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“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Last updated on: September 30, 2025 at 3:32 pm by Dan Peterson

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“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” 2025-09-30T15:32:05-06:00 Dan Peterson

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The main office of the Interpreter Foundation after its recent makeover and seismic retrofit. My suite, as president of Interpreter, is in the upper right hand corner. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

I’m pleased to announce the imminent arrival of Stephen O. Smoot, ed., The Pearl of Great Price: A Study Edition for Latter-day Saints, published by Scripture Central and the Interpreter Foundation. Rarely, every once in a while and to the shocked surprise of those who have long declared it either dead or near death, the Interpreter Foundation unexpectedly emerges from its lethargic coma, opens its eyes, raises itself briefly up on its elbows, and emits yet one more last-gasp publication, podcast, or video. Here’s another of those: The Interpreter Foundation Podcast — September 14, 2025: The Salt Lake Temple, with Reid Neilson and Scott Marianno

For the 14 September 2025 episode of the Interpreter Foundation Podcast, Terry Hutchinson, Kevin Christensen, and Mark Johnson interviewed Scott Marianno and Reid Neilson about their new book, The Salt Lake Temple.

On 20 July 2009, Senator Harry Reid joins with President Thomas S. Monson, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, and an unnamed White House staffer in presenting President Barack Obama with his family tree as a gift from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Dallin H. Oaks is the current leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and, if precedent is followed, he will soon be officially installed as the president of the Church in a reorganized First Presidency. There will be considerable media focus on him, and much of it will be negative or, at best, skeptical of him. I’m quite confident that a prominent part of that focus will feature his alleged hostility to homosexuals, and that distorted accounts of aversion therapy for homosexuality at Brigham Young University during his 1971-1980 tenure as the University’s president will feature heavily in media coverage. Here are three useful resources for developing (and encouraging) an accurate understanding of that matter:

“Aversion Therapy at BYU” (a relatively short but quite useful article from FAIR)
“Aversion Therapy for Homosexuality in Scientific Historical Context” (a much longer and rather comprehensive treatment, also from FAIR)
“Gay Conversion Therapy and BYU” (a very useful compilation of materials, with a timeline, from Mormonr)

The Detroit Michigan Temple, the state’s first, will shortly be joined by a second, in Grand Rapids. (LDS Media Library)

Worthwhile and even inspiring information continues to pour forth from that deadly attack on a Latter-day Saint stake center in Grand Blanc, Michigan. I call two items to your attention:

A number of groups have stepped forward to condemn the Michigan attack and to support those who were victimized by it. I’ve seen accounts of vigils being held in churches of other denominations near the now-destroyed stake center, and I was also pleased to see this, from the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an organization with which I have an ongoing relationship: “MPAC Condemns Deadly Michigan Church Shooting, Highlights Growing Threats to Religious Institutions.” And I liked this little piece from the Babylon Bee, which, I think it safe to say, leans politically conservative and Evangelical: “Mormons Respond To Attack By Continuing To Be Amazingly Kind To Everyone”

Unfortunately, though, the actions of the Michigan attacker didn’t emerge from a vacuum, and his apparent description of Latter-day Saints and/or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “the anti-Christ” seems a rather significant clue to at least part of the mix that went into Sunday morning’s assault. The Michigan city council candidate who spoke to Mr. Sanford said that what Mr. Sanford said to him was pretty much standard-issue anti-Mormonism of the kind that’s readily available online and elsewhere.

This is an example, from just after the assassination of Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University, of the literal demonization of Latter-day Saints and their faith. Such demonization is, in my experience, most commonly the work of a certain type of Evangelical Protestants — although, I hasten to add, not of all Evangelicals. (See the Babylon Bee article to which I link just above.)

I’m told that there have been a very large number of such comments posted all over social media in the wake of the Michigan attack. This is somewhat discouraging, but, alas, not at all surprising.

Did this kind of attitude affect the attacker in Michigan? It seems very likely to me that it did.

I hope that this person wasn’t serious. But, if it’s a joke (which I doubt), I’ll admit that I can’t see any humor in it.

Here, though, is something remarkable that I want to bring to your attention. It’s an opportunity to respond to hatred with love.

There are many worthy causes in the world. (And yes, the Interpreter Foundation is one of those worthy causes, and it needs support.) In particular, multiple victims of the Grand Blanc massacre — and their families — will require help. But Thomas Jacob Sanford leaves behind other victims of his vicious act, as well, and they should not be wholly forgotten. I’m very pleased that a Latter-day Saint has stepped forward to organize this. I’ve been assured by someone whom I trust that this is entirely legitimate. I myself have made a small donation, and I encourage you to consider doing so, as well: “Help the Sanford Family”:

My name is Dave. Like all of you, I was shocked by the murders at the LDS chapel in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on September 28. Multiple families were left grievously wounded and in need of help.

One of the families that suffered a terrible loss on that day was the family of Thomas Jacob Sanford, the shooter. Sanford leaves behind a wife and children who must be grieving. They will face financial hardship and psychological trauma as a result of this week’s horrifying events. On top of that, one of the Sanford sons deals with serious medical challenges that require ongoing care, treatment, and specialized support. In the past, the family attempted to raise funds for him, but with limited success.

I have no connection to the Sanfords or to Grand Blanc. I am an ordinary member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’m a fantasy and science fiction writer, and if you know me at all, it’s probably because you’ve seen me on an LDS YouTube channel such as the Stick of Joseph or Ward Radio.

But James teaches us that “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.” The purpose of this GiveSendGo is to do that. Every donation will go to help provide for the Sanford family daily needs, provide for ongoing medical treatment, and create some stability in a time of heartbreak and upheaval.

Thank you for your kindness, your compassion, and your willingness to lift up those who are suffering.

“If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray,” decrees Exodus 23:4, “thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.” But the newly widowed Mrs. Sanford and her special-needs son are not our enemies, so this principle seems to me to be even easier to practice and to apply. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

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