Deseret News | Arson suspected in LDS chapel fire

Reader comments
Arson suspected in LDS chapel fire

Freedom of Religion? | 9:52 a.m. May 15, 2009

Why can't people just let others believe what they want? They don't need to bother us by leaving nasty comments all over online news and burn down our buildings and we don't need to bother them by acting "holier than thou" and making them feel unworthy to be in our presence.

Mormons and non-mormons alike: please grow up and let people worship what they want to worship. Thanks.

Surveillance | 10:03 a.m. May 15, 2009

Stories like this make me wonder when the Church will start making mandatory the installation of security systems and surveillance cameras to try to reduce the incidences of arson and vandalism at LDS chapels. It's only going to get worse.

RI | 10:28 a.m. May 15, 2009

Well said Freedom of Religion. That's how I feel!

Comments continue below

Good points | 2:09 p.m. May 15, 2009

All the point made above are valid and I second the feeling above, as Americans we should allow and defend the right to worship according one's conscience. As Latter-day saints we need to recognize that our holier than thou attitude is what often gets us in trouble, by touting the 'only true church' rhetoric to the point of driving everyone crazy. Much of the bad that comes back on the church is self inflicted whether we are willing to admit it or not! If we mind our own business people will leave us alone, but when we delve into the public fray we should expect retaliation.

Cameras | 2:20 p.m. May 15, 2009

It is less expensive for the church to rebuild and repair when necessary than to insure and pay for the cost of security, my bet is that unless things get far worse nothing will happen soon.

John Pack Lambert | 2:52 p.m. May 15, 2009

In response to the 10:03 commentator, is the expenditure on such things really worth it? There are much better ways to spend what would end up being millions of dollars than on security systems.
The fact that there was minimal damage tells me that current decisions on various items to be used in Churh buildings, from class to curtains to brick, is a wise investment in money if they keep fires from spreading.
However I am unconvinced that a major expenditure to lessen arson and vandalism is worth while. I would rather see the money used to build new chapels and temples where they are desperately needed, such as Trujillo and maybe even Arequipa.

Same article? | 3:15 p.m. May 15, 2009

I don't think we all read the same news article. Nothing is said about the arsonist being a terrorist, an athiest, or a person from another church or country. So far there are no clues as to who started the fire or why - it could have been local teens who actually attend that church, a disgruntled church employee, a firebug, etc. Why spout off about Freedom of Religion and terrorism when this might just be regular old vandalism? My old ward building was burned twice - by lightning. Whose vengeance was that?

To whomever the | 3:32 p.m. May 15, 2009

passer by was, a huge THANK YOU. It could have been much worse, had that person not noticed, stopped, and taken action.

Peace..... | 3:45 p.m. May 15, 2009

be unto all of you. Let's forgive and be more vigilent of security for our chapels. Thanks to the passer-by who stopped to put out what he could.

pw | 6:01 p.m. May 15, 2009

Even though I am not LDS, i feel terrible that this happened in a house of worship. Hopefully the police will catch the perpetrator and throw him/her in jail.

rwj@interlog.com | 6:34 p.m. May 15, 2009

Although not a member of the LDS Church, my heart does go out to those who suffered in any way from this totally senseless act.

Anonymous | 11:20 p.m. May 15, 2009

The end of the story says there are 22 comments. How come this says "there are no comments"?

The Same Hatred | 11:35 p.m. May 15, 2009

The same intolerance, bigotry, and hatred so often evidenced on these message boards was probably the motivation for this act as well.

Or it could just be some kids committing arson indiscriminately.

awsomeron | 5:33 a.m. May 16, 2009

In Waianae, Hawaii not long ago we dedicated our new Chapel. The reason we had to do that is that about 2 1/2 yeas before on a Sunny Afternoon about 2 PM, Two Junior High School, Terrorist decided to burn our Old One Down.

This is the meeting place of 3 Wards. The Fire Department responded quickly and a Fire Wall held real well, so the Chapel was saved, however everything else was destroyed.

What impressed me was the orderliness and leadership that was displayed by Ward and Stake Leaders. Within 24hrs we had our New meeting Place and Schedule, and the word was out by Coconut Wireless, Cell Phones, and Visits.

Eash Ward joined the Ward meeting at the Stake Center at the same time. We shared for about a month, then with the help of Port A Potties and Trailers for Offices we where able to hold services at our Chapel. For other things we had to continue to share for 2 years.

Our new Building is lovely and we have our Old Chapel Extensively Refurbished. It is almost the size of a Stake Center. 21st Century Fire Retardant Materials where used. We are all thankful.

Holier than thou??? | 5:55 a.m. May 16, 2009

Maybe that "holier than thou" attitude is a Utah thing??? I have lived in unnumeral parts of the country and the church is always the same and have never noticed anyone feeling "holier than thou?" That is very sad.

nottyou | 7:52 a.m. May 16, 2009

Stupid teenagers doing very stupid things.

Anonymous | 9:22 a.m. May 16, 2009

Holier than thou??? | 5:55 a.m. May 16, 2009

Maybe that "holier than thou" attitude is a Utah thing??? I have lived in unnumeral parts of the country and the church is always the same and have never noticed anyone feeling "holier than thou?" That is very sad.

How about Gays, Blacks and women? How about prop????
Seems they feel pretty holier than them!

