Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
History and Religion
My persecution complex is calling to me

My persecution complex is calling to me

Last updated on: October 6, 2025 at 4:15 pm by Dan Peterson

0 Comments

My persecution complex is calling to me 2025-10-06T16:15:36-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Inside the Conference Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)

A number of the addresses given at our just-completed general conference really spoke to me, and I look forward to reading them. I’ve been thinking of my late friend Ann Madsen (my friend Truman Madsen’s widow), and of something that I posted in remembrance of her when she passed away back in 2022:

Once, many years ago, I was over in the old Joseph Smith Building on the BYU campus for some sort of meeting. When that meeting finished, I was trying to decide whether I should walk back to my office in another building, since I had yet another (unrelated) meeting in the Joseph Smith Building less than an hour thereafter. Suddenly, I ran into Ann in the hallway. She was a bit surprised to see me in her building. She was off to teach a class, and she offered to let me sit in her office while I waited for the next meeting to start. That was good, as I had work with me that I could do while biding my time.

I sat down at her desk, in her chair, as she had invited me to do. From that vantage point, I noticed something that nobody else in the office would be able to see: Taped to one of her filing cabinets so that she could easily see and read it, she had a typed-out list of all of the speakers at the most recent installment of the General Conference of the Church. And, next to each name, she had a specific resolution of something that she personally intended to do in response to that speaker’s remarks. I was both inspired and a little shamed by what I saw. Plainly, she was very serious about General Conference in a way that rather put me in the shadow. Since that time, I’ve made sporadic and not very impressive efforts to follow her example. My results have been mixed, but I still remember the standard that she set for me.

I’m really looking forward to the conference edition of the Church magazine. I plan to buy two special copies of it, one for me and one for my wife. Then, we intend to go through them, marking them up one talk at a time, making a list of resolutions for ourselves. Ann’s example continues to challenge and inspire me.

An aerial view of the Bountiful Utah Temple (LDS Media Library)

This recording was posted earlier today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: The Interpreter Foundation Podcast — September 24, 2025: “Holiness to the Lord: Latter-day Saint Temple Worship, by Jonathan Stapley”

For the 24 September 2025 episode of the Interpreter Foundation Podcast, Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and John Thompson interviewed Jonathan Stapley about his new book, Holiness to the Lord: Latter-day Saint Temple Worship.

The massacre at Haun’s Mill, depicted here in a nineteenth-century painting by C. C. A. Christensen, occurred on 30 October 1838, three days after Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued Missouri Executive Order 44, the so-called “Extermination Order,” in which he declared that “the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace.” This year will mark the 187th anniversary of the event. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

For several days after the murderous attack on that stake center in Grand Blanc, Michigan — and for several days after news of the attacker’s hatred for Latter-day Saints had been fairly widely reported — I continued to see articles speculating about possible motives behind his crime. It’s pretty generally recognized now that he felt a burning animus against the Church and its membership, but this piece in the Babylon Bee (“Fake News You Can Trust”) still seems relevant to me: “UK Police Still Searching For Motive Of Terrorist Named ‘Jihad Jewkiller.'”

And some have begun to notice historical precedents. Thus, for example, this piece on CNN: “Attack on LDS Church harkens back to its early history of religious persecution”

Yakima Herald-Republic: “Yakima man charged with assaulting Latter-day Saint missionaries with rocks.” I missed this story when it appeared somewhat more than a month ago. According to an affidavit, the suspect “called them “heretics,” and said they should be “put to death” and needed to leave the neighborhood.”

9News (Australia): “Mormon church in Sydney’s west destroyed by fire.” I know no more about this incident than what is contained in the article but, from my untutored perspective, the fact that fires were reported “in three sectors of the complex” sounds more than a little suspicious.

LDS Newsroom: “Statement on Fire at Church of Jesus Christ Meetinghouse in Sydney: Fire causes significant damage to Church meetinghouse in Hebersham”

Do such reports suggest a new trend? I don’t know. I don’t see any obvious link between an apparently unhinged man’s lone-wolf attack in Michigan and another evidently unhinged man’s lone-wolf attack in Washington State, let alone any connection with a possible case of arson in Sydney, Australia. Further, if there is a link between the three incidents, it’s difficult to think of a reason why such things would be happening now.

In any event, the question arises for us of how we should respond.

“If America is going to make it it will be because people choose forgiving things they should never have had to forgive over hurting people they have every right to be angry with.” (Kelsey Piper, on X)

In the New York Times, the estimable David French, an Evangelical Protestant who has been consistently friendly to Latter-day Saints — he and his wife headed up “Evangelicals for Mitt” back in the day — has published a wonderful reflection on the LDS-led fundraiser for the widow of Thomas Jacob Sanford, the Michigan mass murderer. I hope that some of you will be able to access it: “There’s a Path Out of This Divide.”

Samuel J. Abrams and Sarah Jane Weaver published this piece in the Deseret News: “For Jews and Latter-day Saints, tragedies can be a foundation, not a weight: In Jewish and Latter-day Saint tradition, tragedy and rebuilding are real. The blood of martyrs consecrated the ground, but the living chose to sow new beginnings”

Deseret News: “Opinion: Choosing love over division — Arthur Brooks’ recent University of Utah keynotes”

Deseret News: “When we can see the good, we can overcome the bad: Recent headlines make it feel like the world is collapsing in on itself. But by seeing good and doing good, we can ease anxiety”

A more or less current public domain political map of the continent of Africa, from Wikimedia Commons

Finally, I close with something from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™: “Forum: Pathway to Hope; BYU-Pathway in Africa.” I do want you to see this 22.5-minute video: “General conference special: ‘Pathway to Hope: Jane Clayson Johnson in Africa.'” It will give you at least some inkling of the kind of toxic theistic evil against which poor beleaguered secularists must struggle — although I should grant you fair warning that it may tempt a few who see it over to The Dark Side.

History and Religion

Travel and Religion

Previous Post

October 5, 2025

Bringing conference (and a notable week) to a close

Next Post

October 7, 2025 Thirteen years gone

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"I had a similar experience with, believe it or not, a fly. I've swatted thousands ..."

Phil Leaning

I’m offended by it

"There is an on-going debate among medical researchers regarding the source of our sense of ..."

DrJ

I’m offended by it

"I'm on the verge of 50 and honestly, having the time of my life. I'm ..."

jafnhar

I’m offended by it

"If those are your questions, the next step would be to do research and develop ..."

axelbeingcivil

I’m offended by it

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book is famous for hundreds of short sayings about wise living?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Leviticus Proverbs Revelation Psalms