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Six months ago, something happened to a congregation in Grand Blanc, Michigan that changed all of us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. On a Sunday morning in the middle of sacrament meeting a gunman drove into a latter day. Saint Chapel, opened fire on those in attendance, and then set the building on fire.

Lindsey and Bridger Frampton were among those in attendance that day at church, both Native Utahans Dr. S Bridger. Frampton is an emergency. Medicine doctor who, along with his wife, Lindsay and their family moved to Michigan for his residency at Henry Ford Genesis. He is a military veteran and he and Lindsay are the parents of five children.

This is all in an LDS Living podcast where we ask the question, what does it really mean to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ? I'm Morgan Pearson, and I am. So honored to have Lindsay and Bridger Frampton on the line with me today. Lindsay and Bridger, welcome. Thanks Morgan. Well, I have been looking forward to this interview, Bridger.

I was able to meet Bridger and his wife Lindsay a few months ago, and, uh, just was so impressed by them and, and have been looking forward to introducing our listeners to, to you Bridger. I wondered if we could start today by having you tell us a little bit about your family. How you arrived in Michigan, and then a little bit about your experience within your ward there in Michigan, just to kind of lay the groundwork for our conversation.

Yeah, lots of life story all on that. That one question. So I, I, I'll try and keep it short, but Lindsay and I are high school sweethearts. We from Springville High School, uh, we have five amazing kids now. Brighton is our oldest of 13. Lilian is our only daughter at 10. Uh, Wesley is eight. Just got baptized.

He was baptized after this event. Maverick is five and Ste is just, just turned one a couple days ago. He was six months at the time. Very grateful for all five of 'em. I graduated from medical medical school in 2018. We spent a year. I guess I should say, we, we were awarded the, the Air Force Health Profession Scholarship.

So we spent a year in Sacramento at uc, Davis and Travis Air Force Base there, uh, doing general surgery, trauma surgery, burn surgery, grueling year, a lot to learn, but awesome opportunities. Uh, after that we were assigned to South Carolina. I was assigned as a flight surgeon. I had amazing experiences there.

Wouldn't give that up for the world, amazing people to work with. Ultimately, we, uh, we decided to back down from the active duty side and go into the guard with an F 16 unit. And that is kind of where we chose to come to Michigan for, for, uh, emergency medicine training. The residency aspect is, residency is just, just sucks.

It's just a, it's a hard couple years, but it gives you the training you need to, to move on and, and actually do something. There's, there's certain things you can do in the military, but without a, a residency training, you can't do that in the civilian world. And so that's what we needed here. Honestly, we, we've had a, an amazing road.

A lot of cool experiences. And then you asked about our war here. Coming here. I think it is been nice. The ward is, is very used to having residents who kind of show up for a couple years and disappear. And a lot of times they're not even present. 'cause just residency your, seems like your first priority is training.

We try and keep a God family country, but the residency does push on that and we, we, uh. It takes all your time. And so the ward has been nice because the, the families that that live here are aware of that. They are very supportive of our spouses who are dealing with kids at church. So that's been a very amazing blessing.

Um, Lindsay and I were both called in the primary the first couple weeks we were here. And so we, we know very few of the adults, unless they're residents, but we know the kids very well. I love teaching in the primary. It's like one of those. Just bread and butter gospel stuff. It the, you, I mean the, the hymns, the primary hymns are awesome.

Uh, the lessons are straightforward and you can really feel God's love for them. So it's, that's always been a, an awesome opportunity for Lindsay and I, I. Serving in primary. And I, I agree. But I do think it's so funny when you move into like a new ward and it's like, let's put 'em in primary. Yeah. It's like, okay, I'll get to know no one, which I don't think that's the way it should be, but it's the way that it is a lot of the time.

Right. Okay, Bridger with that, with that information and, and background, I hate to ask you to, to relive the events of that day, but can you tell me what it was like the day of the shooting from your perspective? Yeah, it's, and I, I'm, I'm never gonna have the perfect words for it, but. And honestly, I could talk for hours.

My, like I told you before, I'm, I'm very detail oriented. My wife has, has been hounding me to make sure I'm not doing that, uh, this time around. But I'll try to, I'll try to go less detail more from the heart. The night before, uh, so the 27th of September, I'd gotten off my shift kinda late and we stayed up a little, little bit later than we should.

We tried to, I dunno, just decompress together, watch a movie, popcorn, whatever. I stayed up later than we should have, and we found the new found out about the news from that President Nelson had passed. And that was kind of a, I mean, a somber feeling to go to bed too next morning. It still felt off. We actually, I, this is a detail I need to put in.

I, I wore a, a white tie that my kids made me for, for, uh, father's Day. Had their different names and or like their, their different artwork and what they liked on the tie. It was meaningful, colorful, symbolic to me and, um. That day was actually really beautiful. Warm leaves were changing. It was a good day.

It was a good, good Michigan Day. It was interesting because inside the chapel it felt full, like there were too many people there, but it was still the same amount of people. It was just, it felt it full, it was fast. And testimony meeting I think we're, I think we're all kind of impacted by President Nelson's passing.

