Many believe their faith kept them safe in Storm
Deseret News 14Aug99 C7
By Carrie A. Moore: Deseret News religion editor

Seemingly random disasters accompanied by hard questions Thousands of Utahns have discussed last Wednesday's tornado around dinner tables, in prayers, in offices, and in restaurants all over the state this week. Many of those people attribute the relatively small number of injuries and one death from the winds to God's watchful care and keeping. Yet, the question arises, if that's the case, does that mean if your house was damaged, your body broken, or your business affected, that God had some kind of hand in that as well?

When seemingly random events or accidents occur, some people attribute their safety to God, while others feel "lucky" or "fortunate" that fate somehow smiled on them. Random disaster often brings out many such questions that individuals struggle with every day. It also brings up the concept of God watching over some but not over others.

An LDS Church employee who witnessed the tornado's fury from the 23rd floor of the LDS Church Office Building said, "Temple Square is special. But it's difficult to read a whole lot of divine intervention into these things because you have your exceptions. Why weren't Saints in Central America protected when hurricanes came? I just don't know."