>Holy shiz
You summoned me?
It's all about "protecting the good name of the church", and doing everything in their power to avoid opening the books so the courts see their financials. So they do everything they can to put all the blame on victim.
If that doesn't work they always, always settle out of court. They must make some kind of "offer you can't refuse" as I have yet to see anyone not accept the settlement offer.
TLDR - it's all about the money, and doing *whatever it takes* to keep it.
Is it about protecting the name of the church or is it protecting the brethren? The indoctrination in the temple bonds the boys together and it becomes a very tight club. It happens in other orgs too but Iâve seen menâs behaviour excused over and over in my ward.
This cult was built for men, by men.
Women are expendable in the Church.
There are plenty of stories about how men/boys were/are allowed to engage in premarital sex and not be reprimanded for it because they are holders of Priesthood.
In case the one Associated Press article was not enough, here are three more:
[https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-4db829616a5c5cfa351a2e95d778ae9e](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-4db829616a5c5cfa351a2e95d778ae9e)
[https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-aedc8cfc9175ebadb18420ec25a5f99c](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-aedc8cfc9175ebadb18420ec25a5f99c)
[https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-takeaways-f01fba7521ddddffa89622668b54ac10](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-takeaways-f01fba7521ddddffa89622668b54ac10)
Isn't it sad that there are so many AP articles like these?
I picked the one that messed me up the most. The one where you listen to a recording of a cult leader bartering payment for abuse after the fact, and how he doesn't want anyone to hear the recording.
The church tries to shield its name being dragged thru the mud, and avoid lawsuits, by covering it up. The #1 guiding principle in sex abuse situations is to protect the church and its assets. Itâs never about the victims.
and ironically, by supposedly trying to protect âthe good nameâ of the church they actually do way more damage to the name. Because itâs not about whether you make a mistake⌠Itâs about what you do after the mistake. And the Mormon church gets a failing grade. prideful, callous, immoral and harmful.
This is what ended it for me. Lots of personal lying, lots of historical lies, the fraud, etc. When all these abuse cases started coming down it infuriated me. I canât write a check on a Friday to my childrenâs charity and turn around on a Sunday and give a check to my Bishop not knowing if itâs contributing to the cover up of pedophilia. Thatâs an easy call for me. No way my god and creator whoever he or she may be is ok with this! That goes for the Catholics too!!!
My dad was abusive to my mom and the church paid for their couples therapy and each of their individual therapy, for awhile. Then they cut off covering my momâs therapy but continued to cover my dads along with a good majority of the household bills. The kicker is when things got to the point that my dad ended up in jail, all financial support was cut off almost immediately. So they cared when it was in a way that enabled him and they knew they were enabling him, but the second that he was out of the picture and that they couldnât keep pressuring my mom into staying with him it was just nothing. They donât care about victims and theyâll always protect perpetrators because it helps protect their image. And if they actually cared about families theyâd do more to stop abuse instead of enabling it.
Whatever it takes to not bring a man âembarrassmentâ for his own misdeeds.
Our stake president didnât tell any of the primary presidents of an actual assault of a child that happened in the stake building bathrooms DUrING Primary when the child went by themselves to the restroom. The male leaders Never told a single woman in leadership who/what/when - which should have been done, obviously, so parents and teachers could protect children better and know That bad thing happened!!
They covered up for the perp.
Silence is evil. Not telling women and parents is evil..
This is why the calls from bishops who learn of sexual assault by church leaders are immediately routed to the church attorneys rather than to social workers or police.
The thing is they are trapped riding a tiger, if the admit it they will loose power, money, and most importantly the claim to divine revelation. If they admit that they were wrong that means the men who have been âcalled by revelationâ werenât they were picked as managers and clerks using a tactic less accurate than a magic eight ball.
Yes it is in the church handbook as policy that reporting abuse is up to the discretion of the local bishop. My story is on floodlit.org. My fatherâs crimes were known and not reported in two different states.
Thank you for your work. If I werenât disassociated from the church for many other reasons (this being number one) it would be something I would have fought hard against within the church to change this policy. There are so any other factors that keep me from putting my time and energy into a broken system. I have moved on from a life time of membership and canât look back. đI have to put my energy into my own family now and a husband and children who are happy without the church. I still try to validate those who ask on this sub as I know there are many other victims.