My son had just came to sit, sit next with us or next to us after passing the sacrament. And so Lindsay stepped out briefly with our youngest. So it was just me and me and the four other kids, and uh, I was trying to catch him on my journal and all of a sudden, loud explosion. Kinda shocking, like, I don't know, just, just a loud explosion and, and I look up and I see a, a crack going up the wall behind the organ, and I told my kids to stay put.

This was interesting because, and I think it's important to say over the last three, over the last three years that we had been there, I had sat in those pews and looked at the wall and I knew the road outside and I had envisioned a car hitting that wall. I probably had envisioned that teens of times for whatever reason, and I thought, oh, this is, we kind of, we kind of mentally prepare in the military for, for certain scenarios.

And so I just kinda ran it through like I did and, and kind of envisioned what I would do and how I would do the emergency medicine thing. And, and obviously anticipating that this individual who hits our wall would be some kind of medical management scenario. Heart attack, a stroke, uh. Seizure, whatever.

And so I, I, uh, I went right into that mentally rehearsed mindset and I told my kids to stay put 'cause they were gonna be safer here. And I ran outside the foyer and as I'm running outside, I see my wife running back. Uh, she was going to the, directly to the door to, to yell. And I, I remember hearing her say It's on purpose.

It was on purpose run. I'm in the primary presidency and we were supposed to be handing out. Little papers and treats for the kids during conference and I had forgotten the fruit snacks. And so I told Bridger, I said, I'll go out with the baby after sacrament's over and I'll grab the fruit snacks and you know, and so I was only about three or four steps out the door when I heard him rev his engine and I watched everything and I saw him hit the church and back up and hit it again.

And I, before he even backed up the second time, I knew that it wasn't an accident. So with our baby in my arms, I sprinted to the door that leads straight into the chapel and just started screaming at everyone that it wasn't an accident and that everyone needed to get out. And I think there, there were multiple people that, that because of that they were able to get their kids out.

She was kinda like the Paul Revere put it that way. And I don't know why I was outside. I don't know why. 'cause I, I feel guilty that I wasn't in the chapel with my kids or else I don't think he would've been separated. So Bridger and I have talked about it. It was just, it, it gave people time. Uh, there, there's, so one of the families has, has specifically told Lindsay that they were able to get out because of her running back in.

And, and I think that was, that's a, that's a huge scenario that, I mean, you could have just ran away, but that's not you. And, and you stepped up and you freaking called it out and, and that was, that's amazing. And I saw her face. I recognized what she was saying, but it didn't register completely. And I ran past her.

And I mean, I still remember like that, that look of fear, that that look of fear, shock, urgency. And as I came around the corner, I was probably 15, I don't know, yards, feet, whatever, from the shooter, from his truck. And I see him racking his gun. And the, there was a strange feeling like that, that that heaviness that we felt all day kind of came to a, a, like a point there.

But there was another really impressive feeling that I felt at that point, definitely dread. And then there was like a, a, a strong sense of fear, but there was also peace and that that was kind of a, an interesting, it's an, it's hard to put into words. I can't put into words. But my, my thoughts went to my grandfather and, and that was interesting to me.

I didn't feel alone. I felt kind of on fire, like, like ready to, ready to roll. And, and I remember running back the same way. I, I came, I, Lindsey was, was right there next to me that point. And we were yelling, run. And then we hear the, the gunshots starting. He had gone the other direction had he come our direction.

I was the first one hit. And there's that, there was a lot of chaos. There's a lot of people in fear. I mean, I can, I can see faces, I can, there's a lot of deer in the headlights look, just not knowing the next steps. It was just chaos. Massive people running out the foyer towards the back and just, just that ugly, just the gunshots going on in the background.

It was, it was tough. We realized we, we, we had, we had four kids that we needed to figure out where they were in that mass of, of people. And one of the miracles we experienced that day was the fact that our fourth child, Maverick. Stumbled right into my wife's arms, uh, like out of the blue. Like he was, he was, Lindsay said that he was about to get trampled and, and he stumbled right into her arms.

That was amazing. I remember seeing her then holding Maverick and Stetson, and I remember yelling at her to run. We were still trying to, to kinda sift through and trying and figure out where our other kids are. I'm, man, I don't know if I'm giving like the, the painting. It's, it's hard to paint that picture.

It was, it was crazy. Let me ask you this. You mentioned that you, and, and I think that it's so interesting that like idea of peace, that passeth understanding where it's like I could never describe to you why I felt peace in this moment, but I did for whatever reason. You mentioned your, you thought of your grandfather.

Why was that? I, I learned later, but. There were legions of angels there. I, I can't, I mean, people say, well, prove it. I can't. I, I, I'm not gonna, that, that's, that's more of a, that's where the faith comes in. And, and there was, that's I think why we felt so crowded stepping into that, that chapel that day.

There were more people there that we couldn't see than, than anticipated. We read about it all the time. I, I like the, the promises from the K temple, like the angels will be around about you and, and they'll have charge over you. And, and I've heard from the, the Follow Him podcast. I mean, Jean, by the way, quotes, I can't remember who he's quoting, but he said it, our ancestors are 10,000 times more interested in us than we are in ourselves.

