People

The murder of a young father, Charlie Kirk, at Utah Valley University was a deeply troubling event for my wife and me. I don’t think we’ve seen any other talk show host or political commentator be so good at being kind to his opponents. We had both been impressed with his civility toward those who disagreed with him. He strove to be a solid Christian in his interactions, in my opinion. His work, almost a ministry, involved traveling to college campuses and openly engaging in civil conversations with students, allowing them to criticize him, raise difficult questions, and freely express their opinions on political and social issues. He loved young people and sought to help them see a world in a less blighted way than they were getting from the indoctrination of often radical professors. Through his work, tens of thousands of young people were influenced for good, in my personal opinion. Even though he was not in any position of political power, I suspect that it was his great influence that drove someone or some group to assassinate him.

Based on what I’ve seen, Kirk remained calm and respectful as he interacted with sometimes angry opponents. He generally gave them time to ask questions, took time to listen and understand, and often showed great mastery of random topics that were raised. I didn’t agree on every position but was usually impressed with how he responded. He was not looking for chances to embarrass others or to throw out cheap insults. Rather, I believe he was hoping to help students gain new perspectives on the need for freedom of speech, free markets, economic liberty, a Constitutional republic, healthy families, etc. He also dared to discuss some of the most challenging topics such as abortion and the humanity of an unborn child.

A wonderful tribute to his approach comes from a reporter who disagreed with him on many issues. See Adam Rubenstein, “The Charlie Kirk I Knew,” The Free Press, Sept. 10, 2025. He describes the time when he spent a week with Kirk to write an article about him:

In the week I spent following him around, what I found most striking was how someone at such a young age could command the attention and respect that he did—and in such a short period.

The profile [I wrote] was fair, and by no means a puff piece. And while his flack reached out to me to tell me that I was a Never Trump reptile (or something like that), Charlie texted me a link to my own story and said, “Well done!”

That was Charlie. If I had to use a single word to capture him, it would be gracious. We could disagree about anything—and we did—but he would, without fail, engage civilly and explain his point of view. He did not do this, as many do, to make himself feel smart. He did it so he could share the other side of something he cared about. And he cared deeply.

That’s the spirit he took to the hundreds of campuses he visited. Not denunciation. Not shouting down. Never an insult. He sought to debate ideas, and did so in hostile territory. Charlie all but re-created the public town square on these campuses with a tent and an irrepressible smile in an era where many people of his generation can’t look up from their phones….

He had a mission. It filled him with meaning. And that, above all, was why he convinced countless young people to listen to him, to change their lives for the better, to stand up for things that used to be called common sense.

How pained we have been to see many among a radical minority (I hope it’s a small minority) of the left rejoicing over his death. This can be galling if not infuriating to those mourning his loss. I can understand the anger, for example, that mourners gathered for a vigil before the Capitol building in Boise, Idaho experienced when a political activist drove by the crowd and yelled profanity regarding Charlie Kirk. Others had also gathered to taunt the mourners. Sadly, the result of the provocations was an ugly outbreak of violence.

How should we respond to such insults and provocations? I suggest that the guidance of the Church shortly after the assassination should be followed now and for all potential clashes ahead. In a post on the Church’s X account shortly after the killing, the Church offered this statement:

Following the shooting of an American political commentator [Charlie Kirk], the following statement has been issued attributable to Church spokesman Doug Andersen: “It is with great sadness that we learn of the shooting that took place at Utah Valley University resulting in the death of Charlie Kirk. Our prayers go out to his family at this time. We condemn violence and lawless behavior. We also pray that we may treat one another with greater kindness, compassion and goodness. For members of the Church, we reaffirm the Savior’s teaching and admonition is to love our neighbor.” [emphasis added]

The answer to contentious times may well be to ramp up love for our neighbors, including those who show anger toward us. While some wonder if growing political violence means we could one day face another civil war, modern revelation tell us to “renounce war and proclaim peace” (Doctrine and Covenants 98:16). May we seek paths of peace in the midst of violent contention.

Earlier that day, before the shooting, the Church posted an inspired statement from Elder D. Todd Christofferson that can also help us in the aftermath of the murder:

The Lord expects us to be peacemakers. Difficult as it may seem to be, we have the responsibility to pray for those who may persecute us, as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. We need to learn to leave judgment to Him.

Mourners who may have responded to offensive taunting with violence rather than patience, calmness, and control, may have missed an opportunity to do good and may have done a disservice to the memory of peaceful Charlie Kirk and to the cause of liberty. I personally have struggled to exhibit such patience and control at various times in my life, so I know it’s not easy when caught off guard, but it’s worth mentally preparing to choose the calm, loving path ahead of time when we might face provocation.

Those who are aligned in any degree with the pro-American, pro-Constitution, and Christian views of Charlie Kirk would do well to understand and emulate Charlie’s graciousness and patience in dealing with angry opponents. I think we also must understand the agenda of radical revolutionaries in our midst. Some leading radicals seem to be trained agitators who follow a well-tried playbook for overthrowing a government or nation, one that has long been a key approach for Marxist or other subversive revolutionaries in many areas. Agitators work carefully to stir up large, angry protests or riots and take advantage of arrests or violence against their group to create martyrs and gain more publicity to stir up more support and revolt. Lawbreaking and chaos are a goal, not an unfortunate side effect.

