Summarized by Vickie Speek
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."
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