And it just, I think all that came to a a, like, I'm not, I'm not reading and listening to this stuff. Without purpose like that, that all kind of came to an understanding like, oh, I, I'm, I'm not alone. And then I think that was, that was one of the most inspiring feelings that I had during that entire time.

Like, this is a dark, tragic, like terrible scenario, fearful crazy, but there is a lot of. Light around. And that was, that was very interesting to, to experience. I, again, I, I don't have the words for it, but, yeah. Well, I think it's, it's one of those things where. For probably any church member listening. It's one of those things where like you remember where you were when you heard that it happened.

And I actually was thinking about it this weekend because we were in state conference that morning, so we weren't in our normal ward building. And I happened to see somebody else looking at something about it on their phone and just like for me. Hundreds of miles away. I'm thinking, well, what would I do if that were to happen here?

And we just had state conference this weekend again, so we were back in that building and it brought back those memories. And so I can only imagine for you all what thinking about all of that brings up. Bridger, you went back into the building from what I understand time and time again. I know a big part of that had to have been something to do with trying to find your three oldest children, but tell me a little bit about that.

Yeah. Well, the other reason, reason is this woman right here. Like she, she, uh, stepping out after I called 9 1 1, I remember yelling at her to to, to go to drive, and she gave me one of the. Most serious looks I've ever seen in my life. And she was like, I'm not leaving until we find the kids. And obviously that's, that's definitely what was on the top of our mind.

I think that's, that's the driving reason when, when people ask, well, why did you keep going back inside? I couldn't find my kids. I mean, plain and simple. And I think any dad in my scenario would, would do that. But as a, it's a terrible feeling. But like I said, there was a. A calming reassurance that if I acted things would be okay.

And, and that was, that was, I can't explain it. It was amazing to feel that after I told Bridge, we had to find the kids and everything. I had the baby and the 5-year-old in the car, and I drove around the backside of the church. Because I thought maybe the kids will come out this way and I can grab him and put 'em in the car.

And that's when the shooter came out the back of the church and started shooting at people who were running away and shooting at cars. I don't know where, I didn't know where he was at the moment. I knew I had two kids and I had to keep him safe. So I hurried and drove out of the church parking lot and I parked across the street and I happened to have, there was a car right next to us.

Who are great people from our ward, and I said, Stetson and Maverick are in the car. I have to go back to the church. And at that point, I actually got a phone call from one of my friends and she said, Lindsay, I have Brighton. He's at my house. And so Brighton had started running and one of his friend's moms screamed at him to get in a car.

And so we were, I think that was a huge blessing because he listened and he got in the car and he was able to escape really fast. 'cause he's 13. And I don't know if he would've had to stay in how that would've affected him. So I was so thankful I, 'cause then I could tell Bridger Brighton's at Wendy's house, he's fine.

He's not here. And then we knew we only had to find the other two. So Bridger, you mentioned that you were on the, when you talked to 9 1 1, you were able to clearly explain the situation. Law enforcement was able to get there incredibly quickly, and that has been applauded publicly as it should be. But you've said that there were many that day who did their job remarkably well.

Can you speak to that and the difference that you feel it made? Uh, one of the things that I, I think I want people to understand. There wasn't just one group of heroes. There's a ton of people that just stepped up and I could, I could list, I actually had a list of people written out here to, to name, and then I decided maybe I, I don't wanna miss anybody but members of our own congregation.

I didn't see everything that happened. I've learned many of the stories afterward. I personally saw people step up, men and women shielding children, helping people escape, guiding others to safety. Staying calm amidst the chaos. I, I mean, I would love for these people to be known, but I just, what stood out to me the most was how ordinary people instantly chose courage and they, and they stepped up.

And that was amazing to see. It's amazing to be a part of a congregation like that and, and I like to believe that in congregations across the world and the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints, many would do the same thing. Yeah. And then you go into the professional responders, the law enforcement, firefighters, EMS and the dispatchers, the docs and the, in the hospital, the nurses, tech, trauma surgeons, other, other physicians that, that aren't related to, to trauma or don't do a lot of trauma, but they stepped up to help.

Like it was just people, there were, they were stepping in when they realized there was a lot of stuff going on, and we needed help. I've lived in other countries where emergency response doesn't work like that. You have. Like you are the ambulance for the, for the person who's in need and, and you gotta to figure out how to get them to the hospital and traffic and whatnot.

And so we, we are really blessed to be in a, in a country and a system that actually works the way it does. I remember the moment the officers arrived. I paint myself as a nerd here, but Lord of the Rings, when like, they're like the, they looked the east and the, the, like, what's his name? Gandalf was coming down from the, the mound with a bunch of riders.

Like, it was like the, okay, we got back up, we're gonna, the tides are turning. This is one of those feelings there. See, seeing those guys stepping in and that's when, that's when everything shifted. One of the officers partic in particular, stays, sticks in my mind and, and we keep in touch now in my last attempt to run through the, the building.

