A Mormon FBI Agent and a Bishop

Well what do you know, gun in one hand and Scriptures in the other. We Mormons are good at killing the baddies and saving marriages. Good on you McPheters, you are a gutsy person with a great Testimony

MESA - Fighting drug cartels, then counseling couples having trouble in their marriage -- that was a day in the life of an FBI agent who moonlighted as a Mormon bishop. He says it was a call of duty to his country and God.
An extortion case bust turned violent and FBI Agent Mike McPheters fired off a deadly shot.
"He fired first, it went over my shoulder and I returned fire and I shot him… My round went through his heart, lodged in his spine," says McPheters. "Yeah I was responsible for his life being taken. I never had any remorse. It either would have been him or me."
Throughout his life, McPheters juggled two identities -- one inside the Mormon temple and the other out in the field.
"One day I might perform a marriage, another day I might have to arrest a bridegroom."
McPheters says it was an easy balancing act. He was a Mormon bishop and a specialized agent in the FBI -- and he says his work never conflicted with his religious beliefs.
"In 1968, when I raised my arm to defend the constitution, I felt that was a sacred honor, this constitution for this land. I feel it comes from God."
After fighting the mafia along the East Coast, McPheters moved his family out west. His job was to survey the Mexican cartels along the border.
"They are the most despicable people on the face of the earth, the drug cartels -- not illegal immigrants," he says.
McPheters says our porous border endangers everyone, and admires Brewer's resolve to protect the state. He also tips his hat to the controversial lawman, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
During his career, McPheters did not take life for granted, although he admits feeling invincible sometimes.
"Knowing your going to get the bad guys, that excitement eclipses fear," he says.
Only once, McPheters prepared for death. A drug bust inside a motel room required him to confront a dealer without a gun.
"That night, I had to write my family a note… that I love them. If anything should happen it's been a great ride."
That's a ride he shares with his wife, five children and 22 grandchildren -- "gun in one hand, scriptures in the other."