UT - Family of 8 found dead in home by gunshot in Enoch, Jan 2023

[Deleted member 212413]

There's a whole twitter thread about the comments on the obituary. They also photoshopped the family picture and replaced him with Jesus for a Go Fund Me. Very strange

Very strange… very disturbing…

 

[squareandrabbet]

Gosh - one of the condolences starts out “Michael was a great guy!” Really?! Really… JMO

Not everyone reads news, though… and I assume his obituary doesn’t contain the information that he was a family annihilator.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

It looks like the obituary has been taken down from mortuary.com at least.

 

[Deleted member 212413]

I reported the go fund me… sorry but legal expenses for what? They’ve already raised a huge amount…

 

[IzzyBlanche]

As I said, I learned about this case only today.

I just can't stop thinking about the terror and betrayal those innocent children must have felt in their final moments.

Not at all to diminish the terror and betrayal Tausha and Gail must have felt too.

But I'm sure Tausha and Gail as a mother and grandmother did their best to shield the children as long as possible from knowledge of the horror that exists in the world.

 

[Knox]

Curious if it's been stated why she filed for divorce?

 

[Shamrock1]

An obituary is not required. Whoever drafted the father’s obituary surely knew it would be subject to intense public scrutiny IMO.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

An obituary is not required. Whoever drafted the father’s obituary surely knew it would be subject to intense public scrutiny IMO.

Agreed. And therefore I cannot fathom how the writers of that obituary didn't expect it to be met with the deserved scorn it was met with.

It's nauseating that the obituary lauds him for being such a great dad. It's a slap in the face to his own children that he murdered.

I have a very vivid imagination, and even I cannot comprehend what the obituary writers could have been thinking in writing this.

 

[Erutan]

Obituary for man who murdered wife and five kids says he was great dad

The eulogy for Michael Haight, 42, saw him hailed for 'making it a point to spend quality time with each and every one of his children,' described as a 'cherished miracle' to him and his wife.

www.dailymail.co.uk

• Relatives posted a glowing tribute to the Utah father who killed his five kids, wife, and mother-in-law before killing himself

THIS .... is the strangest obit I've ever read, considering the circumstances.
Michael is mentioned more than once, and in an admiring fashion.
I get it that people grieve in their own way, however this feels disrespectful to the innocent lives cruelly taken too soon.
The murderers' name is mentioned ten times !

Just my own opinion.

 

[iamshadow21]

Obituary for man who murdered wife and five kids says he was great dad

The eulogy for Michael Haight, 42, saw him hailed for 'making it a point to spend quality time with each and every one of his children,' described as a 'cherished miracle' to him and his wife.

www.dailymail.co.uk

• Relatives posted a glowing tribute to the Utah father who killed his five kids, wife, and mother-in-law before killing himself

THIS .... is the strangest obit I've ever read, considering the circumstances.
Michael is mentioned more than once, and in an admiring fashion.
I get it that people grieve in their own way, however this feels disrespectful to the innocent lives cruelly taken too soon.
The murderers' name is mentioned ten times !

Just my own opinion.

This man brutally murdered his whole family and he's still being talked about like he's some kind of god.

I feel physically sick.

Those kids, their whole lives ahead of them.

That poor woman, trying to get him out of their lives.

The grandmother, who was trying to help her do it.

He was a monster.

 

[RememberingRyan]

I was livid when I read the obit. But it is important to take a step back and remember the culture this family is part of. This is how they have been taught to cope. To compartmentalize, to believe that nearly all sins will be forgiven if the person sincerely repents (even after death), to believe that everything in this life is a test of faith and worthiness, and that every person choses their own struggles. Many of these are people who believe that this event is a test of their own faith and they are signaling that they still believe in their eternal families and that they forgive this person whom they still believe might be part of that everlasting life they will experience. The surviving family did not kill those women and children. They are victims in this even if it is hard to comprehend how their perspectives can appear so foreign. I hate everything that contributed to Michael Haight harming and and literally destroying the lives of the people who loved and trusted him. But the remaining people who cared about him are just trying to cope with and reconcile the internal conflict they are facing right now after a devastating loss of eight people they loved.