I found a gentleman down and I needed help pulling him out and, and one of the officers wouldn't let me go back in. Firefighters were on their way with equipment and he said, you're not going back in. You're gonna become a patient. And, and, um, every instinct in me wanted to fight him and to, to just go through and, and, and get that, get that gentleman out.

But it was one of, it was, at that moment I had one of the strongest impressions of my life that he was right. It was one of those like, Hey, Bridger, back down. I, I, I, I'd never really heard a voice like that before. It was in my head, obviously, but it was firm and I, it was clear and I, I listened to him and, and he told me to go back to the pavilion behind the, the church to wait for.

The rest of the people that come back or the rest of the families to be reunited. And, and I said, I, I can help you. I'm an ER resident. I can help you, but you've gotta help me find my family. And I can't remember if, if I told him or we both kinda came to conclusion at the same time. There was a he, we were standing next to the bishop's window and.

I can't remember if I, I said, Hey, let's break the windows. Or he's like, let's break the windows. I don't, I don't know who who said it, but some one of us said it. And, and so he started to bang on the windows and then started to break through the windows. Then his colleagues down, down the building, like just, they were kind of stacking up.

They started to do the same. And, uh, one of the clearest memories I have from that day is seeing a family, one of our close friends. Coming through those windows, coming out, out from the building out, out in the open air and saw his three kids get out, saw his wife get out, and they helped another gentleman out.

And then, uh, the dad came out and, and it was, that was one of those things where it was like, okay, they're safe. All of 'em are safe, they're all together. And I think I needed to see that. Smoke was pouring out around 'em as they came. Like it was, it was, it was getting bad. And uh, in total, 12 people were pulled out of the windows from around the building.

And so that was a, that was a very, I remember feeling peace the moment that, that we started breaking those windows. And so that was, that was amazing. We're reinvigorated, we're, we're, I mean, people were getting out. We're, we're saving more people and we still don't have Wesley and Lily. A lot of emotions.

Morgan. I like there, there's, I felt, I felt extreme rage. I felt extreme compassion, like it was the craziest, like craziest mix of feelings I have ever kind of experienced. I remember yelling pretty aggressively for Lily and Wesley. I remember seeing our bishop, our, our awesome bishop, and, and he, he gets my attention.

He's like, Hey, Bridger. And he's over, he's kinda over by that building and, and I mean, there's firefighters and, and police officers kinda behind him breaking through the windows and, and he's looking at me. He looks both ways. Make sure nobody's watching. And he, and he hands, he's handing me the keys to the church.

'cause he knows, like I, and I think, again, just like I said before, anybody in my position, if you don't have your kids, you're gonna do whatever you can to find them. And he's given me his keys, and that's exactly what I want. I can sneak around the other side, open whatever door and go through the church and be analytical and, and find my kids.

And so I am reaching for those keys. And I have another scenario where it's, it's again, a voice, a very strong voice. Bridger, no, and I, my hand kinda stops. And Bishop and I have talked about this since, but it's very interesting, like. I, I kind of put my hand down, looked at him and just kept on going. It was like, like the weirdest, like, all you wanna do is help, and, and that's what I wanted.

Like that would've been very helpful. But that was such a strong, it was a second pretty strong impression that I had. I mean, we're still here. We are still missing my, our, our only daughter and our son, and. It was, it was 30 minutes at this point. And, and we're fire's pretty scary. And, uh, I find Lindsay, she's kind of collapsed and, and crying and, and we're, we're, we both know, we don't know what to do.

And, and it's, it's just a very, it's, it's sobering to think about. It was, it was a, we've done everything we can and I remember kneeling down next to her and simple prayer Heaven father, help us find the lead in Wesley. And as soon as that, as soon as we finished that prayer, I had the immediate thought to call our elders Corps president.

I've never, maybe I've called him once, uh uh. He's usually the one that that's calling us and, and, uh, we're primary people. Yeah. So I tell her, and so I call him up and I'm like, Hey, Shane, have you seen our, have you seen our kids? Have you seen Lily or Wesley? And he's at the pavilion where everybody else is waiting.

He says, hold on, lemme check. And I can hear him in the background, uh, asking if anybody he's yelling out, has anybody seen yell Lily or Wesley? And, and I remember

just, uh, some of the background is yelling, yes, they're right here. Lily and Wesley right here, can't describe those feelings. Hearing that pure elation relief, we sprinted. It was a fast run. It was a fast run, but just, uh, had a little cheering section there. We were, all of our ward family were there that kinda celebrating with us.

And,

and there's, there's still a ton of anxiety. I mean, we're still missing people, right? And, and, but that was, for us, that was such an amazing reunion. I can imagine that's gonna be. Pretty similar to our union later, uh, when everything is said and done, but, but it was just, it was just nice to be together for a second, and that's when Lily grabbed Lindsay's hand.

And why is dad sick? Why is, why is he, why does he look so sick? I remember calling Jared at that point and asking if he was okay, and he was, he was down at, um, at the hospital and, and. I felt like I needed to be there, and so I made sure Lindsey and his kids were okay. And I, I got a police escort down to the hospital and found Jared and, and who is Jared?

