BYU student arrested for attempted kidnapping, assault

Daily Herald ^ | April 10, 2010 | Janice Peterson

[greyfoxx39]

PROVO-A Brigham Young University student was arrested on attempted kidnapping and assault charges Thursday after he allegedly used a stun gun on a woman and tried to handcuff her.

Police say Stetson Hallam, 20, was the 19-year-old woman's home teacher in their LDS ward, and the two lived in the same apartment complex south of BYU. Provo police Sgt. Mark Crosby said Hallam had pursued the woman romantically, but she did not have any interest in him. He was persistent in trying to date her, Crosby said, to the point where she felt "creeped out" by Hallam.

"He kind of set her off, that he was just a little weird," Crosby said.

According to a police affidavit, Hallam repeatedly contacted the woman, telling her he had a gift for her. She put off meeting with Hallam until she could have a roommate present, police say, and she was successful until Tuesday.

Around 3 p.m. that day, Hallam contacted the woman and asked to meet with her, according to the affidavit. She reportedly told him she could not because she would be working until 9:30 p.m., and she said he could leave the gift at her apartment. However, when she arrived at her apartment complex, she saw Hallam standing outside and felt he was waiting for her, according to the affidavit. She went to her apartment through a side entrance, but allegedly found Hallam waiting for her at her door.

Hallam allegedly convinced the woman to come with him to a common laundry room in the basement of the complex, where he told her one of his roommates had helped him set up a scavenger hunt for the woman's gift. The woman reportedly told police she could see no signs of other people present and became suspicious.

According to the affidavit, Hallam told the woman the gift was "junk art" and was located in a bin underneath a table in the room. The woman reportedly described the bin to police as five feet long by two feet wide and three feet tall, with a lockable lid and handles. Hallam reportedly told the woman some of her gift was Easter candy, which he had left in his car. He then allegedly left the room, during which time the woman did not approach the bin, believing it may be part of a practical joke, according to police.

When Hallam returned, he allegedly encouraged the woman to open the bin and pulled it out from under the table to alleviate her fear, according to the affidavit. The woman then reportedly opened the bin and found it to be empty.

At this point, Hallam allegedly produced a stun gun, a handheld rectangular device with two metal prongs on the end. He allegedly pressed the device against the woman's arm and she felt a surge pass through her body, according to the affidavit. Police say the surge incapacitated the woman and caused her to collapse to the floor, at which point Hallam pinned her to the ground.

The woman reportedly became frightened for her life and did not know what Hallam's true intentions were, according to the affidavit. She allegedly began screaming and fighting Hallam, who police say placed his hand over her mouth. He also allegedly produced a pair of handcuffs and put one of the rings on the woman's left hand. While he was applying the handcuffs, police say, Hallam's hand slipped and his finger went into the woman's mouth. She allegedly bit down on his finger until he let her go and apologized, claiming it was all an April Fool's joke.

The woman was able to get away and reported the incident to police April 8, according to police. Crosby said he did not know why the report was delayed, but a delay is common with this type of allegations. When she reported the incident, burn marks were still visible on her arm, as was bruising on her wrist, Crosby said.

"Several days later, we're still able to have signs," he said.

Police conducted a search on Hallam's room and car late Thursday night, but Crosby said he does not know what was found. Crosby said police were interested in finding the bin the girl described, which was not an item usually found in the laundry room. Although Crosby said Hallam never tried to force the woman into the bin or trick her into getting inside, he said it is still an important piece of evidence given the circumstances.

"His whole premise was wanting her to open that box," he said.

Hallam was arrested Thursday night and booked into the Utah County Jail, where he is being held on a $5,000 bond on third-degree felony charges of aggravated assault and attempted kidnapping. According to the affidavit, police found a bite mark on the middle finger of Hallam's left hand.

Crosby said police are interviewing Hallam's roommates, but are uncertain which roommate he may have been referring to with the scavenger hunt because Hallam would not speak with police.

"He's not cooperating with us," Crosby said.

Crosby said Hallam does not appear to have any criminal history, and police have found no evidence so far of any history of mental illness.

"That's something that we're going to follow up on," he said.

Carri Jenkins, spokeswoman for BYU, said she had little information about the incident Friday. However, she confirmed that Hallam is a sophomore at the university. She said the university's Honor Code Office will now begin its own review of the incident to determine what actions should be taken. If it is determined that a person is a danger to the community, he or she may be banned from campus, but Jenkins said she does not know what decision will be made in this case.

"Every case is handled on an individual basis," she said.