 

[iamshadow21]

I was livid when I read the obit. But it is important to take a step back and remember the culture this family is part of. This is how they have been taught to cope. To compartmentalize, to believe that nearly all sins will be forgiven if the person sincerely repents (even after death), to believe that everything in this life is a test of faith and worthiness, and that every person choses their own struggles. Many of these are people who believe that this event is a test of their own faith and they are signaling that they still believe in their eternal families and that they forgive this person whom they still believe might be part of that everlasting life they will experience. The surviving family did not kill those women and children. They are victims in this even if it is hard to comprehend how their perspectives can appear so foreign. I hate everything that contributed to Michael Haight harming and and literally destroying the lives of the people who loved and trusted him. But the remaining people who cared about him are just trying to cope with and reconcile the internal conflict they are facing right now after a devastating loss of eight people they loved.

I understand what you're saying.

I am literally from the culture these people are from.

What he did was monstrous. And acting like it wasn't, or that it somehow doesn't count because of the belief structure surrounding forgiveness and atonement in the afterlife, is a big, big problem that the LDS community as a whole needs to face. Because if this annihilator believes he gets his Celestial Kingdom trappings because he was still married and sealed to her when he killed her and the children, he's in for another think, because someone who did what he did is going to Outer Darkness. His abuse of his family is an excommunicable offense, and you can bet your boots that God will treat him accordingly. And unless more abusers start believing in consequences that carry on after death, things like this are going to keep happening.

 

[branmuffin]

Terrifying to think a whole swath of individuals can gloss over the brutal murders of so many family members and focus on the individual who committed those murders in glowing terms. Talk about cognitive dissonance. Teach your children well, indeed.

 

[RememberingRyan]

I understand what you're saying.

I am literally from the culture these people are from.

What he did was monstrous. And acting like it wasn't, or that it somehow doesn't count because of the belief structure surrounding forgiveness and atonement in the afterlife, is a big, big problem that the LDS community as a whole needs to face. Because if this annihilator believes he gets his Celestial Kingdom trappings because he was still married and sealed to her when he killed her and the children, he's in for another think, because someone who did what he did is going to Outer Darkness. His abuse of his family is an excommunicable offense, and you can bet your boots that God will treat him accordingly. And unless more abusers start believing in consequences that carry on after death, things like this are going to keep happening.

I was also born and raised in the Covenant and was sent to an LDS cooperative homeschool that focused on doctrinal teachings beyond just what we get from Seminary. Murderers do not go to Outer Darkness per LDS doctrine. They are sent to Spirit Prison and ministered to and given the opportunity to repent - if they choose to repent, then they go to whichever kingdom they were considered worthy of in life (which depends a lot on their covenants or lack thereof). If they refuse to repent they remain in Spirit Prison until the resurrection and then they go to the Telestial Kingdom. Outer Darkness is reserved solely for sons of perdition.

 

[iamshadow21]

I was also born and raised in the Covenant and was sent to an LDS cooperative homeschool that focused on doctrinal teachings beyond just what we get from Seminary. Murderers do not go to Outer Darkness per LDS doctrine. They are sent to Spirit Prison and ministered to and given the opportunity to repent - if they choose to repent, then they go to whichever kingdom they were considered worthy of in life (which depends a lot on their covenants or lack thereof). If they refuse to repent they remain in Spirit Prison until the resurrection and then they go to the Telestial Kingdom. Outer Darkness is reserved solely for sons of perdition.

What he did wasn't just murder, he broke every covenant he made to them as husband and father before and up to the murder by his long-term abuse. He rejected the core tenets of the family and his role in it by doing so. He rejected the Holy Ghost by ignoring any promptings he received to act differently, and rejecting the Holy Ghost makes you a son of perdition. He may not have been excommunicated on this mortal plane, but his actions warranted it, and when excommunicated, one is cast out. Whether you agree with my opinion or not is fine, but I think it's not unsound, doctrinally. I just have faith that God acts justly on ALL our actions, not just the ones seen in a church court or counselled about in a bishop's office. Otherwise, we're just relying on humans, and humans are fallible. That's why I think LDS need to start calling a spade a spade, and an abusive murderer an abusive murderer. If God wants to forgive him eventually, fine, but I'm thinking of those innocents he slaughtered and calling for justice for them, and right now, the bare minimum for that is not lionising their killer.