This playbook has been refined more recently by such leaders in chaos and subversion of governments as — it really hurts to have to say this — our own CIA (but also agencies within other nations as well, both friends and foes). See, for example, the now-declassified 1983 field guide for revolution and subversion aimed at Nicaragua, “Contras Manual on Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare,” now available at Archive.org and also in the CIA’s own online reading room (PDF document). An easy way to digest the key parts of this document is through the discussion of a former State Department specialist, Mike Benz, in his online discussion of June 2, 2025. This may also be considered in light of training programs from the CIA-aligned Institute of Peace, such as a video by a leader at the Institute of Peace who seems to reflect awareness of the CIA manual as she encourages lawbreaking (blocking roads, civil disobedience, and deliberately seeking imprisonment) as forms of “non-violent” actions to cause change.

For a deeper dive into the evolution of our intelligence agencies, also see the 40-minute lecture at Hillsdale College by Mike Benz, “The History of the Intelligence State,” which begins by considering George Kennan’s influential 1948 memo, “The Inauguration of Organized Political Warfare,” shortly after the CIA’s successful rigging of an election in Italy. The use of crime, whether organized crime or other crime, including chaos in the streets, and even assassination (as Benz discusses, beginning with the CIA’s famous “heart attack gun” around 32:45 in his HIllsdale lecture), can be a vital part of the toolkit for controlling or subverting a nation. If that toolkit, which has been used many times to influence other nations, is now being turned against our own nation, it’s time to recognize what great peril we are in, quite consistent with Moroni’s warning on secret combinations in our day (e.g., Ether 8).

At this very moment in U.S. history, understanding the tools, tactics, and strategies of those who may be seeking power and revolution in our own nation should give us pause when we are tempted to play the role that some dangerous groups may be seeking to elicit from us with their provocation. Here the advice just given to us (again) by the Church may be more urgently needed than ever. And the nuanced teachings of the Book of Mormon on coping with corruption and violence from secret combinations may be more needed than ever in this contentious time.

Being charitable toward opponents does not mean we must allow them to have their way without pushing back. Charlie Kirk was a good example, in my opinion, of standing firm on his principles and boldly but kindly teaching others and opposing evil. There is still much to oppose. The radical left (contrary to the desires of most voters, including many Democrats and Republicans) seems to be going all out to fund and support attorney generals and others who will be soft on crime. Cities under that pernicious influence may have no-cash bail, no prosecution of many crimes, goals for downsizing prison population even as crime increases, opposition to actual law enforcement, and a tendency to treat criminals as victims, if not heroes to be celebrated and funded. Crime and chaos in the streets may be an important step toward their ultimate goals, goals that most of their angry followers may not understand. Self-defense may certainly be necessary during such times, but when we respond in anger or throw unnecessary punches when we are provoked, we may be falling into a devilish trap that only strengthens the enemies of peace and freedom.

On such issues where organized evil seems to be at play, we can find helpful insights from the Book of Mormon’s extensive, diverse, and nuanced teachings on secret combinations — a topic that needs to be explored more seriously by modern scholars and students of the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Moses, or something like it on the brass plates that Lehi brought to the New World, seems to have strongly influenced Book of Mormon writers on the topic of secret combinations. It gives foundational insights into their operations and their harmful influence. From these ancient texts, we learn that violence is the key to Satan’s political and economic power through his secret combinations. They are rooted in oaths of secrecy to cover up their crimes, especially the murders that they may commit. It is covered-up murder, over and over again, that characterizes the founding and perpetuation of secret combinations in the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon. Murder is used to eliminate an opponent, to silence a whistleblower, to gain wealth, or to vacate a throne or office of power. We also see that violent crime, even to the point of widespread internal chaos or civil war, is often the result of secret combinations and their poisonous influence on a society as they permeate many institutions. See my series on secret combinations beginning with “A Practical Guide to the Book of Mormon’s Most Neglected Theme: Secret Combinations” at Meridian Magazine, Oct. 14, 2024, followed by Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

We don’t yet know if the assassination of Charlie Kirk was the result of an orchestrated conspiracy or just one lone, deranged man who happened to be a well-trained, well-equipped expert shooter who could calmly kill with one shot from over 200 yards away. But seemingly political murders of this kind are often an indicator of the pernicious work of secret combinations, whether very small or very large. And in any case, it may be an indicator of the terrible moral corruption of a society tainted with influential secret combinations, as shown in the Book of Mormon.

One of the great and hopeful lessons of the Book of Mormon is that secret combinations are vulnerable. Sometimes a single courageous person can expose them and set them back. One of the most powerful strategies used against them was successfully applied by the converted Lamanites. After discovering the existence of Gadianton robbers among them, “the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites” (Helaman 6:37). They achieved victory through both the immediate action of hunting them down to stop their crimes, but also the prophylactic, healing action of preaching among the more wicked part of them (I believe this means the more wicked part of the Lamanites, not just among the more wicked part of the robbers, but I may be wrong).

Living and sharing the Gospel may be the most important thing we can do — but let’s not forget the importance of also resisting evil by being active, outspoken, and informed in our communities and society. We can resist great evil by understanding and exposing it, or at least voting against it when possible, such that the schemes and plots of truly dangerous criminals may be stopped.

Charlie Kirk’s detailed knowledge of many issues and his ability to respond so effectively in debates was a key to his remarkable success. He also shared the message of Christ and often testified of Him, but he knew so much about modern issues and the associated facts that he could communicate and teach effectively on numerous topics. He sought to do good on multiple levels, and he put his life on the line to carry out that work. He was so effective, so gifted, that some imagine that he could have been a remarkable if not unstoppable candidate for the Presidency in the future.

What a terrible loss for his wife and young children, and how tragic that so many cannot sense that as they rejoice at the lethal silencing of a political opponent whose offense was that he could out-debate them all. We need more Charlie Kirks among us. He will be missed and remembered by many.