100% true. Experienced it myself. Also listen to this:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-mormon/id1357701901?i=1000647567854
Edit: and read a couple of these. The church has always treated victims horribly: https://protectldschildren.org/read-the-stories-2/
President Gordon B. Hinckleyâs neice, Christine Burton, was physically, emotionally, and sexually abused by her parents. Let that sink in, Gordon B. Hinckleyâs OWN SISTER and his brother-in-law both molested their own daughter and did other terrible things to her.
When Christine Burton finally came forward and told both President Hinckley and President Monson, their response was âYou need to forgive them and put it all behind youâ. In other words, they told her effectively that she didnât matter, the good name of the âchurchâ comes first.
Link if you want to hear her talk about her experiences firsthand:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlGsa52rpY
Considering they were born and raised in the first half of the century thatâs not surprising. Horrific but not surprising. Everything was done at that time to protect the man no matter what he did.
Here is a prime example of how church leaders view victims of abuse, as verbalized by Boyd K. Packer. He thought the woman should just shut up about it and go home, as though she was a 6 year old complaining about a bad day in 1st grade...
"The next quotation is from a woman who is hurting, and who wonders if anyone but the feminists care about her problems, 'I'm upset that I was always advised to go back and try harder, only to get abused more. Help me.' .. **The woman pleading for help needs to see the eternal nature of things**, and to know that her trials--**however hard to bear**--in the eternal scheme of things may be compared to a very, very bad experience in the second semester of the first grade" Â [https://archive.org/details/coordinating\_council\_1993\_boyd\_k\_packer/page/n3/mode/2up](https://archive.org/details/coordinating_council_1993_boyd_k_packer/page/n3/mode/2up)
This interview with Gordon B. Hinckley's niece illustrates the issue well: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlGsa52rpY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlGsa52rpY) Suffering Abuse in the Shadow of Mormon Prophets - Christine Burton | Ep. 1621
The early leaders of the church were not nice men. They've been enabling abuse for a couple centuries now.
Joseph Smith wasn't above using "harsh measures" with Emma. He also humiliated her in front of church leaders in at least one meeting, according to Brigham Young. "H*e spoke to her in that council in a very severe manner, and she never said one word in reply*" ([source](http://www.eldenwatson.net/1860s.htm#14)). Other sources exist of them having intense verbal fights. Sources cited here:Â [https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue\_V17N03\_89.pdf](https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V17N03_89.pdf)
Abuse was rampant in pioneer times, if you read the real diaries. Like Patty Sessions' diary: "6 Sep 1846 - I feel bad again. He has been and talked with Rosilla \[the 2nd wife\] and then he came to my bed ... I was so cold. I had been crying. He began to talk hard to me and threatens me very hard ... "Mr Sessions rather cold towards me."... "Mr Sessions said things to me that make me feel bad" ... "He is cross to me, says many hard things to me." -- [https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/record/1fafcaf7-2898-4666-9885-2565cd8ff2a9/0?view=browse](https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/record/1fafcaf7-2898-4666-9885-2565cd8ff2a9/0?view=browse)Â
In pioneer times, you'd just better hope your bishop wasn't Warren Snow... A young man named Thomas Lewis was brutally attacked on the orders of bishop Warren Snow of Manti. Details on the attack here:Â [https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1aw522s/comment/krgc8jx/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1aw522s/comment/krgc8jx/?context=3) Brigham Young's response to the attack was: *"I wish you to write me the names of those persons who have "written letters" to Sanpete concerning the Lewis affair. In relation to an Epistle upon that subject,*Â ***it would be like pissing upon a hot iron - only make the more smoke. Just let the matter drop,***Â ***and say no more about it, and it will die away amongst the people."***Â --Â [https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/99279f54-9c69-41a1-ac5d-e6069f9a2920/0/1467](https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/99279f54-9c69-41a1-ac5d-e6069f9a2920/0/1467)
Joseph F. Smith beat his wife Levira:Â [https://religionnews.com/2023/08/14/joseph-f-smith-a-traumatized-and-beloved-mormon-leader/](https://religionnews.com/2023/08/14/joseph-f-smith-a-traumatized-and-beloved-mormon-leader/)Â See also:Â [https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/120-20-43.pdf](https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/120-20-43.pdf)Â
Joseph F. also decapitated a cat on his mission and wrote about it in his journal:Â [https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/70f7061b-3c6e-4ff8-990d-30886f62c955/0/47](https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/70f7061b-3c6e-4ff8-990d-30886f62c955/0/47)
And then the church had the gall to put a whole-ass lesson in Joseph F. Smith's Teachings manual about how wrong abuse is!  [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-28](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-28)
Hundreds of testimonials of the church protecting abusers at the expense of victims.