 

[Erutan]

I understand what you're saying.

I am literally from the culture these people are from.

What he did was monstrous. And acting like it wasn't, or that it somehow doesn't count because of the belief structure surrounding forgiveness and atonement in the afterlife, is a big, big problem that the LDS community as a whole needs to face. Because if this annihilator believes he gets his Celestial Kingdom trappings because he was still married and sealed to her when he killed her and the children, he's in for another think, because someone who did what he did is going to Outer Darkness. His abuse of his family is an excommunicable offense, and you can bet your boots that God will treat him accordingly. And unless more abusers start believing in consequences that carry on after death, things like this are going to keep happening.

Thanks for clarifying.

I guess the point of my post was also that it would've been nice to hear a bit more about the victims !

What were the children's -- Macie, Briley, Ammon, Sienna, and Gavin -- dreams and hopes ?
Did they have a favorite thing to do ?
Did Gail have goals that she'd accomplished ?
I'd imagine she was retired ?

Did Tausha have hobbies or interests outside of raising her children ?
Something like that.
M00.

 

[RememberingRyan]

What he did wasn't just murder, he broke every covenant he made to them as husband and father before and up to the murder by his long-term abuse. He rejected the core tenets of the family and his role in it by doing so. He rejected the Holy Ghost by ignoring any promptings he received to act differently, and rejecting the Holy Ghost makes you a son of perdition. He may not have been excommunicated on this mortal plane, but his actions warranted it, and when excommunicated, one is cast out. Whether you agree with my opinion or not is fine, but I think it's not unsound, doctrinally. I just have faith that God acts justly on ALL our actions, not just the ones seen in a church court or counselled about in a bishop's office. Otherwise, we're just relying on humans, and humans are fallible. That's why I think LDS need to start calling a spade a spade, and an abusive murderer an abusive murderer. If God wants to forgive him eventually, fine, but I'm thinking of those innocents he slaughtered and calling for justice for them, and right now, the bare minimum for that is not lionising their killer.

To be 100% clear, I agree with you entirely on how we SHOULD be able to interpret all of this, I just also know how the leadership often dispenses and explains the doctrine and how they tell members to interpret it. I guarantee that members of his family explicitly and sincerely believe that he will be able to repent and spend eternity with them - and likely with his victims - specifically because of the cultural conditioning they have received.

 

[iamshadow21]

To be 100% clear, I agree with you entirely on how we SHOULD be able to interpret all of this, I just also know how the leadership often dispenses and explains the doctrine and how they tell members to interpret it. I guarantee that members of his family explicitly and sincerely believe that he will be able to repent and spend eternity with them - and likely with his victims - specifically because of the cultural conditioning they have received.

And the SHOULD vs the actual dispensing of it is what I'm talking about when I mean humans are fallible. So often, abusers like him get given an easy time or their abuse gets ignored by people in leadership positions. And sometimes, we end up here because of it. A whole family snuffed out. So, I believe in a just God, on the days when I believe in God at all, because it's just too cruel otherwise. To believe that men like that get their happily ever after because they made a promise to their family that they not only didn't keep, but violated in the most brutal way.

I understand his family wants comfort, but it seems so incredibly, inconceivably hurtful to the others who are grieving the seven who had no choice in this tragedy to trumpet it so loudly.

 

[Lusitana]

There was a case where a child was murdered by the mother and she was mentioned in the obituary, it simply said "X is the son/daughter of Y and Z" but still.

 

[155etta]

To be 100% clear, I agree with you entirely on how we SHOULD be able to interpret all of this, I just also know how the leadership often dispenses and explains the doctrine and how they tell members to interpret it. I guarantee that members of his family explicitly and sincerely believe that he will be able to repent and spend eternity with them - and likely with his victims - specifically because of the cultural conditioning they have received.

Pretty sure his victims are done with him. In this life or the next, or whatever. MOO.
And edited to add: what kind of a church allows you to murder your entire family, and your MIL to boot, and then gives you one more chance after death to repent of that? Seriously? I just can't. MOO. And I was raised in this nonsense.