Attacks against
seminary and institute buildings, historic sites,
missionary training centers,
meetinghouses and
temples of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States and other countries have taken the form of arson, vandalism, and armed attacks. This timeline documents acts of violence and major vandalism against such Latter-day Saint places of worship, historical sites, training centers, and administrative properties, including an ongoing series of arson attacks beginning in 2018.
1850 September 15 – In
Spalding, England, a mob assaulted and overpowered a Church member who was guarding entry to a meetinghouse in use by fellow Latter-day Saints, compelling him inside; the mob then attacked the building and forced entry thereinto. On leaving the town that evening, Latter-day Saints from this congregation were later physically attacked by members of this mob.[2]
1857 July 29 – Church members were attacked in a meetinghouse by locals in
Birmingham, England; windows were destroyed, door hinges were torn off, and a door to the building was temporarily stolen.[3]
1857 October 11 – Church members and their meetinghouse were physically attacked by locals in
Bristol, England.[4]
1858 July 20 – Church members were attacked in a meetinghouse by locals in
Whitechapel, England; windows were destroyed, Latter-day Saints were physically assaulted with gravel and dirt and verbally abused as well.[5]
1884 August 10 – A home being used as a meetinghouse in
Lewis County, Tennessee was attacked by ten to twelve masked men, who shot and killed four Church members in cold blood.[6] The event is known today as Tennessee's Mormon Massacre.
20th century
1901-2000
1901 August 8 – A meetinghouse in Davis Chapel (now known as Hale Spring)[7] in
Marshall County, Kentucky was burned to the ground.[8][9]
1902 June 16 – A meetinghouse was attacked in Davis Chapel (now known as Hale Spring) in Marshall County, Kentucky, resulting in one Church convert being wounded in the leg by gunshot.[9]
1980 February 20 – A meetinghouse in
Tooele, Utah was damaged by a bomb in its parking lot, causing about $5,000 in damages.[19]
1980 May – A stake center that had not yet been completed was destroyed in an act of arson in
Cody, Wyoming.[20]
1983 October 3 – A meetinghouse in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania was damaged in an act of arson related to a burglary, resulting in $25,000 in damages.[21]
1984 January – A meetinghouse in
Marlboro, Massachusetts was totally destroyed in an act of arson just shortly after it had been built, resulting in $500,000 worth of damages.[22][23]
1989 July 4 – Seven masked assailants entered a meetinghouse in the
La Florida district of Santiago, Chile, forced a missionary at gunpoint to undress, then threw a firebomb into the meetinghouse library.[31]
1990 January 2 – The Omar-Torrijos Anti-Intervention Command group firebombed a meetinghouse in
Caracas, Venezuela.[36][37]
1990 October 5 – A meetinghouse was bombed in the La Florida district of Santiago, Chile.[38]
1990 November 27 – A meetinghouse in
Taylorsville, Utah was damaged in arson during a volleyball tournament inside consisting of about 150 players and spectators; the meetinghouse was evacuated. Nobody is reported to have died; about $1,500 worth of damages was caused.[39][40]
1990 December 6 – Four meetinghouses were bombed in Santiago, Chile.[41]
1991 December 22 – Six bombs were set off in Chile: five in Santiago and one in
Valdivia; two of the targeted sites were meetinghouses of the Church.[49]
1992 March 29 – A meetinghouse was bombed in Santiago, Chile.[50]
1993 February 20 – A meetinghouse in
Essex, Maryland was damaged in an act of arson, resulting in $3 million worth of damages.[60][61]
1993 July 24–25 – Nearly a dozen meetinghouses in
Davis County, Utah were vandalized over the course of a weekend; locks were glued, windows were smashed, and some vehicles were also damaged. The meetinghouses were located in
Farmington,
Kaysville,
Layton,
Clinton, and
Clearfield.[62]
1997 March 14 – A meetinghouse in
South Jordan, Utah was burned in an act of arson; its organ was destroyed in the fire.[64][40]
1998 June 28 – A meetinghouse in
Roswell, New Mexico was burned in an act of arson, resulting in $2.5 million in damages.[65][66][67]
2000 January 3 – A meetinghouse and Seminary building in
Sandy, Utah was damaged in an act of arson.[40][68][69]
