Separating Fact from Fiction Following Charlie Kirk’s Murder: Latter-day Saints Are Peaceful Followers of Jesus Christ

The tragic murder of conservative champion Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10^th has unleashed a torrent of misinformation about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From media accounts, Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old shooter, reportedly came from a multi-generational Latter-day Saint home in Saint George, Utah, though reports suggest he had drifted from the faith in recent years. Amid the confusion, prominent voices have intimated or asserted that heretical “Mormon doctrine” somehow fostered this violence. As an active sixth-generation Latter-day Saint in California, who was born in Provo and resided for some time close to where the assassination occurred, I feel compelled to separate fact from fiction. 

America’s Mormon story began with Joseph Smith’s theophany in upstate New York in the early 1820s and moved west with his prophetic successor and modern-day Moses, Brigham Young, who dispatched thousands of pioneers from Utah to tame the hostile wilderness of the Southwest beginning in the late 1840s. These settlers, including many of my ancestors like Alexander Beckstead and Benjamin Franklin Johnson, established thriving communities along the Rocky Mountains to the Mexican border, transforming arid wasteland into productive farms and industries. They came fleeing Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs’s 1838 Extermination Order and Illinois mob violence—including my own forebears—seeking not conquest but sanctuary where they could worship God and build Zion without interference.

They were not left alone, and yet after almost two centuries of political persecution, Latter-day Saints (or “Mormons” as we were pejoratively labeled early on in our history) somehow maintain an unabashedly patriotic American spirit. With millions of adherents scattered in congregations called “wards” throughout the west, Latter-day Saints continue to play an outsized role in civic life, perpetuating a legacy of industrious faith symbolized by the beehive with cooperation, hard work, and self-reliance.

But did LDS doctrine “grow” an assassin? Absolutely not. The Church is built around the sanctity of life and the pursuit of peace. It welcomes all seekers regardless of background, politics, or past, but discipleship demands the whole soul consecrated to the core principles Jesus Christ established during his earthly ministry. 

Our Articles of Faith declare: “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” We also build temples to extend the blessings of salvation to every soul who lived without the chance to hear or accept the commission to repent and be baptized. From all accounts, Robinson’s path in the Church diverged long before last week’s horror, likely influenced by personal struggles and the digital echo chambers that ensnare too many young people today. 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” issued by President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1995. This sacred document affirms that families are eternal, that marriage between man and woman reflects divine order, and that parents have the primary responsibility to instruct their children in love and righteousness. These are not political talking points but eternal truths that anchor our faith.

Violence? We eschew it. Our scriptures include the Holy Bible and we are well versed in the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. Our prophets, ancient and modern, unequivocally teach: “Thou shalt not murder.” Christ Himself commands peacemaking: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Days before the shooting, Russell M. Nelson, beloved President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reflected on his long life of discipleship in Time magazine, writing, “My faith teaches me that over two millennia ago, Jesus Christ preached these same laws of happiness: to love God and to love our neighbor. After 101 years, I can say that these are not abstract theological ideas—they are practical wisdom.”

We are unapologetically on Team Jesus and spend every day bettering ourselves through devotions to him so our Savior may help us stand firm against evil with courage and clarity, without being pushovers. True kindness confronts confusion rather than enabling it through superficial niceness.

Critics, particularly from evangelical circles like Mark Driscoll, label us a “cult” worshipping a “false Jesus,” twisting Galatians 1:8 to dismiss our restoration of ancient truths. Yet, facts cut through the noise: Charlie Kirk himself, in his final public statements, expressed deep affection for “the Mormons,” praising our shared conservative values and dismissing sordid statements from other antagonists. Evangelical scholar Richard Mouw echoed this bridge-building spirit at a 2004 interfaith conference in Salt Lake City conference, confessing he had been wrong to caricature Latter-day Saints and urging dialogue over division, much to the dismay of a few of his friends.

This tragedy also exposes the failure of lazy political labels. Utah votes overwhelmingly Republican but scratch the surface and you will find libertarian DNA born of historical persecution with a “leave us alone” ethos that is not isolationism but hard-won wisdom valuing limited government. Joseph Smith famously taught from the beginning, “Teach men correct principles, and they govern themselves.” States with high concentrations of Latter-day Saints, including Utah, Idaho and Arizona, have political cultures reflecting a renegade pioneer spirit that is industrious, family-centered, and suspicious of outside interference. Radical leftists regularly dismiss our cultural heritage of service, education, self-reliance while rejecting the faith that bloomed the desert into a rose, benefitting them generations hence.

The Church once was a political machine, canvassing the country during Joseph Smith’s 1844 presidential campaign before his martyrdom in Illinois. After the United States government seized much of its property in the late 1890s, the Church is determined to maintain political neutrality, urging members to vote conscience over conformity. As such, we are not reducible to red-versus-blue paradigms because our primary allegiance transcends politics; it is to Jesus Christ and His gospel of love, repentance, and redemption. We support those in office who can create an environment and economy where the gospel can flourish, rendering as little unto Cesar as we must.

Robinson’s story is not a result of Christ’s teachings; it is despite them. He represents a cautionary tale of unchecked isolation and digital radicalization. Long before he pulled that trigger, he had chosen to reject the protective boundaries of covenant living and surrender himself to the misanthropic internet. The responsibility for Kirk’s death is Robinson’s alone.

All Christians should acknowledge that the fruits of faithful discipleship speak louder than any tragedy, regardless of sect or denomination. Stable families, extensive humanitarian aid, educational institutions, and welfare programs serving all regardless of their particular faith demonstrate the hope and charity within us. We seek to nurture every child of God, not to destroy those with whom we may disagree.

If you want the real story of what Latter-day Saints believe, skip the antagonistic preachers, pundits, and shallow news reports. Talk to us directly. Visit a chapel during our Sunday worship. Invite the missionaries into your home for a conversation. Chat with believing neighbors in your community. We are ordinary folks committed to Jesus Christ’s gospel of peace, love, and resilience. We believe that true strength comes only “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned,” not by force.

I am unphased when people call me and my church names or make callous assertions about the condition of our eternal souls. There is not an insult I have not heard after a two-year mission in New York or over two decades of rough-and-tumble politics in Sacramento. I claim to serve Christ and will allow any person the same freedom to worship as their conscience dictates. I am desperate to follow the admonition of Paul in Philippians 4:8 as best as I can. I beg people not to use my faith as a litmus test for heaven, but to judge me and my fruits as they are, a testimony of God’s Son.

In Charlie Kirk’s memory, and in our divided world desperate for truth, America needs more conversations informed “by kindness, and…without hypocrisy, and without guile.” Latter-day Saints are eager to engage with friends and neighbors of all faiths. We are all more likely to silence violence together through Christ’s words than by creating artificial barriers that divide His followers, however they may define themselves.

Lance Christensen is a sixth-generation Latter-day Saint living in California who has served as a lay bishop and was a former candidate for California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2022.