[ejonesie22]

MY Prophet? Who says Bruce R. McConkie is MY Prophet? Let me point out, that I never confirmed, nor did I deny that I am a member of the LDS church.

LOL...

Oh my...

[Vendome]

LOL, Ooops...

[ejonesie22]

I give it a 6....

[reaganaut]

Ahhh...I remember being young and at BYU. Does Brick Oven still have the best Root Beer?

And, sadly, the LDS emphasis on early marriage tends to make those who have difficulty dating go kinda wacko. While the LDS church may not be directly responsible for this but the attitudes they feed does make this kind of behavior understandable.

Do they still have craft nights for the girls that don’t have dates on Saturday night?

[Vendome]

Titan: You are most unlearned about LDS. They do in fact call out Christianity. I don't have anything against Mormons but their superiority complex and calling all others Apostates and Vile Whores of Babylon, sounds well...You fill in the line. Here is something I wrote a while back:

 

The point of posting LDS authored stories is part of the Proselytizing .

 

Certainly, when LDS knocks on the door of an "Apostate" they expect objections.  Otherwise, why have the Student Manual for Missionaries, in which, they have points and counter points to their non-believers or what could be more accurately called Non-members of the LDS.

 

In fact, LDS missionaries search out opportunities for conversion in the less educated parts of the world where illiteracy is extremely high.  By that, I mean, if one looks at the efforts of LDS in countries south of the American border, you will find illiteracy rates that are in excess of 70%.

 

There is no point in disputing the numbers.  I have been involved in literacy programs for 5 years and the fact is, you can more easily sway someone, with emotion and power of persuasion, who does not read  or more importantly cannot read.  They have no real ability to study or collect thoughts of reason based on information contained within them or discovered by study.  Nothing to study if you can't read, you just take others words for truth.

 

Where is the proof that LDS efforts and growth at directed at countries with lower illiteracy rates?

10 New Missions to be Created, 14 to be Discontinued

Ireland Dublin Mission, one of the missions in Chicago, and a mission or two in Australia will be discontinued.

 

New missions include Peru Cuzco, Guatemala, Philipines, Democratic Republic of Congo Lubumbashi and more.  All new missions being formed outside the U.S. are in areas that have indisputably high illiteracy rates. 

 

A new mission in St George, Utah will stretch all the way to Farmington, New Mexico and is likely being built to support LDS immigrants to the areas of  traditional LDS communities.

 

However, it is interesting to note the total number of missions worldwide will fall by four from 344 to 340.

 

 

Now to the Student Manual for Missionaries and their program for conversion.

 

President Gordon B. Hinckley explained the importance of the Book of Mormon in relation to the Church and the Bible:
“If the Book of Mormon is true, the Church is true, for the same authority under which this sacred record came to light is present and manifest
among us today. It is a restoration of the Church set up by the Savior in Palestine. It is a restoration of the Church set up by the Savior when he visited
this continent as set forth in this sacred record.

 

Okay, so the reasoning is the same as defense of the Bible, which unlike Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, etc, has historical proof of certain events and the geography, where the events took place, is undisputed and the Bible is very stark proof of it's own provenance.

 

Gordon Hinckley continues:

"If the Book of Mormon is true, the Bible is true...."

 

And yet LDS claims the Bible to be rife with mistakes, lost books or purposely misleading.  This while they claim right to the very same scriptures, but maintain interprations of convenience, by way of contrivance.

 

President Benson also offered inspired counsel regarding how to use the Book of Mormon to respond to objections investigators(read possible converts) may have to the restored truths of the gospel:
“We are to use the Book of Mormon in handling objections to the Church. . . .
“. . . All objections, whether they be on abortion, plural marriage, seventh-day worship, etc., basically hinge on whether Joseph Smith and his successors were and are prophets of God receiving divine revelation.

 

• Here, then, is a procedure to handle most objections through the use of the Book of Mormon.
  “First, understand the objection.
  “Second, give the answer from revelation.
  “Third, show how the correctness of the answer really depends on whether or not we have modern revelation through modern prophets.
  “Fourth, explain that whether or not we have modern prophets and revelation really depends on whether the Book of Mormon is true.

So LDS recognizes there are real objections to their faith and to be fair so does Traditional Christianity.  Both have plans for conversions with the key difference between the two being as follows:

 

Church of Christ Latter Day Saints:  Their premise is that most converts come from the foundation of Traditional Christianity, which forms the basis of belief for their doctrine, which is of a slightly different story.  They hold that converts are worshipping Apostate Religions and they are the One True Church and therefore the only arbiters of ones future when it comes to eternal salvation.

