{"id":16982,"date":"2011-09-11T07:00:57","date_gmt":"2011-09-11T12:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=16982"},"modified":"2011-09-11T01:09:48","modified_gmt":"2011-09-11T06:09:48","slug":"mormons-and-meaning-on-september-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2011\/09\/mormons-and-meaning-on-september-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Mormons and Meaning on September 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the comments to Pres. Monson’s article<\/a> on the Washington Post’s On Faith blog one Church member claimed that “Not one single LDS employee working in the Twin Towers was at work that morning.” This is, of course, incorrect. In fact, one of the LDS employees working in the towers died in the attack, as did two more on planes and two in the Pentagon.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This may be an attempt to extend some of the rumors that were passed through email in the weeks following September 11th. One account claimed that a group of missionaries was scheduled to meet at the Trade Center at 9:o0 AM, but that “<\/span>every single missionary had problems that morning getting to the meeting, either not waking up on time, or with transportation. No one made it to the towers.” Of course, to Church members who live in New York City the idea was implausible, at best. Another email suggested that 40 BYU interns all contracted food poisoning and couldn’t make it to work at the towers that day, but since BYU didn’t have interns in the trade center at that time, this email was also labeled a hoax. Later that fall, academic Mary Ellen Robertson, speaking at the Sixth Annual Religious Studies Conference at Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University), called the motivation behind these emails “Chosen People Syndrome.”<\/p>\n

While these email messages were certainly misguided, their popularity still represents something we all have had to or are struggling with\u2014how to find meaning in the events of September 11th. For many of us here in New York and other September 11 sites, the meanings found by politicians, patriots and almost everyone outside of New York seem quite different than what we see here. At least, these meanings leave out one important thing: the people.<\/p>\n

In all of the politics and patriotism that surround the public perception of September 11th, I think we often forget the people\u2014it seems we, as a nation, are caught up in revenge and reaction, and concern over security and safety, that we forget the grief and fear of those who personally faced the tragedy. I don’t say that our national perceptions are necessarily wrong, just incomplete without the personal.<\/p>\n

The incorrect perception of the member who commented on Pres. Monson’s post about how LDS Church members suffered in the tragedy is an example of how views are incomplete. So, perhaps it will help make the tragedy that much more personal to remember the LDS Church members who died in the tragedy\u2014not because they are more important than others who perished, but because we, Mormons, might identify with them.<\/p>\n

So, here are some short biographies of the LDS Church members among those who perished:<\/p>\n