Mormons raise nearly $200,000 for family of gunman who attacked their church

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were in deep grief after a gunman ambushed a worship service in Michigan on Sunday, killing four people and wounding eight others.

They started fundraisers for the victims. Then they did something remarkable: They began donating money to the wife and son of Thomas Jacob Sanford, the man who police say carried out the attack.

That fundraiser, which has raised close to $200,000, has collected donations from more than 5,000 people, many of them Latter-day Saints.

“Sanford leaves behind a wife and children who must be grieving. They will face financial hardship and psychological trauma as a result of this week’s horrifying events,” reads the GiveSendGo page, which was started by Dave Butler, a member of the Latter-day Saints who said he doesn’t have a connection to the Sanfords or to Grand Blanc, where the shooting happened.

“The Epistle of James says that we should care for the widows and orphans,” Butler told The Washington Post. “I wanted to make sure that we were taking care of them, and thousands of people, it turns out, agree with me.”

Some of the donations are anonymous, but many of the givers identify themselves as Latter-day Saints.

One of the comments reads, “I hope this helps you during the incredibly difficult and confusing time.” Another: “Wishing you strength, hope, comfort, and healing. In time. You are loved.”

Police say that Sanford, a 40-year-old veteran of the Iraq War, barreled his pickup truck into the chapel and then opened fire as services were underway in the crowded sanctuary. Sanford then set the chapel ablaze, they said. He was killed in a shootout with two officers.

Sanford harbored hatred toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to longtime friends, and told a stranger who showed up at his door days before the attack that Latter-day Saints were the “Antichrist.”

Sanford began making those sentiments known years ago after his return from Utah, where he broke up with a girlfriend who was a member of the faith, two childhood friends said Tuesday. Sanford had moved to Utah after leaving the Marines and told his friends he had become addicted to methamphetamines.

According to Facebook posts from his family, Sanford’s son suffers from a rare medical condition called congenital hyperinsulinism. Butler mentioned this on his GiveSendGo page, and many of the commenters who donated mentioned it too.

“I cannot imagine the heartache and emotional pain that you must be experiencing. Hold that little one close. Through Christ, all can find true healing. Continued prayers your way,” wrote one donor.

Another donation from an “LDS mama” was accompanied by a comment saying, “My heart grieves with yours at your loss and for your sick child.”

A $250 donation had the comment: “We are LDS. We are sorry for your loss. May God bless and watch over you and your son.”

Sanford’s father said in a text that he was grateful for the fundraiser. “Our family is grieving so much right now, I can’t find any words to express our appreciation but the right time will eventually come, thank you so much.”

Dan McClellan, a religious scholar and member of the Latter-day Saints, said that “radical displays of forgiveness” are common in the community.

“It’s an ideal within the LDS community that is brought up quite frequently, and not in any small part because Latter-day Saints have a history of being marginalized and persecuted,” he said. “And they do quite a bit of marginalizing and persecuting of their own, but forgiving enemies is something that is always at the forefront of messaging for the LDS Church.”

“Holding a grudge is like holding onto a burning coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else. And it just hurts you more than it hurts them,” McClellan added. “I think forgiveness is a way to put that down.”

Butler, who started the fundraiser, emphasized that this isn’t unique to the Latter-day Saints. He said that it’s common to all faiths and that nonbelievers are donating, too.

“I would love to say we’re extraordinary,” Butler said. “Our teachings are the same as everybody else’s. You know, be good to the poor and the downtrodden. Lift up those who have been knocked down.”

Butler said his role is small.

“The GiveSendGo took like three minutes to set up,” he said. “I just pointed out that there was another family here that lost their father. And that on top of the economic deprivation that results from that, they have the special trauma of guilt. And I don’t think that they are guilty.”

Butler said the thousands of donations were evidence that humans can be compassionate even when they are suffering.

“My 4,000-whatever followers, it’s not all Mormons,” Butler said. “Mormons did this, yes. And we did it in the community with other people. Including, I think, with some unbelievers. So I think there’s also a story here that is a human story.”