This line from our hymn "Praise to the Man Who Communed with Jehovah" is what I am leaning on regarding the new "gun ban" at church. Like many Latter-day Saints, I'm a gun enthusiast. I enjoy sport shooting. I am a concealed-carry permit holder. I am armed wherever I go, unless specifically forbidden by law.
For a long time, the Church's policy has been to prohibit carrying firearms at church meetings and activities. The recent "policy change" really isn't a policy change. It just reiterates the policy that has been in place. Under the laws of my state, I can still legally carry a concealed firearm at church. If someone were to discover my concealed gun, the church could legally ask me to leave the premises and I would have to leave. To remain would constitute trespassing and I could be charged with that offense if I refused to leave.
I understand the church's policy. I certainly doesn't seem right to be at a youth activity night or teaching a Primary class and be carrying a firearm. Yet, it's the reality of our time that some anti-Mormon nutjob or a mentally-il member of the church could show up at a sacrament meeting with a semi-automatic pistol and take a couple dozen of us out before he could be subdued. I used to home-teach a guy who had been institutionalized for mental illness. He was kind of scary. I told my wife, whenever I'd go visit him, if I'm not back in an hour, call the police.
The fact is that we latter-day saints occasionally face danger because of our religion. In Europe, as a young missionary, I was struck in the head with a brick by an old man as I rode by on a bicycle. Young punks (literal punks like the Sex Pistols) spit on me. A small mob formed as my companion and I were knocking on doors in an apartment building. The crowd roughed us up and threw us out. That was the first time in my life I really ever thought my life was in danger.
Therefore, I'm not thrilled with the "ban" on carrying at church meetings, but I will obey the Prophet on it. Why? Because I believe there is safety in obedience. It mayreceives us into glory for trying to follow the counsel of his servants.receives us into glory for trying to follow the counsel of his servants. sound superstitious to the uninformed, but I have seen the blessings of obedience to a specific policy in the past. On my mission, we were required to wear suit jackets after 5:30 p.m. In the late summer, it could often be upwards of 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It would have been a lot more comfortable to wear a short sleeve-shirt without a jacket after riding a couple of miles on a bicycle. Some missionaries ignored the policy. My companion and I obeyed it, even though we didn't like it. One night, a big German shepherd attacked my companion as we worked in an upscale neighborhood. The doctor told him afterward that the only thing that saved him from losing his arm was the fact that he was wearing a jacket.
From that experience, I learned that the Lord blesses obedience in ways you might not expect. For that reason, I comply with the church's gun ban. I pray that we don't become sitting ducks for a mass shooter. I have to trust that the Lord, who could have sent 10,000 legions of angels to save the Son of Man from crucifixion, will protect us in a bad situation. If not, I hope he gives us some "extra credit" for following the Prophet.
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