The Texas Baptist Church Massacre - A Problem for LDS Churches in Utah

LDS Church policy in Utah, places their congregations at risk to a Texas-Church-type massacre. The policy PROHIBITS anyone having a Concealed Carry Permit from being armed in (open-to-the-public) LDS chapels. It is also contrary to the Church's teachings concerning God's establishment of The Constitution of the United States. At least one Stake President in Utah has asked for input from their Wards on this issue. The questions were to be a topic in a Regional leadership meeting, and therefore may have originated from higher Church authorities. In response to my Bishop and Stake President, I provided the following proposal. Anyone is welcome to use it with or without crediting it to me. Although this letter addresses Concealed Carry in Utah, I am equally for Constitutional (unrestricted) carry. 

Protection of People in LDS Chapels

Dear Bishop ____ and President ______,

The questions posed to the Ward Council by the Stake President (and perhaps the Church) are very difficult matters to speak of, yet the most serious question, and the one in active debate in social media since the Texas church massacre, was not posed to us. The worst case presented to us was someone “brandishing” a gun. I dealt with that situation once when I went out to confront a man who had a rifle and was walking up to my in-law’s home to kill his wife and children who had fled there for safety. Fortunately, I knew him well and he was very drunk. While I was not armed, I was able to quickly reach out to him in love and disarm him. All the questions posed to us were non-lethal situations that are easily handled. The question I will address is the one that must be addressed and presented to the Church: What do we do if a man enters the chapel and begins killing people?

Statement of the Problem:

The mass killing in a Baptist “haven” in Texas, highlights the vulnerability of people in LDS churches in Utah, where the Church has chosen to PROHIBIT those who have Concealed Carry Permits from bringing their concealed weapons to church for self-protection, thus PROHIBITING the individual “… right of the people to keep and bear Arms, (which) shall not be infringed” (US Constitution, Amendment II), and contrary to “… the laws and constitution of the people, which I (God) have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles ….” (D&C 101:77)

Church Policy:

Handbook 2: 21.2.4

Firearms
Churches are dedicated for the worship of God and as havens from the cares and concerns of the world. The carrying of lethal weapons, concealed or otherwise, within their walls is inappropriate except as required by officers of the law.

Legal notice published by the Church in the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News, Jan 15, 2017.

Notice Publish Date:
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Notice Content
NOTICE OF FIREARMS PROHIBITION Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to Section 76-10-530 of the Utah Code Annotated, firearms are prohibited in all houses of worship, including temples, meetinghouses, chapels, stake centers, tabernacles, the Assembly Hall, the Tabernacle and the Conference Center, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Church"), except for firearms in the possession and control of individuals who (a) are specified in Section 76-10-523(1)(a)-(e) of the Utah Code Annotated or (b) are otherwise engaged in the protection of Church members, visitors, personnel or facilities and hold a written authorization issued by the Managing Director of the Church's Security Department. This notice is effective upon publication and shall remain in effect until revoked or the first anniversary of the publication of this notice, whichever first occurs. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 50 East North Temple Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 1132361 UPAXLP

https://www.utahlegals.com/Details.aspx?SID=yh2pnkf3z1uw0f4yhbw52drv&ID=242325

https://www.utahlegals.com/Details.aspx?SID=yh2pnkf3z1uw0f4yhbw52drv&ID=242326

Discussion:

For discussion, I shall consider the case of a person who comes into a Chapel with a firearm and begins shooting people. This is the case for which the Church offers no protection for its members and guests and attempts to PROHIBIT their right to bear arms in their own defense.

Further, let us consider, as just one example, that members of the US military and their families - active duty or retired – are under the threat of death from the Islamic Caliphate (ISIS). Some have dropped off Face Book because of this threat. Others maintain an active presence on Face Book and actively engage in defense issues involving the radical Islamic threat and are therefore known to ISIS and their followers. Many members in this category actively attend church to worship God and renew their covenants at the Sacrament table.

Should such a member be PROHIBITED from carrying an otherwise legal concealed weapon into a Chapel for self-defense?

If the member declines to go undefended, should such members be authorized to administer the Sacrament at home?

If the Church will PROHIBIT self-defense, it must then provide adequate protection at Church – such as in General Conference. The person coming to Church to kill you and those around you is the one “inappropriately” bringing a weapon to Church - he isn’t coming to worship our God.

Our church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” (Eph 2:20) These foundational pieces’ rest in the soil of Liberty - sustained by the principle of agency enshrined in Heaven and in the US Constitution.