Sorry. Oh yeah. Good, good question. Jared. Jared's like another colleague of ours, um, emergency medicine. He and I have a lot in common from our background and, and. Just a good, good dude. And, uh, his family, he was, he was actually hit in the leg and his daughter was hit. And they have amazing experiences that those are, those are their miracles to tell.

I had a chance to be in there with him. Uh, it was Tara, Jared and I just, I, we were only missing our other co-resident. Kay. But it was just us three in a room as, as Tara was wrapping his leg. And, and I remember giving him a blessing and, and I. Found out that his daughter had been taken to Hurley, uh, a different hospital.

And so I offered to give him a ride over there. 'cause he weren't, we weren't sure how well his leg was gonna hold up driving and, and, um, and so I ended up, we ended up driving to Hurley. I dropped him off and, and, um, there's some other experiences there that we, we probably don't need to go into detail there, it's just more sacred stuff.

But on my way back, after I dropped him off, 'cause now I'm in, I'm in his car. As I'm driving back, I'm looking at my face in the mirror and realizing that I'm becoming a board style question. And what that means is we have, we take boards right? And there's, there's questions that we get and there's, there's one that we, that always shows up and it's about a young firefighter who's healthy and, and has been through a fire and he feels great and his vitals look good and everything is fine.

And then four hours later he's dead. And, and it's one of those scenarios where if, if you are. And if you have soot in your face, soot in your mouth, so in your nose, you, you have an inhalation injury until proven otherwise. And so I, I, I called up, I'm driving to my hospital now. I've, I've called up one of my attendings and I said, I think, I think I need to be intubated.

And, and kind of went over the, the symptoms that I was going through with her and, and she's like, yeah, I think you're right. So I'm heading to Genesis to get intubated and I'm kind of calling my flight surgeon and my mom. Lindsey and trying to get everybody kind of in, in a, in a row here. And I get a call from Jared and he's, I'm, I'm two minutes from my hospital now.

And he's like, Hey, everything's okay. Can you come pick us up? You have our car. And I'm like, because of, of what? And, and again, this is like his, his daughter was hit in the back. There's a lot of detail that, again, it's, it's their miracle. But I was not anticipating. A quick release. It was, I, I was shocked and I said, heck, y'all, I'll, I'll turn around.

And so I turned around to go pick 'em up and I remember very vividly seeing their little girl skipping out of that emergency room in her gown. Everything's fine and jaron brandy or pale as ghosts, and, and we've all, we all kinda look. Like a mess. Bloody and closed, torn. And, and brandy and, and their girl get in the back and, and I, Jared and I have this moment out front in front of his car and I'm like, Hey, my breathing is kind of getting worse.

Do you feel comfortable driving? He's like, yeah, I'm, I'm good. And so we just kind of switched spots and he drives me to the hospital and that's where I ended up getting intubated. And yeah, just, just a crazy, I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to see them. Altogether and wealth. 'cause it shouldn't, if you wanna get into the anatomy and the medical stuff, it shouldn't have been that way.

And it, it's, it's, I think that's one of the reasons why I wanna share what we've, what we've been through is there were so many miracles. God has not left us alone. He's, he's very aware of us in our time of hell and chaos and tragedy. He was, he was right there every step of the way along with. Angels and legions of angels and just, just amazing.

After we got reunited, Bridger ran to the hospital to help. I was escorted by a police officer back across the street because I have Lily and Wesley and they wouldn't let me leave the pavilion. And I said, my other two kids are across the street at a stranger's house because. It is like a little retirement community, and someone had told my friend and her husband to bring the kids inside their house.

So I had the four little kids and we kind of got trapped because there were, it's, it's not a big road church that our church is on on. So the kids and I stayed for hours. At this random couple's house and they fed my kids popsicles and they turned on the tv and eventually we were able to get some fire trucks moved so that we could get out.

'cause we were gonna have to walk out and then call for a ride. And I was with two, there were two older women in the ward that were with me. So when we got out, I was able to take them where they needed to go. I'm on my way with my four kids. To where my oldest is at, and Bridger calls me and he says, Hey, can you get to the hospital in like five minutes?

They're gonna intubate me. And at this moment, I didn't know how many times you had been in and out of the church, and I said, do not do anything until I get there. And so I had to leave my kids after finally being reunited. But I knew they were safe and I actually, my friend came with me and she held the baby in the emergency room.

And I went back and you were all gowned up and ready to go. And I was like, what is happening? And your lips were all black and can, anyways, they said, it's just precautionary. We wanna make sure that his throat doesn't swell. It probably won't. He'll probably only be intubated for like 24 hours. So my expectations were like, okay, we're just doing this as a caution.

Like I'll be able to talk to him tomorrow. It'll be fine. He did swell, so he really did need to be intubated. And you were unconscious for what, four days? Four and a half, yeah. Wow. I didn't realize that. Just thinking about your last question of who did their jobs remarkably well or whatever. You asked specifically two moms in our war, our two kids that we couldn't find for that really long, half an hour.

