Comments about ‘Arson is suspected at Minnesota temple’

Of course, it would have only been a hate crime if it had been a mosque. I'm sure whoever set the fire "loves" Moromons.

Not a "hate" crime? Well, than at least a "pretty extreme dislike" crime. Or do people actually climb over a 6' high locked fence and start a building on fire because they LIKE the building, or its owners, or what it symbolizes, etc? Or, maybe they think it was arson related to insurance fraud? Give me a break!!

Glad it wasn't worse... impressive the normal schedule hasn't been altered!

Two thoughts:

Authorities suspect it was arson. Right; what is the alternative to that conclusion? That someone working for Temple Security just stepped outside the door for a smoke and his lighter got away from him. Or is it some homeless people, trying to get out of the bitter cold of the fall season, just happened to build their campfire in the entrance to the temple?

These same authorities say it doesn't appear to be a hate crime. Right again. The fact that a fire was burning in front of the LDS temple, when it could just as easily been the Baptist temple, or a Jewish synagogue, or just in front of the offices of Planned Parenthood. Sure; there is no way that this could possibly be a hate crime.

The only good part of this story is that these same investigators don't work within the state of Utah.

What authority is idiotic enough to believe this is NOT a hate crime? What possible reason would an arsonist have for setting fire to an LDS temple if he (she) did not hate Mormons? After all, some evangelical preachers delight in falsely preaching that Mormons are a cult of the devil and non-Christians to boot, ignoring the fact that the No. 1 article of faith of the LDS church is a belief in God, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and the eighth is a belief in the Bible as the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. The problem with the LDS Church is that it professes a literal belief in the Bible as to the nature of Jesus Christ and does not subscribe to the Nicean Creed and other statements of faith that are the result of negotiations, political maneuverings and compromise, which statements are part of the "long-standing historical Christian traditions" that Mormons are criticized for not supporting. Saying the arson is not a hate crime is like saying a person suspected of murder is not a murder suspect.

If there are no signs of forced entry, and authorities do not suspect this is a "hate crime", what DO they suspect?, an "inside job"? Do they think that a Temple Worker started it?, or some other church member?

How is this not a hate crime? Please explain this to me. Arson, at a Mormon Temple - I just don't get how this is not considered a hate crime!

What do you mean, no hate crime?

One just wants to burn a Temple for fun?

Ok, ok everybody. Maybe it was some drunk guy who didn't know what building it was, or someone punk teenager who just saw a nice building and thought he'd vandalize it, not knowing anything about Mormons. Look, I'm LDS too, but I can see how it's possibly not a hate crime. There are plenty of possible explanations.

It could possibly be a random act of maliciousness, not necessarily a deliberate act of hate directed against the church. That would still be arson, but not a hate crime.

It's interesting how some folks in Utah seem to know more about a fire in Minnesota than fire investigators in Minnesota know about it.

This is EXACTLY why Hate Crimes are a waste. If you are not part of a PC group approved to receive preferential treatment then a crime committed against you is not a hate crime. It is perfectly acceptable to "hate" Mormons and say bigoted things against them that would not be accepteable towards other groups. ALL crimes are hateful. You should be punished for the crime committed and its disrespect for others regardless.

Surely one of the dumb statements of the year.

I live near the Temple. The city the temple is in, Oakdale, is a great addition to the city. The Church has strong ties to the city. The city will help every way they can. My wife and I, when we heard this last night, instantly told ourselves we wouldn't be attending on Saturday now. Glad to see it's still open.

...because the LDS Church patriarchial, conservative, and mostly white.

Hate crimes laws were NEVER intended to be used to protect the rights and property of conservative white male Christians.

Even if Mormons are not considered to be "real" Christians, their conservative theological views make them as suspect as Southern Baptists by members of the Grievance Lobby.

The grounds of LDS temples are not accessible at 3 a.m to someone who just wants to wander on the grounds. The person would have to scale a high fence to get to it, and, of course, bring materials that could also be torched. It was a premeditated act that, in any situation at the door of any church, synogog, mosque or temple, is a hate crime.

OK. OK. Let's call it a hate crime. Do you all feel better now?????

The concept of a "Hate Crime" is totally wrong. What difference is the result of a crime if it is a hate crime or not? In a crime someones rights or property has been taken or damgaged. There is no difference in the results if hate is involved. How are the thoughts of people to be known. Are we to be punished for thoughts? If a crime was committed, as surely there has been here, punish the crime. Punishing thoughts, or even thoughts expressed but not acted upon, is a slippery slope to tyranny.

Since there is not a fence around the St. Paul Temple, it was probably an easy target for a bunch of teenagers who had a little too much to drink.

Doubt it was a hate crime as Minnesota is much too liberal and too laid back. Now, if this were somewhere in the south-we could actually believe that it might indeed be a hate crime or at least an anti-LDS attack probably by a disgruntled ex-member which ironically seem to populate most of these Utah websites trolling for any pretense to tear down the LDS church.

If it was an arsonist, then it probably had nothing to do with "hate" per se. Arsonists are not motivated by hate, they are sick people who get a rush watching fires and setting things on fire. If a building is unoccupied it is a "safe" target in their eyes. They don't necessarily care who the owner is or what the building is used for.

I have been noticing these past few years, that California can be set ablaze and its never tagged as a hate crime. Likewise an oil refinery can blow up sky high, and no foul play suspected. Does anyone remember when the Feds went after some Arab guy because Arabs or Muslims were suspected of blowing up the Murrrah building in Oklahoma City? Also thousands were blown to bits during 9/11, not by terrorists, but according to the elitists in Hollywod and other Liberal political correct groups as Freedom Fighters. Pres Bush said Muslims were a peaceful people. So, you see a pattern here? However, given the treatment of the church currently and by most aspects of American Society , there is nothing wrong with trying to dispose of Cults such as Mormons, so therefore no hate crime was committed in St Paul. Some may remember Fox News Bill Oreilly ranting and raving about the Polygs in Texas as a cult and should be wiped out? Of course, no hate crime here either. Finally, anyone remember the recent burnings of several Baptist Churches down South? Now those were hate crimes folks. Foolish of us to think otherwise.