Comments about ‘Visalia, California community mourns death of Mormon bishop’

That last little tidbit tells us all that the media DOES want to focus on the fact that Bishop Sannar was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - and was a person that contributed to Prop. 8.

There may have been 3 random churches in the area, and this one was the first one the gunman went into, but somehow I believe the media will twist it the way it wants to, sadly enough.

My heart goes out to the Sannar family - to his wife and his young children.

I don't think it's appropriate to mention anything about proposition 8 when reporting on this tragedy. As far as I know, there is no link between the two.

Really sad story.

Rivers wants the media to not focus on the Mormon aspect but the fact of the matter is it happened in a church and he was targeted, from all reports, solely because he was the bishop.

Maybe the motive has nothing to do with Prop 8 or Mormonism and was just directed at religion in general, but anyway you look at it the victim's religion was the reason he was killed.

I can't imagine how the children or the wife must be feeling. I hope they receive all the support they need.

IF the investigation about the shooter is starting to head toward a disgruntled person based on the involvement of the LDS Church in Prop 8 then the reference at the end of the story is foundation for future information. If it's even suspected, it's proper foundation.

It's no more premature than others quoted in the article that want to dismiss the LDS or prop 8 angle as a motive. When you walk into a church and you ask for the President or Bishop as this person is quoted as saying, then it's very unlikely he was was "lost." There are other Christian denominations that may have a "President" of a congregation or even a Bishop, but to ask for "either" certainly narrows his target to perhaps LDS and one or two other denominations.

Agreed Alterego,
This is nothing but a calculated murder of an innocent man and the story should remain on how horrible any crime like this is.

Why is that last sentence included? What an insult to this poor man that was killed. How dare you turn this horrible incident into something political!? There is still no known motive as indicated by your story and every other story so far on this horrific incident. I am disgusted.

The LA times is reporting the brother of the shooter says he was a mentally ill former member upset about a Bishop telling him he was "shunned to hell" in 1988.

Makes you wonder why 22 years later he decides to shoot a man he has never met because he is a bishop. Looks like another sad case of a mentally ill person not getting the help he needed.

I guess the reason why proposition 8 is brought up is because it's so hard to imagine what kind of motive a person could have for committing a crime like this.

I like media that actually reports instead of just throwing out possibilities. Glad someone bothered to talk to the shooters brother before throwing Prop 8 out there.

Associated Press is now reporting that the gunman was a former member and mentally ill. It had nothing to do with prop 8. To include that last sentence is poor journalism and damaging.

It is very disappointing the Deseret News, of all papers, would include a toss-off, speculative fact on Prop. 8 in the final graph of such a delicate story. The Visalia Times-Delta is reporting the shooter was a mentally ill, former LDS member who felt "shunned" by a bishop in 1988. He took his grandfather's gun and went in search of a random Mormon bishop. His younger brother has spoken to the media and expressed his family's grief.
Deseret News -- review the commentary piece "The Mormon Ethic of Civility" at newsroom.lds.org which decries the politcization of everything in our society. Please stop injecting politics where they don't belong! Let's pray for families who will need love and support in the wake of this horror. (My wife and I grew up in Visalia. Each of our fathers served as bishops there many years ago.) We are among the broken hearted

@Desertsage: Following your logic I could just as easily say it was because of the Mormon's church early stance on Blacks and the priesthood. Or any other random issue! There needs to be clear evidence before accuasations are tossed around.
By putting that sentence in, the des news is implying it's related and it does so much more harm than good. It implies that gay people are killing bishops, which is categorically untrue. This is so offensive.

Really stupid last comment.....
I gave to Prop 8......so did my neighbor who is Lutheren.
Will someone dig that up one day if something should happen to either of us?

DN that is pretty poor judgement on your part to put the last paragraph in about prop 8. Shame on the writer and the editor for allowing this to be printed. You paper took a nose dive today.

His name was Kenneth James Ward mental problems and a former LDS follower was from Modesto Ca.

Bishop Clay-who was gunned down
In Lehi here in utah they raised already $16,000

The bishop led a Christ-centered life, according to friends who commented on Facebook and Deseret News websites. May he rest in peace now. Here's the rest of this sad story, that came out in Florida, on our news here. Not so much "out West". The brother of a man accused of the fatal shooting of a Mormon church official in Central California says the man was a former member of the congregation who felt wronged by a leader in 1988. Mike Ward told the Visalia Times-Delta newspaper Monday that his older brother, 47-year-old Kenneth James Ward of Modesto, also was mentally ill. Police say Kenneth Ward walked into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Visalia on Sunday and killed Clay Sannar, a lay bishop. Kenneth Ward later died in a shootout with officers after telling police where they could find him. Mike Ward told the Times-Delta that his brother didn't know Sannar. He says his brother had been a church member in the 1980s and was upset by a bishop then who had "shunned him to hell." Information from: Visalia Times-Delta. 2 sides to every story now.

It's important to note the vast difference between feeling "shunned" and being told you are "shunned". Having just been released after serving 7&1/2 as bishop and nearly 20 years in bishoprics, the word "shun", as a verb, is not in a bishop's vocabulary. The shooter may have felt shunned, as in disaffected or forgotten for a variety of personal reasons including not being fellowshipped, loved or friendshipped by a congregation, but the church shuns no one to "hell" --- not even a doctrinal concept.

not only that read msnbc news

When this post came through on Facebook, all I could write when I shared was Prayers please...I was so shocked by the news. Our Bishops are so precious and called by our Heavenly Father, as you get to know them you can see why they were chosen. My heart and love go to his family and his ward. Such a sad event and such a loss to all. My prayers are with you all including the family of Kenneth James Ward.

Thanks Deseret News for printing that little tidbit at the bottom about his support for Proposition 8. Was that just in case something came out later about that being the cause and you are trying to get a jump on it early or is it because you simply wanted to follow the other mainstream liberal media? You did not add parts about the color of his shoes or suit, the decorations in his office, the kind of car that he drove or his business transactions that just might play into it later also.

read article..they have a fund here in Leih Utah..
condolences to both families!

saltlake resident

my heart is aching so much for the family. And I'm so sad that his life was ended in such a tragic way. I continue to pray for the family. God bless his wife & kids to be strong at this difficult time. And may they find peace in the blessing of Eternal Families, to know you will see him and be with him again.