One of the women helped them get to the woods. And helped them hide. And he, she told them where to go and how deep to go and then she, uh, she prayed with them in the woods and tried to comfort them. And she had her own kids with her. She had our two kids and there were a few other kids with her too. And she said I was gonna keep those kids safe in those trees until I knew for sure.

That it was okay to come out, and I told her

that she was my elephant because it sounds stupid because right after the shooting I had read something about how mother elephants will surround and protect their young or they're wounded. And I'm so grateful that she kept my kids safe right along with hers. And then there was another mom who held them in her arms at the pavilion until we could find them.

And I'm thankful for that because the immediate danger was gone. But they could see the burning church building and they could, they didn't know where we were. So one, one woman kept them safe and hidden, and the other one comforted them until they could be back in our arms, and I will forever be grateful for those two.

Well, as a, as a mom, I feel like it's amazing when there are those moments where you can't find your kid and how it seems like time moves in slow motion. And so I cannot fathom the way that that must have felt. And I also recognize how much it means when somebody is taking care of your kid. Thank you for sharing that, Lindsey.

Some of the people whose work was affected that day were the people that you Bridger worked with as an ER resident. I scrolled through your Facebook in preparation for this interview, and it's very clear that you are very well loved by your colleagues, and so I wondered if you could talk to me about your gratitude for them for being ready that day and maybe how this experience will affect the way that you view your job moving forward, if at all.

Totally. Yeah, I, I work with incredible people for sure. They were affected right along with the members of our congregation. They were suddenly responsible to treat us. Our hospital, Henry Ford Genesis, it's less than five minutes from our church. Several of us were already there. There were multiple residents there already on shift.

One of, one of my colleagues, uh, her name is Tara. She's our fellow fourth year. Emergency medicine resident with us, she was, uh, the senior resident on, with a junior resident. And that's a big responsibility to take on with them in a mass casualty scenario. So you, you don't know, you don't know how much to expect.

Another one of my colleagues, Jared, he was, he's a, a member with us and, and his wife and him have been on social media in and out, but he was injured and, and. Tara was taking care of him. Uh, it's hard to take care of your fellow residents in any stretch, let alone a, a mass casualty scenario, and she had to stay calm and sharp, and she did fantastic leading the team.

She figured out the scheduling afterwards. Like she, she was, she just kind of an unsung hero that I, I, I just am very grateful for her and, and the way she just handled, handled it like a boss. It's already intense, just a normal er day. And then you add this on and it's, it gets pretty extreme. Her kind of leadership and, and composure meant a lot.

There were other physicians as well. I mean, we had, we have trauma surgeons come down during, in the middle of a chaos. Chaos like this. They had everybody kind of called in. People were, I think Jared and my other colleague Billy, he's another ER resident. He was post-call, so he was at home with his kids and, and got call from his wife about what was happening.

And so then he. Jared and he both called the ER to let 'em know what was going on. And I, I called the ER later. So all three of us were trying, trying to alert the alert, the, the crew, but they had physicians and nurses and techs and residents from all the other specialties lined up ready to help. And man, that was awesome.

I, I, my colleagues checked in on, uh, my family, they checked in on. I just, they were very, when you, when you talk about ministering, I feel like they, they did a fantastic job at that one, one moment that meant a lot to me, uh, happened while I was in the ICU. I had just been extubated or the tube had just been removed.

My, from my throat and kids aren't normally allowed in the ICU and I hadn't been able to see all my kids together yet. It had been what we five days now. Surgical colleague and friend of mine, Andrew, uh, helped organize a way, uh, for me to be wheeled outside, to be reunited with my family altogether. And, and that was, that was one of those, um.

Strong moments. It was just, I mean, he went out of his way to do that and I was really appreciative of, of his efforts. It's not an easy, it seems like a simple thing. We'll just will him out and, and take care, but it, it's, you have, there's stupid paperwork and, and, uh, he knew how to get around it. And, and that was probably the best thing for me motivation wise to get home.

I mean, experiences like this in general change people and they change teams. Our residency class has already been through multiple tragedies, so this is just. I think this particular experience is gonna be a different bond that's gonna last forever. It reminds me of a lot of deployments in the military.

You go through intense situations together and, and things most people never face. And then it creates a level of trust and connection that's hard to describe. And I think that that'll be the same scenario here, uh, um, not just among our ward family, but among our, our resident family. And man, I'm incredibly grateful for the people I work with.

I like, I know we've kind of jumped around the story here. When I, when I went in, when I realized that I was breathing. Weird. I knew what I need. I knew I needed to be intubated. And then, so it was interesting to, to walk in and see my bosses there and hey, I need to, I need to get intubated. Sorry. And, and they were, they were very professional and I gotta pick who intubated me.

I gotta pick. It was kind of, kind of funny to go to my own hospital and be able to pick out who, who's gonna do what, and, and then, uh, just grateful that I had people there that I could trust. And yeah, these people saved my life. Saved the lives of others and very grateful for them. Really quickly, just so people know, because I remember when I was first reading up on your story, I was like, okay, so what happened that led you to get intubated?

