Slain Mormon bishop was close to the gospel

VISALIA, Calif. — The Mormon bishop who was shot to death at the Visalia LDS Church on Sunday was the kind of man who listened to the spirit, said a family friend.

Consequently, when Clay Sannar spoke, unruly youth quieted and listened.

He knew when to give a hug and when to give a Priesthood blessing.

He carried the power of the spirit with him, Paite Henshaw, a friend of Sannar, said.

"On the Sunday he was killed, both my daughter and I had noticed him for some reason. We saw the attention he had paid the children when he went and talked to them in primary," she said. "He bore his testimony of the greatness of the church welfare program and became quite emotional about it on the stand in our combined Priesthood and Relief Society meeting. When he spoke, everyone listened — even the many young men in our ward, who normally joke around like most teens — were listening intently to him."

Looking back on that entire day, she said the bishop "seemed so in-tune with the ward members," exhibiting "something special."

Henshaw said Sannar loved children, his own and everyone else's.

"He was trying to talk my daughter, who just turned 18, to give the young single adult ward a try," she said. "He loved to talk with her, had a special place in his heart for all six of my children.

Sannar, she said, seemed to intentionally involve himself in the lives of each member of his congregation.

"He was a true leader and we followed him willingly," Henshaw said, adding that the Sannar family is "remarkable," never missing church functions, activities, a trip to the temple for youth baptisms or Scout gatherings "… even with all those boys in tow."

"This loss is so much more tragic than anyone outside of our ward will ever know," she said.

She looks now at a cracked tile in her home that was brand-new when Sannar dropped his end of the piano he was helping to move and consequently damaged it.

"I was so upset about that for years," she said. "I now look back at that and have never been more grateful for a broken tile. Now that the shock is starting to lessen some, small memories like this are starting to surface."

Bill Henshaw said he was the Elders Quorum president when the Sannar family moved into the boundaries of the Visalia Ward.

He described Sannar as "very spiritual, very in tune, very selfless, always positive and very giving."

Bill Henshaw said Sannar grew up in Gridley, Calif., on a farm and loved farming and agriculture. He loved the church vineyard and often took his sons with him to help out there.

"He'd take his babies on the father-son outings," he said. "Clay didn't complain. He was always just happy to be there."

The congregation, including the Henshaws, still struggle with his abrupt absence.