sacked by a Christian army, mostly for greed of its riches but also at the behest of the Pope, leader of the western Christian church. Why Constantinople, a city that was the center of the Eastern Christian Church? Because the leader of the Western Christian Church wanted more power, and the wealth of the Eastern Christian Church.
Going back to 300’s (4th century) there was the Councils of Nicaea. In those two major councils/meetings, it was decided what you had to believe if you were to call yourself a Christian. At the time there was a wide variation in doctrine among the different Christian sects. And there was a major power struggle between the eastern and western Christian Church power centers (the two major Christian sects of the day). The Roman Emperor Constantine, a pagan at the time, saw this as an opportunity to shore up his own power and called for the “councils”…politics at its best.
There were differences of Christian doctrine that were at the center of the dispute between the Eastern Church (Orthodox) and the Western Church (Catholics)…as well as many smaller sects. A primary difference was the nature of God and His relationship with Jesus. The two major camps were divided into the belief in the “Trinity” (different but the same) and the belief in the “Godhead” (distinct and different). The dispute went back and forth for years. Finally the Roman Emperor Constantine (a pagan) decided that Christians must believe in the Trinity…and forced it at the point of a sword, on the threat of death. 
Oddly, the only written record of Constantine’s baptism as a Christian is on his deathbed by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia in 337. And even more oddly…the Arian branch of the Christian church didn’t believe in the Trinity.
Then came the period of 400 – 1100AD…when the Christian Church led horrific campaigns of violence to conquer and force the conversion of Europe’s pagans to Christianity…or be slaughtered…men, women and children…including infants.
Why is this history important? You don’t look so far back in history, just use it as the foundation for today.
Less than a 100 years ago, differences in religious beliefs spawned one of the most brutal reigns of carnage in modern history. The Jews became the targets of Nazi Germany. Based primarily on their religious beliefs Germans slaughtered 6million Jews…shot, starved, gassed, or burned them to death…men, women, and children, even infants.
187 years ago the governor of Missouri made it legal to kill members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That same Missouri Executive Order 44 allowed the seizure of any member’s property and forced families out of Missouri at the end of a rifle.
What does that have to do with yesterday? Maybe more than what most folks are thinking.
In Nazi Germany it didn’t take much for normal everyday Germans to turn a blind eye to the demonic actions of those that hated Jews so much that they decided to wipe out an entire people, an entire religion. What I read yesterday rang out as the same potential start of things to come. Nazis demonized Jews for their beliefs…then the slaughter began.
For 1700 years Christians had a horrific and bloody history of bigotry, prejudice, murder, genocide, conquest, and worse. Christians, in the name of Christ, have acted in the most demonic way to non-Christians and each other.
What would Jesus Christ say about all of it? What would He encourage us to do today?
I have members of my own family that believe LDS folks don’t believe in Christ, don’t believe in the Bible, that LDS are some kind of devil worshipers and cultists. All of which is untrue…but that doesn’t stop them from their bigotry and un-Christ-like behavior.
Let me be clear…The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is run by those who try their level best to live and guide the church in accordance to Christ’s teachings… none are perfect. Then again no person on earth is perfect. And church members have made mistakes, tragic and terrible mistakes, in the past.
Let me clarify, for the record…
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe in Jesus Christ just as He says He is in the New Testament. Scripture testifies, many times in Christ’s own words, that Jesus is the Son of God; Matthew 3:17, John 1:14, 
John 3:16, John 8:28, John 6:40 plus a hundred more.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe that there is only a single way into Heaven…through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John 14:6 teaches that clearly, and LDS members believe that without question.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are Christians. I don’t care what you have been told, what you have been taught, what you believe…if you don’ think LDS are Christians…then you are mistaken and have been deceived.
When I woke up this morning I understood what had been bothering me since yesterday morning…Satan is alive and doing 
his work here on earth. As I reflect on the comments from misguided people claiming LDS are not Christian and the comments that LDS are cultists, I now know why I had a flash of fear. Many of thee people were saying that the dead and injured got what they deserved and not to worry about it…because of their religious beliefs.
The same false teachings and influences that have driven Christians to do unspeakable violence for 1700 years is still alive and just below the surface of today’s society. The same kind of justifications for genocide and a holocaust still reside in peoples’ hearts and minds. So many who call themselves Christians do not follow the actual teachings of 
Christ…they all too often forget the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount and the totality of Christ’s teachings.
Does this make all Christians somehow wicked or evil? Of course not…that is nowhere near true. But, there is ample evidence that there is a bigotry alive today among some that still harbor the principles and desires of those during the 1700 years when Christians forced, with violence, death, torture, and crusades their version of belief onto others.
LDS members must be diligent to honor the LDS statement of faith…
“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”
And oddly enough that statement of faith matches exactly the First Amendment in the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights…
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Notice that the very first right guaranteed by the Constitution is freedom of religion, it comes before all others. How many, sad to say, have forgotten that right…and they desire to force their beliefs on others…or condemn them for not accepting untruths.
I beg the questions…
- Should we as Christians live our faith according to the teachings of Jesus Christ himself?
- And as proud and patriotic citizens of the United States of America should we live our lives according to that which this great country is based on and not just give lip service to the Constitution?
So let me make this perfectly clear for everyone:
- I am a flawed man who has made mistakes in his life, I claim no perfection or station above any other.
- I am a very proud, patriotic, and dedicated American citizen committed to living my life and treating others according to the principles outlined in the US Constitution and by the Founding Fathers.
- I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
- Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, I worship no man, I believe Jesus to be exactly who He says He is, as is well documented in the New Testament.
- I am a Christian and I try to live according the principles laid out in the scriptures, through the words of Jesus, his Apostles and Prophets. I fail, I fail daily, because I am but a mere man.
I am deeply saddened in my soul to see the violence in the world today. It breaks my heart to see so many people hate others…and demonize those who only wish to believe in and worship God and His Son.
So why did I “fear”? It was only briefly but it was deep and real. Society right now is rife with the same spirit of years past. And most of all…we are a short step away from a man-made catastrophe between each other.
My fear is gone, I’ve written this to declare what I believe, what I see, and as a warning to myself and others. My fear is gone…I have accepted Jesus Christ and my Lord and Savior many years ago. My fear is gone…let man do what he wants, God wins in the end. My fear is gone…I cannot control what others believe or do. My fear is gone…the Lord is my Shepard.
< click here for Part #2 >
If you would like to ask me a question please do so with the form below. I am interested in all questions, comments, and concerns you may have…please contact me. If you are a hater, if you want to threaten me, if you want to call me names or make false claims about the LDS church or beliefs…don’t. It will do you no good other than point to the camp you belong to.
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This is a tough post for me to make. Why? The person that sent this comment is a friend of mine. I hope I don’t lose a friend over a difference of political opinions.
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