The US Constitution is the rule of law given by God to His children in this dispensation and was a necessary precondition to the Restoration. “I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.” (D&C 101:80) “I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; and as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.” (D&C 98:6-7)

Amendment II of the Constitution is designed to protect the people from tyranny: “… the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” and was ruled by the Supreme Court as an individual right. The PROHIBITION policy of the Church, opposes God’s Constitution, and places the Church with those who seek to “infringe” upon this God-given right.

There is, I think, an expectation that we be like Christ. In general this is correct: ​“Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.” (3 Ne 27:27) However, when the Church effectively tells its members to go like lambs to the slaughter, they forget that was Christ’s mission, not ours. There is a higher principle to apply – for which Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice.

The Savior taught us to worship the Father - and so we do. He is the one who gave us the greatest gift any intelligence can have - agency, or Liberty. He is the one who fought a war in Heaven to preserve it. He is the one who “gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16) to atone for our sins in the use of our agency - as we learn for ourselves that “wickedness never was happiness.” (Alma 41:10) If there were no agency, there would be no need for a Savior. It was Satan who “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3) and force compliance to his law. The Father rejected that plan. Does the Church?

We all fought for that most sacred possession along with the Father. The need to defend Liberty is eternal. It is the foundation upon which all the kingdoms of glory exist. It is the foundation upon which this mortal experience is based - men “are free to choose.” (2 Ne 2:27)

When the Savior said, “Greater ​​​love​ hath no man than this, that a man lay down his ​​​life​ for his ​​​friends​” (John 15:13) He was speaking of himself but also of all those who do the same. That sacrifice is not made most often in a court of law (as was His), but on the battlefields and in our communities, at the boundary of good and evil, Liberty and tyranny.

Let the Church not follow the example of Satan in attempting to remove agency and the righteous defense of life and Liberty, or suggest we follow the example of Christ in allowing ourselves to be sacrificed by evil men, but rather the example of the Father of Lights in defending Liberty - the greatest cause in life and Eternity, and for which the Savior of mankind, in freedom, offered Himself.

Will the Church wait to provide security, or wait to ask each Stake to provide its own security, when people assembled in an LDS church under this PROHIBITION are attacked and killed? In Alaska, Stake presidents ask responsible adults at Church camps to be armed - the threat of bears is a daily reality. Our “havens” will remain so only as we are armed and the evil fear us. Evil thrives wherever you welcome it, such as in “gun free” zones. Liberty thrives wherever you defend it.

Shooter Response Options:

A. Assuming the Church PROHIBITION continues and no armed law enforcement persons are present:

1. Shelter between the bleachers and/or run away from the threat until someone with a gun arrives and engages the murderer or he runs out of ammunition. Many lives will be lost.

2. Those with tactical flashlights should engage the flash mode and point the light directly in the shooter’s eyes while people flee the scene. The shooter can shelter his eyes from the light, especially if from one source. The shooter can also reposition. Some lives will be saved.

3. The most correct option: Physically capable young or mature adults closest to the shooter must immediately rush him in mass. Some will get shot and may die, but many lives will be saved. This is not normal behavior, and the Church should instruct members to act in this way. Even then most will not respond this way.

B. Assuming the PROHIBITION is rescinded and whether or not armed law enforcement persons are present:

1. Persons who are armed should immediately engage the shooter while advancing to a close effective range.

I Propose That:

The Church remove the statement on Firearms from Handbook 2: 21.2.4.

The Church defend the 2^nd Amendment as vigorously as they defend the 1^st Amendment.

The Church rescind its PROHIBITION against concealed carry in Chapels, or at least allow it to expire, 15 Jan 2018.

Each Stake organize an Armed Chapel Security Force. Members of the force should:

1.        Be trained in the proper use of firearms and security protocols
2.        Be members of the Ward in attendance, since they are most familiar with their members
3.        Lock all exterior doors except for one at the main entrance on each side of the building
4.        Listen to the Sacrament meeting in the foyers and receive the Sacrament there.

This is the Lord’s Church brethren and we have a responsibility to defend it, its members and guests. Fortunately, our Father in Heaven has given us the Constitution of the United States to live by – yes, even the 2^nd Amendment – and I learned how sacred that document is as a young church member growing up in New Zealand. When I was about 10, the Spirit told me I would one day go to the United States and become a citizen. As an adult I was impressed to enter military service, and I always felt during my 35 years in the USAF that I was serving in defense of God’s Constitution.

God bless you both, and thank you for serving the Lord in your callings.

Neil D. Holland