Sunday morning in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, was supposed to be about worship and community.
Instead, it turned into chaos.
A man plowed his truck through the front doors of a Latter-day Saints chapel, pulled out a rifle, opened fire, and even tried to set the building on fire.
He was shot and killed by police – just eight minutes later – but by then four people were dead, eight more were wounded, and an entire congregation was left in shock.
The Attacker
The shooter was 40-year-old Thomas “Jake” Sanford, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq.
He wasn’t some stranger to the area.
Folks say he carried a long-standing grudge against the LDS church, calling it “the antichrist” in conversations.
He also had prior convictions, including burglary and drunk driving.
Helping the Innocent Left Behind
Instead of pouring all their energy into rage, many Latter-day Saints chose forgiveness.
A Utah LDS author, David Butler, started a fundraiser for Sanford’s widow and children. Yes – the family of the shooter.
He figured it might bring in a few thousand dollars to help them get by.
Instead, it’s raised over $275,000 in just a few days.
Donors left comments like “No barriers to compassion” and “Forgiveness frees the forgiver.”
Sanford’s widow said she was overwhelmed, and his sister admitted the family was bracing for hate but found unexpected grace instead.
Should Families of Criminals Get Help Too?
Critics argue the money should only go to victims’ families, not to the family of the man who caused the tragedy.
Supporters counter that the shooter’s wife and kids didn’t pull the trigger. Why punish them?
And that’s where this story hits a nerve in today’s America.
Most headlines are about blame, division, and never letting anything go. Forgiveness doesn’t exactly trend on social media.
Nevada’s LDS Community
Nevada is second only to Utah in Mormon population, with about 180,000 members statewide.
Our LDS communities in Las Vegas and Reno have deep ties in our communities.
These local churches know firsthand that mercy works better than bitterness.
That’s the conservative takeaway: strong families and faith communities do more to rebuild lives than any top-down program ever could.
Forgiveness Is Strength, Not Weakness
The Michigan attack was brutal. No one is downplaying that.
In fact, this incident follows another incident just months before at a different Michigan church – CrossPointe Community in Wayne.
Their church was also driven into by an armed attacker, and it was an armed deacon and a security guard who stopped the gunman before lives were lost.
But the response to the attack in Grand Blanc Township has been something we rarely see – faith in action.
The kind of “radical forgiveness” that turns a headline of hate into a story of hope.
It also throws a little cold water on today’s culture of outrage.
While the rest of the world argues over politics, this congregation put mercy where their mouths are.
As Butler explained when he launched the fundraiser, he was just trying to live out scripture about caring for widows and orphans.
That’s a reminder of the values that built this country – values we could use a lot more of.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