Fire Retardant | 9:22 a.m. May 16, 2009

At least there were several things going in the right direction of this fire not getting farther along: 1 - windows of mixed materials for less breakage of an invasive nature; 2 - fire retardant materials on the curtains; 3 - a very observant motorist with a fire extinguisher in the car, making the right calls and moves to prevent further damage.

Bravo! Being prepared for any possibility is a good thing.

Liam M | 10:05 a.m. May 16, 2009

"The same intolerance, bigotry, and hatred so often evidenced on these message boards was probably the motivation for this act as well."

Now you know how the victims of LDS persecution feel! Come down from your pedestal, God is humbling the Saints so maybe LDS can find common ground with those who in many cases it drives to depression & suicide.

observing | 11:19 a.m. May 16, 2009

God isn't humbling the Saints. God allows all of us our free agency and people do hurtful, harmful things to each other. I think a lot of people think that LDS members have a "holier than thou" attitude just because they are trying to do good and be good. They don't have to say anything to anyone or do anything to them, they just have to keep a nice yard or go to Church every Sunday or not swear and use drugs and alcohol and someone says that they have a "holier than thou" attitude. It's like being a smoker and then quitting and all of your friends who still smoke act like you have turned against THEM just because you are trying to improve your own health. That "judge not" thing should apply to EVERYONE.

awsomeron | 1:24 p.m. May 16, 2009

There is a difference between having standards and being Holier then thou. That is an excuse. It is not an excuse for a crime against a faith groups meeting house. No Faith Group deserves to have their place of Worship Burned Down.

We in other places say that Utah Mormons are different and they are holier then thou. That they could not be active if they lived in Utah.

I would love to have a Ward with the Population and Services that I see on BYU TV Sunday Morning. Of course that would be in Hawaii, so the population would be very mixed. Other then that the same.

I would be okay in Utah because 1. would I would Not have a chip on my shoulder. 2. Dig in do work and make a friend or five. In Safford and Oregon, I sat in a Sea of White. Less so in Las Vegas and Not so in Hawaii. At the Start it bothered me in part. Until I met Harry Bailey who sat for 30 years waiting for the Priesthood. My Daughter is Named after him.

When I am offended it is usually because of Me and not them.

Anon 808 | 1:43 p.m. May 16, 2009

What Awe: Failed to mentioned is that this Chapel and Support Building were built mostly by the Members with their on hands on evenings and weekends. That it is on a Hill and is a CD Emergency Facility in case of a Natural or Unnatural Disaster.

We miss the Hawaiian Style and the Inner Court Yard that separated in part the buildings and was most likely the reason the Chapel was saved. We miss the Breeze and sometimes the Rain. We are very close to both Ocean and Mountains. Hawaiians Blood or Not truly love their land.

Sometimes Culture Trumps Religion out here and some adjustments are made along the way.

What we have in common is the Gospel, and the belief that the Church is True. We are at the End Of The World but we have Cable and Dishes and High Speed Modems. An Hawaiian never met an Electronic Gadget he/she didnt like.

If you are inactive using the excuse that someone offended you or the people are thus and so, and your thus and so, the only one who suffers is you.

Out here sometimes even Priencess Kiss Frogs, and have great kids.

Wait | 6:41 p.m. May 16, 2009

I think until all of the facts are in, it's too soon to conclude that this was the work of an enemy of the church instead of kids or teenagers pulling a prank that went too far.

RB | 7:56 a.m. May 19, 2009

What truly amazed me was the instant bias on the comments here that this was done by someone who is non-LDS.

If I was a betting man, I would counter that it was either LDS teenagers or a bitter LDS adult.

This quick to judge mentality is precisely why Utah members have such difficulty with non-members in our community.

It also has a name prejudice.

Lurker | 3:45 p.m. May 20, 2009

Hate crime?

Servanne | 4:55 a.m. June 20, 2009

I agree that Mormons, because they are convinced that they are the one and only true church, look down on others. As long as any religions has this superior conviction about his/her church or as long as religions remains the sexist stronghold they have always been, they will have failed to understand the true message of Christ that noone is above the other and that if we are to be true witness of Christ, we have to put an end to such biased and dangerous view and start to truly love one another with kindness, compassion and unjudgmental ways.

Judging people, even if they have made bad mistakes, will never bring people closer to God but truly loving them will.

I condemn those who did what they did to your church building, but I think that most of the religions that exist have failed to truly love, guide and help and that is why people stay away from religious though they may seek God. The best way to teach the Gospel is through acts of love. Preaching are just words but acts truly speak to human heart.

Jan | 5:42 p.m. July 2, 2009

My prayer for all is that they will look into the heart of strangers and know that this persons feelings are the same as yours. I recently flew to Salt Lake area for a visit and I asked a gay man why do the gay people come to Salt Lake to march and have all their conferences when you all know the church can not change what is written or given to them by revelation? What he said truly surprised me. First he said most of us know the church is a true religion and we long to be apart of it. Second we are safe here in Utah in some states they would shoot hang or harm us. Please remember the only person you can change is yourself. God gave a great commandment to everyone LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Idiots | 6:03 p.m. July 2, 2009

The words "Freedom of Religion" is not in the First Amendment of the 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.
But what do liberals know about the constitution or the Bill of Rights that limits their precious gov't power they so love and crave.

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Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Lyman Smith, Wes Livingston and George Lathrop of City Glass inspect the window damage caused by a fire Friday at an LDS church building on 100 East in Centerville.