 

No reason to look further than where ever you find Christians you will find LDS missionaries teaching a new way of thinking,  a new road to salvation and of a superior system that plays to man's innate vanity and hope to be something  more, such as deifying oneself through work.

 

But first they start their premise with unworthiness and shame the Christian into believing they have been had.  With no real defense of literacy and learnedness the most important decision in one's life is now called into question.

 

What will you do?  If the Book of Mormon is true and your heart is open to learning it's truth, you can be saved.  Bit of a canard and a highly charged emotional question that is a leading question of conscious, heart and spirit.

 

Traditional Christianity:  Here we find missionaries seeking out converts not from other religions but from souls of sola fide(by faith alone) and those very converts come from areas where God, in the light of Traditional Christianity, are not understood by lost souls nor has the salvation of Jesus Christ reached them yet.  Here we can think of China, North Korea, Middle East or Russia where God is a challenge to their authority, especially in the form of Christianity and is therefore outlawed.

 

So difference in Christianity and Mormonism goes to Sola Fide.

 

In Sola Fide we find salvation by God's grace and Jesus paying the ultimate sacrafice and the only path to eternal salvation and it is brought to you by faith alone that your pardon is secure, forever, through the gift of God, who recognizes that man could never hope to work his way to heaven or pay for his salvation as he is an imperfect being.

 

And so "For God so loved the World, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life".

 

Mormons teach a version of God's greatest gift but if comes with qualifiers.  Their belief, in direct contradiction to historical Christian Doctrine, is one must some how become worthy to enter into God's kingdom.  How does one become worthy? There is no answer of specific definition, only that you must perform certain works showing your worthiness and that Joseph Smith will be the one who approves your "Passport" to heaven.  Yes, they do use the term passport in their doctrine, though one wonders what information should be contained in that passport.

 

 

And yet God tells "For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God"  "There is none worthy, No, not one".  Seems pretty clear that God didn't even bother so single anyone out just lumped us all into a definition of lesser beings, who has shown great mercy on despite our incredible shortcomings.

 

Jesus tells us"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God". (John 3:4-5)

 

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” -Ephesians 2:8,9

 

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” –James 2:19.  This presents a huge conflict with Mormon belief that one can become a god, just like God.  It doesn't appear God agrees or approves.

 

“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” –James 2:18.  So we are being presented with what the effect of faith is and that is: a belief, truly of the heart and spirit, will result in works demonstrating your walk in and with Christ.  It will be plainly apparent and motivated by spirit to excersise works of God in daily action or in specific witness of testimony.

 

Now in the Student Manual for Missionaries, of LDS, on page 77 we find the beginning discussion of Apostacy, in which the LDS begin to lay the foundation for proof of a foul religious belief and that theirs is the one and only true way:

Under the direction of Jesus Christ, thepriesthood and the Church were restored through His servants.
The Restoration dispelled the darkness of the Apostasy. Priesthood authority was restored.
Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord organized His Church again upon the earth so that the saving principles and ordinances of the gospel
could be correctly administered in order to help people come unto Christ.

 

President Gordon B. Hinckley also bore witness that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored:
“This is the restored Church of Jesus Christ. . . . We testify that the heavens have been opened, that the curtains have been parted, that God has spoken, and
that Jesus Christ has manifested Himself, followed by a bestowal of divine authority.

 

“Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of this work, and it is built upon a ‘foundation of . . . apostles and prophets’ (Ephesians 2:20)” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 2002, 87; or Ensign, Nov. 2002, 81).

Really?  How can Mormons possilby quote scripture from a book that was organized in the fourth century and specifically call out scripture by chapter and verse, even though they have their provenance in other religions, which are antithetical to your belief and an apostacy in the view of LDS?

 

And now begins the teaching of conversion from other faiths and the superiority of Mormonism with their unique and new scripture:

 

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that faith is part of the fertile ground that nourishes conversion:
“The first seeds of conversion begin with an awareness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a desire to know the truth concerning His restored Church.
‘Let this desire work in you’ (Alma 32:27). A desire to know the truth is like a seed which grows in the fertile ground of faith, patience, diligence and
long-suffering (see Alma 32:27–41). . . .

 

The Church of Christ Latter Day Saints makes no pretense as to who their target market is for conversion.

