The following was shared by @TheMormonNews on X.
“Stop talking. There is an active shooter in the Grand Blanc ward.”
That’s the text our YW president read one year ago today, mid-planning for a Christmas party. “We need to pray,” she said. Four people didn’t survive that day. A thread on what this year has actually been like.
That building was our stake center. My wife and daughter were there the night before. I grew up in the church there, from basketball tournaments to youth dances, even my first kiss.
The people inside weren’t just a tragic headline – they were part of our stake family.
We didn’t know what was going to happen next. Was this a targeted attack on all LDS buildings? Were we in danger? Church was cancelled, the building evacuated. My bishop said he would stay in case any members showed up. I wasn’t going to let him stay alone.
Watching the news and seeing the smoldering building, interviews with friends I’ve known for years, the carnage afterward, I went numb. A year later, I’m still trying to figure out how to feel.
Non-local friends sometimes ask “Are people healing?” I don’t dare speak for those in the Grand Blanc Ward. They lived through something I will never fully comprehend.
In my ward, the tragedy still lingers, like a dark shadow.
Members have confided in me that they still think about it regularly, asking themselves “Could it happen here? What would we do?”
I have those thoughts at least monthly when I am sitting on the stand during our Sacrament meetings.
In Latter-day Saint scripture, an angel asks a central figure of the Book of Mormon “Knowest thou the condescension of God?”
He answers: “I know that He loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”
I don’t know why this happened to our friends. But I know God loves them.
If you know someone from the Grand Blanc congregation, reach out to them today. And if you don’t, just hold them in your thoughts. They’re still carrying this.
If you would like to support the healing in Grand Blanc, the Victims Compassion Fund was established by Grand Blanc Township and its police department in partnership with the LDS Church to support those affected by the Sept. 28 shooting.
Man, three churches! Yikes. That is sad.
I have also thought about our Ward b
eing attacked like the one in Michigan. We have had three LDS churches burned here in St. George,Utah. Also several other instances that could have been tragic but weren’t. I suspect things will only get worse, like when Joseph Smith was alive. Our only repreave will be when our Savior returns.