So it was smoke inhalation, is that right? Yeah, and I guess I should probably go back to the question of, of why did you go back in the, the, the church so many times? I, and so, so we didn't know where our three oldest children were. After the nine 11 call or nine one one call. I, I, I knew Lindsay wasn't go anywhere until we find our kids, which was a, a huge motivator.

Already had it, but more of a motivator. There wasn't any calculation. Like I I, I, I'm very analytical. I I wanna make the right choice the first time and not worry about it later. And so that takes time. I didn't have time and that was interesting to me. Like I, I, like, I didn't have time to weigh the decisions.

There's only action and, and I felt. I needed to go back in and, and as, as parents, when you're in that situation, there's never really gonna be a moment where, all right, that's enough. We tried our best. Like Right. That doesn't sit, let's call it. Yeah. Yeah. Let's, let's call it, yeah. That doesn't sit, that's, that's not, that doesn't work.

There was, we were gonna do everything we could, everything in our power to find our kids. And then I, that was the, the mentality that I had. I, I, I even, one of the most important calls I made that day was to my dad. And it was 16 seconds

and I said, dad, there's a active shooter at our church. Our church is on fire, and I don't know where Lily and Wesley are.

Please pray for us. Please pass it on. Please pray for us.

And I did the same to Lindsay's family. I called them up and, and her older brother, her older sister, and got that prayer chain going and, and that was, I felt, I felt power through prayer, um, while deployed. You can feel your family and friends praying for you, but you can also feel like a nation praying for you.

Like, like the good people in the nation. They're praying for their military, they're praying for their safety, and, and that was, that was a powerful feeling to feel deployed This time around, I, you can't describe it. There was just a, you were elevated. There were, there were, it was life sustaining. It was tangible.

One of the things that just while we're on that topic, we just had state conference and our, our stake president was in the Northeast, uh, meeting with Elder Su Suarez and Elder Suarez. Uh, this is a stake president telling us, um, about his experience. And I, I guess Elder Suarez found out that he was in the congregation of state presidents and said that that Sunday all the, all the apostles were in the temple.

After them passing President Nelson. And when they found out about that, about our attack, they stopped what they were doing and they all prayed for us.

And, uh, just that power of prayer was, was amazing. When I went back in, I was guided. I didn't, I didn't know exactly what I was gonna be doing. I was just gonna be looking for my kids and, and analytically I would've gone door to door. But that's not what I did. And it was, I, I found one of our brothers down in the foyer, and, and I was by myself and I couldn't lift this guy by myself.

And, and my thought was, what am I gonna do next? As I see another gentleman trying to run from the, the back of the, the chapel. I realized that that gentleman was older and he had a, he was limping, he wasn't gonna be able to help me. But within that, within a couple seconds, there were two other guys, Mike and Tracy, both veterans and they were there and we, we helped this guy get out and I remember lifting him up and carrying him through the foyer and looking back and seeing that the church was on fire, which was new.

I didn't, I, that wasn't, it was just gunshots before, but now I was on fire. And so in my mind I'm thinking, okay, my kids have been trained to lock in place during an active shooter. They can't, they can't, they can't do that. Now. I've got, they're, they're in here somewhere locked in place. I've gotta get 'em out.

And I remember getting the gentleman out there. He ended up being John Bond, who was a, uh, Navy veteran. I don't know. I, yeah, I'm, I think I'm safe to say his name. I just, I want, I want people to know about these amazing people. But John Bond, um. That was kind of a, a, a surreal moment. We had all these veterans around this, this guy, and, and he was currently stable.

And so, so I, I told Mike, look, I've, I've gotta leave. I gotta find my kids. And he said, I'll, I'll take care of, of him. And, and so I continued on. But yeah, every time I stopped, I, because I, again, I was looking for my kids, but it was weird. I, I felt, I felt right stopping to help people along the way. That, that was interesting to me.

And I think that goes back. I, I think because I felt hope, I still felt hope. Like I, I felt like my kids were somehow okay. I think that takes me back to years earlier I was in medical school. It's a difficult career for families and, and Air Force stuff and there's a lot of time away and I remember. I wanted to be the best physician and air force officer I could be, but I also wanted to be the best dad and the best husband, and that was the most important.

And with the training and the long hours, like I, I was worried about what that meant for my family. And I remember praying very sincerely that, that, uh, God will help me do, would help me do both to serve where I was called and also to to be a dad and a husband, and, and protect my family. I rem I remember during med school I found this painting by Greg Olson called Take My Hand and it's Jesus is, is holding on this little kid's hand.

And that kid looked a lot like my son at the time, frightened. And I had a very strong impression that looking at that painting, that God had heard my prayer almost like the savior himself was telling me, Hey, if you, when, when and if and when you had to be away. I will be there to watch over your family.

And I felt that very strongly in med school. And, and that was a very peace provoking scenario. And I think that kinda came back into this situation where I'm looking for my kids, I'm actually looking for them. But I had the peace to stop and help others because I knew he was still watching over my own kids, if that makes sense.