21st century
2001-2010
2001 January 20/21 – A meetinghouse in
Gig Harbor, Washington was vandalized, resulting in damages around $40,000 to $50,000.[70][71]
2001 May 25 – A meetinghouse in Sandy, Utah was vandalized, resulting in at least $100,000 worth of damages.[72]
2001 June 12 – A meetinghouse in
West Valley City, Utah was burned in an act of arson, resulting in $300,000 worth of damages.[40][72]
2001 June 22 – A meetinghouse in Salt Lake City, Utah was vandalized.[72][73]
2001 July 3 – A meetinghouse in
Lexington, Ohio was burned in an act of arson.[74]
2001 July 22 – A meetinghouse in
Nephi, Utah was vandalized with graffiti.[75][76]
2002 June 30 – A meetinghouse in
Lansing, Michigan was leveled due to an act of arson, resulting in approximately $5 million worth of damages.[77]
2003 April 6 – A meetinghouse in
Murray, Utah was burned in an act of arson, resulting in damages worth less than $5,000.[40][78]
2003 August 2 – A meetinghouse in
Kearns, Utah was burned in an act of arson; the man responsible for the arson also stole a Church checkbook from the building, which led to his capture.[79][80][81][82][83]
2004 June 24 – A meetinghouse's trees were destroyed in
Riverton, Utah, resulting in approximately $10,000 worth of damages.[84]
2004 December 29 – A meetinghouse in Sandy, Utah was vandalized with derogatory remarks towards homosexuals, blacks, and members of the Church spray-painted; this resulted in several thousand dollars' worth of damages.[86]
2005 February 27 – A meetinghouse in
Rose, Idaho was burned by arsonists who piled up charred furniture at the front entrance and set the structure a fire.[87]
2005 September 7 – A meetinghouse under construction in
North Las Vegas, Nevada was burned by arsonist's fire. The $3 million dollar building was a complete loss.[88][89]
2008 November 13 – An envelope containing white powder was sent to and opened in the Salt Lake Temple; around the same time, similar substances were sent to the
Los Angeles California Temple and to a Catholic fraternity. The substances were later found not to be hazardous.[97][98]
2008 November 24 – A meetinghouse in
Farmington, Utah was damaged in an act of vandalism.[98]
2009 September 7/8 – A meetinghouse in the Sellwood area of
Portland, Oregon was vandalized, resulting in thousands of dollars' worth of damage.[99]
2010 August 29 – A
bishop was shot and killed in his office at one of the Church's meetinghouses in
Visalia, California.[100]
2012 June 9 – Two meetinghouses in
Logan, Utah (as well as nine other buildings pertaining to other religions/churches) were damaged in an act of vandalism.[108]
2012 June 29 – A fire that destroyed a 50-year-old meetinghouse in
Tolleson, Arizona was confirmed to be the work of an arsonist.[109]
2012 June 30/July 1 – A meetinghouse in
Cedar City, Utah was vandalized, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in damage.[110]
2013 May 5 – A failed
Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window of a meetinghouse in
Ogden, Utah; the remains of the incendiary device still caused approximately $1,000 in damage.[112]
2013 May 13 – A meetinghouse in
Magna, Utah was burned in an act of arson.[113]
2013 November 7 – Three meetinghouses in
Chubbuck, Idaho were damaged in acts of vandalism, with obscenities and antagonistic slurs painted thereon.[114][115][116][117]
2014 October 15 – Two men and a male minor broke in and vandalized a meetinghouse in
Duchesne, Utah; they also stole various items and about $500 of tithing money.[119]
2015 July 14 – A week after a meetinghouse in the
Glassell Park area of
Los Angeles, California was burned due to a brush fire, a local gang defaced the remains of the building with graffiti.[120]
2016 July 26 – A meetinghouse in
Las Vegas, Nevada was burned in an act of arson. A firefighter's union hall across the street was also targeted.[127]
2016 November 12 – The outbuilding of a meetinghouse in
Rexburg, Idaho was vandalized with spray paint.[128]
2016 December 10 – A meetinghouse in
Guelph, Ontario was damaged in an act of vandalism.[129]
2017 March 1 – A meetinghouse in the
Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, California was heavily damaged by fire, and investigation could not determine the cause.[130]
2017 October 18/19 – A meetinghouse in
Dublin, Ohio was vandalized.[131]
2018 January 9 – A meetinghouse in Twin Falls, Idaho was vandalized with graffiti.[132]
