LDS church tries to distance itself from militia leader in Oregon

CBS News KUTV, Utah/January 5, 2016

By Cristina Flores

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement Monday, condemning the actions of Ammon Bundy, the Nevada rancher who said he was divinely called to rally Americans against the federal government in Oregon. Bundy is Mormon.

The following statement was issued by Eric Hawkins of the Mormon Church's Public Affairs Department:

"While the disagreement occurring in Oregon about the use of federal lands is not a Church matter, Church leaders strongly condemn the armed seizure of the facility and are deeply troubled by the reports that those who have seized the facility suggest that they are doing so based on scriptural principles. This armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis. We are privileged to live in a nation where conflicts with government or private groups can - and should - be settled using peaceful means, according to the laws of the land."

Bundy, whose own family drew national attention when his father Cliven had his own standoff with the federal government in 2014, said in a YouTube video that he got on his knees and prayed. God made it clear to him that he was to go to Oregon and stand up for the Hammond family, whose father and son were jailed for arson after starting a fire that burned federal land.

"I clearly understood The Lord was not pleased with what was happening to the Hammonds," said Bundy in the video, adding that if he didn't stand up for the Hammond's, other Americans' rights to use their public lands to thrive and prosper could die too.

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