Dead, in more ways than one.
Posted on 12/13/2007 11:44:15 AM PST by colorcountry
KSL News has learned the man who went on a shooting rampage at two Colorado church properties had been baptized into the LDS Church a year ago.
Matthew Murray killed four people and wounded several others Sunday, before he turned the gun on himself. He targeted people at two Christian churches, posting anti-religion messages online before the shootings. But a year ago, he welcomed religion in his life, according to one man who taught Murray about the Latter-day Saint faith.
A.J. Ormond was there the day Matthew Murray was baptized. He says he immediately noticed a change; Murray seemed happy, calm, at peace. It was a demeanor that changed dramatically in just a year.
"He seemed like a normal person, maybe a little sheltered." That's how A.J. Ormond remembers Matthew Murray, the man police say shot and killed two at a Youth with Mission Center in Arvada, then two sisters at a New Life Church in Colorado Springs 12 hours later.
Before the attacks, he posted hate-filled messages online like "You Christians brought this on yourselves," and "All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you... as I can."
"I think everybody goes through 'Is there anything I could have done? Anything?'", Ormond said.
Ormond met Murray in November 2006 in Colorado. Murray wanted to learn more about the LDS church. Ormond and his wife worked with the missionaries in their ward.
"I think he was interested in learning about all religions, trying to figure out what fit him and his beliefs and finding somewhere where he could fit in," Ormond said.
Ormond describes Murray as polite and friendly, a young man who, despite his family's protests, was seriously contemplating devoting his life to the LDS Church. Murray's experience with the LDS Church culminated with his baptism. Soon after, he stopped going to church; and just a little over a year later, Murray was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to his head following a shootout with a security guard.
The photos of him splashed on TV were easily recognizable to Ormond; his motives, though, a mystery. Ormond said, "It was obvious that it wasn't the person we had known that had committed those shootings and those murders."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement saying, "We checked our records, and they confirm that Matthew Murray of Englewood, Colorado, was baptized about a year ago."
Beyond that, the church said it would have no comment.
A rag? (KSL is owned by the LDS church.) Attempt (Next you'll tell us that the MSM escorted him into membership classes, too)
I strongly suspect he had an undiagnosed and untreated mental illness.
True. But posting an article that was featured on an MSM outlet is not the same thing as badmouthing, and actually the discussion should be that the MSM outlet is calling this to our attention because someone else is a Mormon too. Smear using guilt by association, and appealing to an emotion rather than reason or logic. This is an MSM tactic, and to discuss that is not badmouthing Mormons.
Maybe the underpants pushed him over the edge.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement saying, “We checked our records, and they confirm that Matthew Murray of Englewood, Colorado, was baptized about a year ago.”
The question would be: did Matthew actually attend the secret ceremony in person?
Let the bashing begin. What secret ceremony are you talking about ?
Maybe the underpants pushed him over the edge.
Now this is a smear.
Amen to your post. Agree 100%.
’ untreated mental illness.’
It is treated now.
Well said.
True, and I'm in awe of the actions of the lady who "treated" him.
Could be.
Before we start blaming the parents based on this kid’s rantings on-line, I think it’s important to realize that these writings are all from his perspective...Parents make mistakes, but I wouldn’t put too much credence in his rantings....people like this always blames others, never himself.
Dead, in more ways than one.
Since you are here in CO, don’t you find it interesting that the media is so concerned about the ‘why’? It seems to me that question is similar to post-9/11 musings about why the Muslims hate us. This kid hated people enough to kill some of them, I don’t really care about his motivations, just glad to see him stopped before he killed more. Somehow I believe this rampage will be all my fault by the time the media is done.
Equally sad and terrible are born-again Christians Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in 2001, and Deanna Laney who smashed her sons' skulls with large rocks after hearing the voice of "God" tell her to do it.
I could list life-long Catholics, Jews, Lutherans etc who have committed heinous crimes and mass murders. But what's the point?
There is no point, no matter how desperate the Mitt-haters and Mormon bashers are to make one.
It's pretty disgusting, isn't it? There's no good anti-gun angle, since the only reason this nut didn't kill 100 people is that a private person had a CC permit and used her gun to stop it before it really got started.
So, it's a perfect opportunity to bash Christians, i.e. evangelical Christianity makes people crazy. Sheesh.
to blame it on LDS is a cop-out!
agreed
I thought we had determined this has nothing to do with Mitt, or Mormons.
This is a news piece put uout by the LDS Church owned KSL. It is news, period.
It seems you might have a chip on your shoulder, and preconceived notions that every is out to “get” you.
That is the last word I post on the Mitt subject on this thread.
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