Comments about ‘Mormon meetinghouse demolished by Joplin tornado’

Mr. Taylor,
Before writing anymore "Mormon" stories, please read Elder Packer's address in the most recent General Conference.

Scott - I think this is what jemod from Bedford was trying to relay to you from Elder Packer's talk:

When referring to Church members, we suggest members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a shortened reference, Latter-day Saints is preferred.

I saw photos of this on a link to a local Missouri woman's facebook account. Not much left of the building at all. Just a few walls with pictures of Jesus on them. And, strangely, tithing envelopes still in the holders. Mostly brick all over the ground. The whole area is devastated and all of the people there need our support and prayers.

I've seen pictures of the Stake Center there...not much left at all and it's simply amazing that no one was killed in it.

I find these news stories rather offensive. You don't read in other major newspapers "No Lutherans were killed" or all Christian missionaries are accounted for. What is most offensive is that as a legitimate news source you have made the headline about a "Meetinghouse" The truth of the matter is this tornado was a non-discriminating source of destruction. Lives are ruined, people are dead, churches and places of worship of ALL faiths have been destroyed.

Interesting, but really, who cares? I'm LDS, but it's just a building.
There are 116 people dead...and still counting!
Let's pray for their families and those who are now homeless....

To Jemod's point, it is better for us to title these stories with the official name of the church and buildings. I realize it may lose some punch on the national stage as some people struggle to determine which church is named "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". But over time, the citizenry of the nation and world can know us by our name and works.

ArmyofOne

This is a nation of free press and freedom for everyone...you are free to read another newspaper, envoke your freedom.

People who live in tornado areas ought to consider building in and living in dome homes. Check out monolithicdome dot com.

ArmyofOne = Get over it! You are offensive!

You know jemod and Army, you don't have to read the article if it offends you. All last evening as I watched this unfold I was horrified that so many homes, the hospital, the high school, big stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot were destroyed. People were inside all of those buildings. Did they survive? What a horrible thing to see a building demolished. I did a little research and discovered that the LDS chapel in town was right across the street from the high school that had been destroyed. My heart sank. I feared the chapel had been destroyed, too. I prayed that there wasn't a fireside or a seminary graduation going on like they were all across the country last evening.

A "Meetinghouse" is a sacred place where people congregate. It's a tragedy whether it's an LDS chapel or anyother church building. It's a huge loss, for those who love attending meetings there, learning and feeling a part of a "family" there. Since DN is a newspaper that serves a huge number of LDS members, naturally they will be concerned about this meeting house and those who attend there. No offense intended.

I'm also curious about another church right next to the LDS chapel in Joplin. Look it up on google maps. It had a huge cross in front of it. Anyone know what religious group it belonged to? My heart goes out to them as well. The loss of a building like that is a big deal. Do they have funds (tithing or whatever) to rebuild like the LDS church does? I hope so. And obviously, we mourn all the loss of lives and wish we could wrap our arms around all people who lost loved ones, homes, pets, and simply their sense of security and well being from this tornado.

Jemod, if you had actually read the article instead of just the headline, you would have noticed that throughout the article itself either the full name of the church or the shortened 'LDS' are used. So if you want to complain, complain to whatever editor wrote the headline.

Oh, and no one was offended but you.

Army of One,
the Dessert news is not the only paper in town. read something else. I got offened by the New york times. I stopped reading it. its just that easy.

@Jemod...let's just accept the fact that only Mormons call themselves "Latter-day Saints." The rest of the world calls Mormons...well, Mormons.

@ArmyofOne...you need to accept the fact that a large mormon population reads the Deseret News for the Mormon-centric stories. The loss of a mormon meetinghouse in Missouri is newsworthy to lots of Mormons in Utah. So get over yourself.

To ArmyofOne -- I understand what you are saying. I find it easier to not think of DN as a national news source. It is a news source for the LDS church. That just puts it into context for me and keeps me from getting frustrated when it seems that more attention is given to LDS crime victims, to LDS politicians, to LDS charity efforts, etc. I would imagine that some other large religious institutions also have a news reporting arm and are probably pretty much the same in this regard.

Dear Armyofone: Bitterness is so self destructive.

Armyofone:

Yes, you are.

@Chad S...you need to accept the fact that a large mormon population reads the Deseret News for the Mormon-centric stories. The loss of a mormon meetinghouse in Missouri is newsworthy to lots of Mormons in Utah. So get over yourself.

Do you think the large Mormom population really wants to know whether any meetinghouses were destroyed or damaged this soon after this natural disaster, or is this news reporting agency telling us what is important to focus on? I'm Mormon by the way, but whether or not a church meetinghouse was damaged or destroyed is not even on my list at this point in time.

All these innocent lives lost, all this distruction, and some are worried about wording of the headline. How petty and selfish.