A 74-year-old man faces possible charges after his gun went off in a Mormon meetinghouse in Provo on Sunday, penetrating a wall into a room where church members were meeting.
No one was struck; no one was injured.
According to Lt. Brian Taylor, Provo police responded to a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ward house at 345 E. Foothill Drive about 2 p.m. on Sunday. The man “had a .22-caliber revolver in his backpack.” He was in the vestibule at the entrance to the church when “the gun went off and the bullet went through the adjoining wall where young women were meeting.”
Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said the man had left the gun in his backpack “following target shooting the previous day,” adding, “We are confident that the building and its members are safe."
The man has a concealed carry permit, according to Taylor; the case has been referred to the city attorney’s office for possible charges.
The MormonLeaks website released an audio recording of an unidentified church leader encouraging the teenage girls in the ward, or congregation, not to talk about the incident publicly or post anything on social media.
“We'd rather have you not post, 'Hey, a gun went off today at church.' That will hit headline news and even go national,” said the man. “And then we've really created a situation that would be hard to control. So I'm asking you nicely to respect that.”
While Hawkins and the police indicated what happened was an accident, the unidentified leader says, “There have been some other threats against other individuals in a different ward” that shares the building, “so there’s a particular level of precaution that the other ward ... has taken.”
He told the girls that “spreading [the story] around … could incite the issue that they were trying to protect against.”
He did not specify what that threat was.
Hawkins reiterated the church’s policy on guns: “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.”
#1: Hondo68 To: Willie Green (#0)
Rumors that masshole Bill Weld will soon be governor of Utah. Mormons gonna busta cap!
Hondo68 posted on 2018-09-18 09:17:24 Reply Private Reply
#2: paraclete To: Willie Green (#0)
paraclete posted on 2018-09-18 09:54:13 Reply Private Reply
#3: Justified To: paraclete (#2)
Then how will you stop outlaws/criminals?
If people had a legal right to actually defend themselves and those around them crazy murderous people would not have kill boxes to murder many innocent people.
There is nothing perfect but erroring on the side of freedom is always the way to go.
Justified posted on 2018-09-18 11:43:57 Reply Private Reply
#4: paraclete To: Justified (#3)
There is a formula apparently lost on you. You preach the unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. People who rely on guns are those who fear death
paraclete posted on 2018-09-18 18:50:21 Reply Private Reply
#5: GrandIsland To: paraclete (#2)
Guns have a place, EVERYWHERE I go, within this Republic, libtard.
Stay in fag Britain... your opinions don’t mean shit here.
GrandIsland posted on 2018-09-18 19:08:29 Reply Private Reply
#6: Hondo68 To: paraclete (#2)
Hawt Christian Babe, pro life.
You need one like that to give you an attitude adjustment.
Hondo68 posted on 2018-09-18 19:20:01 Reply Private Reply
#7: paraclete To: hondo68 (#6)
paraclete posted on 2018-09-19 09:20:38 Reply Private Reply
#8: Deckard To: paraclete (#4)
...in the Old Testament "the Israelites were expected to have their own personal weapons. Every man would be summoned to arms when the nation confronted an enemy. They didn't send in the Marines. The people defended themselves."
We see this clearly in passages like 1 Samuel 25:13:
So, each man had a sword ready to be holstered and used when required.
In the New Testament, Jesus sanctioned the use of weapons for self-defense. While giving his farewell discourse to the disciples before going to the cross, he instructed the apostles to purchase side arms to carry for self-protection. He was preparing them for the extreme opposition and persecution they would face in future missions:
Deckard posted on 2018-09-19 10:24:00 Reply Private Reply
#9: Justified To: paraclete (#4)
Not True at all.
I fear watching loved ones being destroyed right before my eyes and not being able to do a thing about it. Watching someone's life being torn apart and having it destroy their soul.
I was put on this earth to do more than just be a hat holder! All men are.
One thing that kills me is that Church(men) think they can change pedophiles and allow them into their world as the pedophiles destroy so many innocent lives. These lives will be taken away from God forever and to be part of that is immoral and non-Christian to me.
If you do not defend yourself and people around you then you condemn them and yourself to hell.
It comes down to this. Either you destroy evil or evil will destroy you and your's.
Justified posted on 2018-09-19 10:50:48 Reply Private Reply