Like that was still that, that, that promise that I felt like he made me back in med school was still very alive and very. Kinda like he, he never forgets his, his commitment or his his part of the covenant, if that makes sense. While there were definitely miracles that day, I think we would be remiss if we didn't talk about the four people who were killed.

Can you share any insight into who they were and how you hope they'll be remembered? I knew Thelma. Thelma was in the primary with me. Thelma is. Wonderful, spunky friendly woman. Her daughter is in the ward. She loved her daughter and she loved her grandkids.

I'm so happy that we would, I got the chance to like sit in the back of singing time and chat with her, with her son was visiting the ward that day. And after I had left the two youngest with my friend across the street and ran back to the church, her son and I were standing at the corner of the church.

'cause the cops wouldn't let us get any closer. And we stood together and we,

he said, I can't find my mom. And I said, I can't find my kids.

And as the cops and the firefighters got there, we said, we, I don't even know his name. We yelled together and said that you need to look for his mom. You need to look for a kid. I said, I can't find my daughter and my son. And he said, I don't think my mom got out of the building. She, she loved holding Stetson.

I went to a concert with her and some girls from our ward this past summer. Like she's just, she's fun and wonderful.

Anything to add? Yeah, so she's a, actually a convert to the church from South, South Africa, and her and her daughter moved over here and, and they've been here ever since. Like Lindsay said, she's, she's always, I mean, just loves holding, holding our baby and, and any baby and, and was always very helpful with that 'cause Lindsay had to step up in front of the primary and do, do certain activities and, and it was just nice to have her help us out.

But she was, she had a deep love. And then, and we're not, we might not be the best people right to, to give the full life story of these people, but this is what we know. And, and you could tell she had a deep love for her family and for her faith. And the fact that she was there that day, Sacra meeting, I mean, she was doing everything she, everything she could to, to be prepared and, and just grateful for, for example, we miss her.

It's, it's hard again, because we, we know, we know Thelma probably the most outta the rest of these, but, uh, 'cause you're in primary Exactly the primary scenario. But I have like had a chance to kinda get to know each of 'em and, and understand them. I'm, I'm never gonna forget 'em. Craig Hayden was the, the previ was the previous bishop in the Grand Blanc ward.

And, and anybody who understands that calling you, you know that he is a very giving person. Caring person. Years of quiet service, counseling, lifting. I, I met, uh, one of, one of the other victims that was hit. He said that they would play guitar together and, and just have these music sessions or, or jam sessions, I guess is what they call just amazing guy, um, man of faith devoted to family.

And, and he. I was helping others when, when he passed, and, and that speaks volumes to who he is and who he, who he will be remembered as and grateful that we get to

grateful for the plan of salvation, that we get to see him again. That his, he's, his spirit lives on. John Bond, I already kinda mentioned him. Navy veteran loved his family deeply. They, they talk about him loving time with his grandkids and, and model trains and, and apparently he was an avid guy and, and family history, loved family history and, and he was doing a lot of family history work.

Every, every I I, I was told every week, um, which is impressive and something I need to probably pick up and, and do better at. But he, he, his, his goal is to preserve the stories that have of people who have gone before us. I had a chance to be at his funeral after a recovery and, and in full uniform. And, and it was an honor to just give him the respect that he, he deserves.

And, and again, the timing of this, I think is impressive. Uh, after the sacrament, he's, he's renewed his covenants, served his country. I mean, amazing guy that, yeah, I'm, I'm gonna remember as well. I, I, I, I have a connection with John Bond now, uh, with, with my experience of that day. And I have a, a connection again with, with Pat Howard as well.

I didn't know this at the time, but, but Pat was a, he was born Canadian and then became a US citizen and, and proudly served in the Army. Uh, loved, loved his family, loved the Constitution. Um, strong faith, just, uh. I mean, I, I, I, I'm kind of sad that I, I didn't get to know him before this, but I feel like we'll have plenty of time, plenty of time to talk about, uh, or talk later.

Uh, something that I do wanna mention, brother Bond, his wife wasn't, or, or I don't think she's a member, uh, but, but Sister Hayden, uh, sister Howard and, and Mrs. Bond, they, they, they go out to eat weekly now, and, and they have this, this strong connection and it's amazing to see. The light rising from the ashes, if that makes sense.

And, and just these, these were faithful members of the church. Again, they had just taken the sacrament. They were, when their lives were taken, they, they were doing what they, they've always been doing. They were, they were serving, they were helping. Um, they're helping people around them. And I think God takes.

Their actions and those things very seriously, and uh, I hope they'll always be remembered for the way they lived. People of faith, people of service, and people who love others around them. What you've heard today is not the end of Lindsay and Bridger's experiences. Their story is obviously not over, but it's also not over on this podcast.

We will have another episode next week with more from the Frampton's, and we hope you'll tune in then. We are so grateful. To them for being willing to share these experiences. As always, we're grateful to Derek Campbell of Mix at six studios for his help with this episode, and we look forward to being with you again next week.