 

Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught that conversion requires a complete willingness to give up all practices contrary to the teachings of the restored
gospel:

“The gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to change. ‘Repent’ is its most frequent message, and repenting means giving up all of our practices—
personal, family, ethnic, and national—that are contrary to the commandments of God. The purpose of the gospel is to transform common
creatures into celestial citizens, and that requires change” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2003, 39; or Ensign, Nov. 2003, 37).

 

So I could finish a whole dissortation on the subject of specific market converts and what LDS has to say about their doctrine but, suffice to say they are well aware of opposition to their faith and have a plan to counter objections.

 

Also, we are given specific demands of faith, by LDS, in their writings.  So why the opposition to being "called on the carpet" as it were?

 

I think down deep, many in LDS know there are some real challenges in the history of their formation, by "Apostles" and "Prophets".  They also know their founders had some real errors of heart and spirit, such as having several wives and even taking the wives of other men and then having those men officiate or act as witness to their wife being taken by another man.

 

Talk about losing your way.  I mean, what man would accept that god had commanded and ordained another man to take his wife?  Where would you scriptural imprimatur for such a thing?  No where.

 

I will expand on this later but that about does it for today.

[Vendome]

Thanks. I was looking for that. Thought I had saved it.

Got it now.

[Tennessee Nana]

Not sustaining the mormon prophet eh ???

Can you say “apostate” ???

Can you say “someone must have sinned” ???

LOL

[Vendome]

Titan:
Why the equivocating? You drive down the middle of a two way street, pretty soon there is going to be on heck of an accident.

Besides, it serves no good to pretend one is a not a thing they are.

You say you know the suspect and you go to BYU? I just read there are about 100 Non-LDS at BYU. That would mean the rest of the student population is LDS.

Are you in the minority of the census?

[Vendome]

quitters. This thread is slow.

I am going to clean house.

[ejonesie22]

Given the evasiveness of the average LDS member, as well as the fact that “lyin’ for the Lord” is a standard accepted practice, we could guess their membership.

Of course if we take those concepts to their logical conclusion, there could be anywhere from 0 to several million Mormons, depending on who was asking at any given time and why...

[mrreaganaut]

I know that they have the same organization that existed in the very church that Christ himself originally set up, which consists of apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. Christ had all of these in the Bible.

Where do you find the First Presidency?

Are you implying that we need to do more than Christ? I’m sorry, but I personally believe that that is not possible. We cannot come close.

Now, if you can't come close to Christ's holiness, how do you plan to earn your exaltation?

[Vendome]

Bye.

That was quick.

[Vendome]

But, they are not Christian. They make it clear. Why the dysfunction of inability to self identify? I don’t get it.

Subterfuge for what and to what end? To lie? For Christ?

Isn’t that like asking Christ to come down off the cross, as it was all a big joke in the first place? He is, after all, and has the power of, God.

Meaning the power of life and further, God cannot be destroyed.

[reaganaut]

A true Christian is someone who strives to be like Jesus. It’s that simple.

Ummm...no. A True Christian is one who trusts Christ alone and His righteousness (not our own) to bring us into the presence of God the Father for eternity, aka Salvation (exaltation to the LDS). It has nothing to do with 'our striving' since we are sinful creatures who cannot 'choose the right' on our own.

A True Christian is one that is spiritually reborn through faith in Christ by His Grace. It has nothing to do with a 'church' or 'ordinances' or our works. To say it does insults Christ by nullifying His shed blood on the Cross.

I know Jesus did not bash on other churches; he simply taught what he knew to be true.

Umm..again, NO. First there were no 'churches' in the first Century, Christ did not come to start a denomination. Secondly, Christ ripped the Pharisees to shreds for their legalism and emphasis on their works.

There are plenty of non-LDS people out there who will speak very kindly of the LDS church and defend it.

Not really. Those who defend the LDS (and consider them to be Christians) generally have no real idea of their history and doctrine or teachings. They have not heard the 'meat' of the LDS gospel. So if you are NOT LDS, then stay awhile and get an education. However, your assumptions lead me to believe you ARE LDS and a faithful one at that.

I did miss the part about how the foundation of the LDS church is trashing other Christians.

Start with the First Vision. There are many other quotes as well.

[Vendome]

Start with the First Vision. There are many other quotes as well.

And there’s that...

Poor Presbyterians.

[reaganaut]

So much for the LDS never attacking other churches.

[Vendome]

Well not churches per say, but, “Christians”.

And still they are dipping their toe into the definition, for cover.

[Vendome]

I am just not comfortable with their duplicity.

[reaganaut]

pretty much.

[reaganaut]

I am not either.