I had considered that too and breaking a window to gain access was an option.
I'm not a member of the church, but I chose this building specifically as it was most likely to have other people seeking shelter there who also had keys to the building. Indeed, the first family to arrive after us lived a block away and I did verify they do have a key.
Speaking as a Mormon, we're highly encouraged to be prepared for the future, regardless of if that means losing a job, a natural disaster (hurricane, earthquake, etc), or unstable individuals with big, red buttons on their desk.
The Church has encouraged people to have a minimum of a 72-hour kit (typically a backpack or backpacks with everything your family would need for 3 days away from home), as well as storing as much water and food as is possible in your circumstances, ideally a year's supply.
I suppose living in southern Idaho for nine years makes me qualified to answer this :) Many Mormons are very into prepping (preparing for emergencies.)
For example, when I lived in Idaho Falls, many of the Mormons I knew had thick concrete shelters in their basements, massive amounts of dried food prepared, huge jugs of water stored, and regularly did drills with other members of there community. Additionally, Mormon churches are usually pretty visible (plus, they'd probably be willing to take you in) and common enough that it shouldn't be too hard to get to one.
I saw this in a local documentary about the USA (De Verenigde Staten van Eva). They called these people "preppers". I had never heard of that before. Don't remember if Mormon was mentioned.
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> polygamy, child abuse, and endless fast and testimony meetings
Speaking anecdotally about my experiences in Oregon with Mormon friends, this feels like a gross misrepresentation. I haven't seen any of these situations pop up, and certainly not in any way that would cause it to be systemic.
I’m not a Mormon, or even a Christian, so I have no stake here.
What the fuck? No. I’ve traveled all over, and met a lot of Mormons and have Mormon friends. The most sinister thing they’re into is family game night. Ok, I’m no fan of the missionary thing, but again, as a non-Christian I appreciate that the Mormons take no for an answer, and will still hang out with you.
Their religion is wacky, but so is every religion. They have cults, but so do all religions. So... no.
Of course your anecdotes are true, individual Mormons can be the nicest, most well-meaning people ever, and Mormonism does indeed have a reputation for being a wacky but harmless religion.
However, Utah has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the nation, and one of the highest rates of anti-depressant medication use in the nation. This is in large part due to the unrealistic expectations and pressure its members are subject to.
Sure, they're not as overtly harmful as similar high-demand cults like FLDS or Scientology, but try joining and then not paying 10% of your gross income to the church and see how that works out.
How’s the suicide rate among evangelical Christians? Southern Baptists? If you tell young people to shape up or be damned, some will implode, especially LGBT youth, people struggling with addictions, atheists, etc. Sadly (imo) Mormons are like many other Anrahamic religions (and others) which make life very hard for a significant portion of the population. I also don’t believe they’re somehow different or worse than any others. They have strengths and weaknesses like any large group of humans.
Not compelling, especially when you note that suicide is only one metric, violence against others being another, and so much more. Most of all though, I didn’t say they were wacky in particular, I said that they were wacky as are all religions. I don’t see them as materially different from any other religion, except in some cases, age.
note though all Christian religions claim to believe in a book, the Bible, that has people who practiced polygamy blessed by God. It's pretty hypocritical for any one who believes in the Bible to be against polygamy when the God that book is about blessed the practice.
Assuming you can survive the initial blast, how do you plan to protect yourself and your family from radioactive dust for 7-10 days (assuming windows are broken by the blast - or by you).
Dunno about OP; I have 3M 7500 masks (small/medium/large as appropriate) with 60921i cartridges for the whole family. They are also used whenever we're doing fine grit sanding, fibreglass work, welding etc. so everyone's used to them. (Helps that they're pink, for the girls.)
Also keep iodine tablets in your bugout bag. And a razor, masks won't do shit if you have more than stubble on your cheek.
It definitely depends on a number of variable factors including the size and location of a detonation. Either way, the leeward side would definitely be a higher risk area.
It doesn't, except for increasing the odds of being able to gain access.
The church is simply the best structure for blast/fallout protection that is accessible from our house within the flight-time of an ICBM launched towards Hawaii.
That being said, it was comforting to have other families to share concerns with.