2018 May 12 – A man broke into the
St. George Utah Temple, broke its windows, attacked some of its temple workers, and smeared blood through an area of the temple.[133][134]
2018 July 22 – A gunman entered a meetinghouse in
Fallon, Nevada, killing one person and injuring another.[136][137]
2018 August 26/27 – The interior of a meetinghouse in
Spanish Fork, Utah was vandalized, resulting in $5,000 worth of damages.[138][139]
2018 November 17 – A teenager assaulted and strangled a 70-year-old female organist who was rehearsing on the organ at a meetinghouse in
Centerville, Utah; the attacker is believed to have gained entry to the meetinghouse by throwing a rock through one of its windows.[140][141]
2018 December 2 – Five people were injured in a mass knife attack at a meetinghouse in
Goiânia, Brazil.[142]
2018 December 4 – A couch was set on fire in an attempt to burn down a meetinghouse in
Fort Collins, Colorado.[143]
2020 January 9 – Joshua Adams Hale pled guilty to willfully and maliciously set fire to and burned the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
Cherry Creek, South Dakota.[171]
2020 February 5 – A missionary training center in
São Paolo, Brazil was infiltrated by an intruder armed with a knife; the intruder was shot and killed by police.[172]
2020 May 26 – Honolulu police launched an arson investigation involving an early morning church fire in
Kalaeloa, Hawaii that investigators determined was intentionally set.[173]
2020 August 3 – A gunman fired shots at the Church's missionary training center in Provo, Utah.[174]
2020 November 12 – A meetinghouse was vandalized in
Moab, Utah.[176]
2021-Present
2021 January 17 – Randy Louis White, 35, of
Sacramento admitted to breaking the window of a meetinghouse in
Willows, California, entering the building and purposely starting fire to the building.[177][178][179]
2021 February 25 – A meetinghouse in Provo, Utah was damaged in an act of arson.[180]
2021 October 9 – A meetinghouse in
Syracuse, Utah was damaged in acts of arson and vandalism.[195][196]
2021 November 12 – Two men carrying
firearms entered a meetinghouse in
Torreón, Coahuila during a zone conference among the
missionaries of the Church in that area. There were 70 missionaries (57 elders, 13 sisters) in attendance along with the
mission president and his wife. The two men demanded
cell phones,
tablets, and
wallets, assaulting some of the missionaries in the process; the mission president and his wife were also assaulted and threatened with a knife.[197][198][199]
2021 December 28 or 29 – $30,000 in property damage occurred during a break-in at a meetinghouse in
Kirtland, New Mexico.[210]
2022 January 2 – A meetinghouse's windows were damaged in an act of vandalism in
Park City, Utah.[211][212]
2022 March 27 – Windows of the
Brigham Young Winter Home and Office (a historic site/museum of the Church) in St George, UT were broken in an act of vandalism, resulting in approximately $4,000 in damage.[213]
2022 April 28 – The roof of a meetinghouse in
Modesto, California was intentionally but minimally damaged in an act of vandalism.[214]
2022 May 21 – A pro-abortion group vandalized a meetinghouse in
Olympia, Washington as well as the buildings of three other faiths in the area.[215]
2022 June 29 – A meetinghouse was vandalized in
Monroe, Utah with graffiti.[216]
2022 July 20 – Fourteen meetinghouses were vandalized in St. George, Utah, in Hurricane, Utah, and in
Washington, Utah by a group of three individuals.[217][218][219]
2022 November 13 – A meetinghouse in
Perry, Utah was damaged in an act of vandalism; it is estimated that thousands of dollars' worth of damage was done.[230]
2023 January 11 – A Molotov cocktail was thrown at the
LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.[234]
2023 February 12 – A meetinghouse in
Elko, Nevada was damaged during a break-in, wherein two fires were set.[235]
2023 April 28 – A meetinghouse in
Cherry Grove, Alberta was destroyed due to unknown circumstances by fire. First responders stated circumstances were suspicious. The nearby post office also suspiciously caught on fire.
[236]
2023 May 10 – The windows and property inside of a meetinghouse in
Johnstone, Scotland were vandalized.[236]
2023 September 21 – Nearly 3 dozen meetinghouses in the southwest portion of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah were burglarized and vandalized.[237][238][239][240]