Episode 232: refelcting on the michigan Lds Church shooting and fire
Episode 232: refelcting on the michigan Lds Church shooting and fire
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refelcting on the michigan lds church shooting and fire - episode 232
refelcting on the michigan lds church shooting and fire - episode 232
“I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.” This week I share some of my thoughts after the tragic church shooting and fire that took place in Grand Blanc, Michigan. I mention that I am trying to choose faith not fear as a reaction to what happened. I talk about 3 stories from the scriptures to look at other situations where people have been under a threat of some kind if they were to worship or pray. I talk of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, Daniel and the Lion’s Den and Alma. I remind you, that just like the scripture says, God is with us in the hard and tragic events. I then invite all of us to do good and also to look for the good that is happening around us.
Show Notes: Hi Friends! I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode. Below are all the references.
What I Share in This Episode
What I Share in This Episode
My initial reaction to hearing about the Michigan LDS church shooting and fire, and the shock of realizing it was so close to home.
Reflections on how not to let fear keep me from worshiping.
The story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies and their willingness to lay down their lives rather than take another’s.
Daniel in the lion’s den and what it teaches about courage, prayer, and God’s deliverance.
Alma’s people praying silently in their hearts when threatened with death, and how the Lord lightened their burdens.
Testimonies of everyday heroes and first responders in Michigan.
The importance of noticing acts of goodness and compassion even in the midst of tragedy.
My invitation to go out and be the good in the world.
“I would rather go to church with the threat of something happening than stay home in fear. God visits us in our afflictions, and we can choose to be part of the goodness this world so desperately needs.”
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transcript
transcript
Audio file
Audio file
Ep. 232 Reflecting on the Michigan church shooting and fire.mp3
I am Camille Johnson, and this is Finding the Floor.
Stories and reflections of midlife motherhood, family, and finding meaning in it all.
Join me as I share a little piece of my life and figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
where four people lost their lives of the congregants as well as the shooter was killed.
And then I think eight other people were injured due to the whole situation.
I thought it was someone else's church.
And that is kind of how, like, I didn't really think that would ever happen to our church.
And a lot of times, especially let's say in Ohio, we're not like super big.
And so it just seems interesting to be targeted in such a way.
do I think and how do I move forward?
And I'm sure many of you might be thinking that depending on where you live.
And I was thinking that I don't want to be afraid to go to church.
So how do I think about this in a way that I can go forward with faith and not fear?
I don't really want to go into exactly what happened.
I've been just very impressed at a few things that I've heard, especially
the testimony or report of the bishop of the particular ward.
And you can find that on the church news website regarding this situation.
Because how do you even plan for that?
Some random person, we don't even really know the reason why he did that.
There's just speculation that he just hated members of the church.
So that's what he chose to do.
And so I'm just going to share a couple of my thoughts of reflecting on
fight anymore because they had fought A lot.
There's a lot of fighting between the Lamanites and the Nephites.
That's kind of a thing that happens throughout the Book of Mormon if you have read it.
And they used to be called Lamanites.
They even wanted to change their names to the Anti-Nephi Lehis.
And again, they do not want to fight.
So in Alma chapter 24, verse 6, it reads,
Nay, they would not even make any preparations for war.
Yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.
And I love the speech that the king gives.
And the great God has had mercy on us and made these things known unto us that we might not perish.
Therefore in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels
that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.
So they then buried their weapons of war as a sign and a covenant to God.
So they buried their weapons of war and they were willing to lay down their life.
And that is actually what they did.
And in verse 22, it says, and thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay 1005 of them.
And we know they are blessed for they have gone to dwell with their God.
and five people were willing to lay down their life.
They drop their weapons of war.
They choose not to fight anymore.
And more than 1000 people then joined these Anti-Nephi Lehis, converted to Jesus Christ,
because of that willingness of these people to lay down their lives.
It's just sometimes mind-boggling to think that someone
is so full of hate for one particular person that they think it's okay to take their lives.
And I think we need to just be very watchful of that.
And there were some of the reports that I read just of people who were willing to
approach the shooter to protect other people in the church that day, which is just amazing.
And that's really a question, are you willing to do that?
We find the story in Daniel chapter 6.
In fact, he likes him the best out of the presidents and the princes.
And the princes and the presidents of King Darius resent that.
And so what they do is they devise a scheme
And probably at the time, King Darius wasn't really thinking about Daniel.
But Daniel continues to pray three times a day in his home.
And because his windows were open, they see that he is praying.
And there was a specific law or tradition of the Medes and the Persians that
like the law that the king signed could not be altered.
So he could not do anything to save Daniel.
And the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God,
Is thy God whom thou servest continually able to deliver thee from the lions?
Then in 21, then Daniel says unto the king, O king, live forever.
Again, a very cool story of this very willing servant.
and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
So these two situations are different.
The Lamanites actually were not saved.
In this situation, Daniel was saved from the lion's den.
the threat of death, and he was delivered.
And in this situation, it's very different.
And so they're sending things to the historic sites.
Another type of black swan event would be something like 9-11.
that will be found, I'm sure of it.
This is in the Book of Mosiah, and it's the story of Alma.
And there's a bit of a long story or backstory of Alma.
I'll try to put it together a little
So there was this King Noah, who was, we're going to call him a wicked king.
He didn't believe in Jesus Christ.
And he had a lot of high priests who also did not believe.
And so the Lord sent a prophet, Abinadi, to come and tell them that they needed a change.
Most of his high priests didn't listen.
And there were many people who came to him and followed him.
And they were then put in bondage
and made to do hard things, and it was a really hard situation.
And on top of that, they were told that they couldn't pray.
And so I'm going to read about 6 scriptures.
I'm going to start in verse 9 and go through 15.
It says, and this is Amulon, and he's the one that is a Lamanite that is
creating the hard situation for Alma and his people.
And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions, that they began to cry mightily to God.
And this will I do, that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter,
and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light.
where this group of people is being threatened because they're not allowed to pray.
But instead of defying them and praying out loud, they choose to pray in their hearts.
And the Lord is able to strengthen them while they're in bondage and make their burdens seem light.
And eventually they do escape that situation.
in the scripture where the Lord says, I, the Lord, visit my people in their affliction.
He is aware and he does visit his people in the afflictions.
and fire that burned down the whole church, it's hard to know exactly what happened.
the Lord visited them in their afflictions.
I think it can be so easy when you have a string of hard situations.
Why are there so many bad things happening or bad people?
And I think as you have that mindset, you'll be able to find those hard and bad things.
And I wasn't sure if all the dogs were hers.
because some of them weren't on a leash.
And this one dog then runs right into the street.
And it was kind of a busy time of day.
It was just right kind of after schools getting out.
So there were quite a bit of cars, but miraculously, all the cars had stopped.
The dog goes across the street, then comes back.
And there are people in the vicinity that weren't in cars that started helping this woman.
And then there was this car to
ahead of me that stopped, got out, and just tried to help as well.
But there are good people and there are good things happening.
And we can be part of that goodness.
helping to serve others and helping to value people and life.
Even if you totally disagree with someone, it's okay.
Anyway, I just thought it'd be good to take a pause and just really reflect.
on some of the thoughts I've been having after this tragic event.
So I hope that this might help you guys a little bit, but go out and do good.
Thank you guys for listening, and I will talk to you next week.
I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Special thanks to Seth Johnson for creating and performing the theme music.
Come back next week and thanks for listening.
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