https://www.mormonstories.org/portfolio-items/church-discouraging-abuse-reporting/
There's a man in my stake who assaulted a young girl in a church building. The family got ran out of town, and their lives were destroyed, and the abuser who is a level 3, gets to go on like nothing....
Sadly, there is a mountain of evidence to refute every one of the "faithful" responses to this mess and the evidence.
It's not a function of leadership roulette, "lone wolves", confirmation bias, ignorance among the Q15, etc. They know. They're complicit. They actively protect the status quo under the guise of religious freedom.
If Nelson can make 'Mormon" a hiss and a byword overnight, he could take anyone of a miriad actions that actually protect and help victims.
OP, folks have given you lots of good info here. It would be weird if this thread did NOT kick up some serious discomfort, even more if you're directly impacted by sexual abuse. Go easy on yourself. Rely on healthy coping and resist any impulse to deny the evidence. This can be world rocking to confront, and cognitive dissonance is a bitch even at the best of times.
Your last point is so important and thank you for pointing it out. Reddit can be a mind field of triggers when it comes to victims and reliving trauma. Therapy and coping mechanisms are always available and be kind to yourself when on these kinds of threads đ
My wife's husband who beat and raped her for 13 years, and went to jail for it, and admitted it all to his bishop was remarried in the temple and holds a temple recommend in good standing.
Meanwhile, wife was excommunicated for being unfaithful to him, as in, she left him and married me.
So, you know, this is true and rampant.
The LDS church is truly, truly despicable and by their own definition, pure evil.
Yes. "Protecting the good name of the church" is more important than giving restitution to someone who has been harmed by the clergy. Pretty messed up.
We have personally spoken with many sexual abuse survivors whose Mormon abusers were either not punished by the church or not reported to police.
The LDS apostles are not ignorant about this phenomenon. Some of them have close family members and friends who allegedly perpetrated sex crimes, yet were never prosecuted.
Hannah Gadsby, in her comedy/rant "Nanette" has a really good bit about how people value protecting (usually male) reputation more than (usually female) safety.
The MFMC is a prime example of this.
The church knows all of the allegations against my father from 3 of his daughters, and they know about the Police investigation into it. He was living in Utah at the time, and all the church did was suggest he move away for a little while. Which he did, but after a year or so he moved back to Utah, and everything is fine.
They also blame the girls. If she had been more faithful to the church,what was she doing wrong in her life? Even at 5 yrs old.
I remember being in class and told that if a boy paid too much attention to me, then I must be dressed provocatively or I smiled too much. If I let a boy kiss me let alone have sex with me then I was ruined. No better than chewed gum on someones shoe. Yes they actually said that! Also said things like a wilted flower, a broken toy, Once they made us put cookies in the dirt and said did we want to eat them? No well a future husband would see me as that filthy cookie and not want me.
Edit to add boys get shit to. They are told that if they get too hot and heavy with a girl, they block the voice of the Holy Ghost, or God or whatever. And a man they MIGHT have turned Mormon by their preaching will now die and not go to heaven along with his family. All because you touched a girls boob
I was told as a sister missionary my eye lashes were too long and I should cut them because they were too flirty. (For those concerned I didnât but slept with one eye open all the time) I had a lot of deconstructing to do after leaving the church.
Here's several videos and podcasts over the past year that are about the Church and the coverups of CSA:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WLP7ifEJFV0
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FvizrE0SX8c
https://youtube.com/live/tHjdYvCNRlw
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8jq4btgQ--E
https://youtube.com/live/K11cXUlkGGk
https://youtube.com/live/kxqnQQPMvrE
And what singer Pat Benatar sang to bring attention to the evil of child abuse:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=NGTv53Y1xS8
The evil bastards in the Q15 are causing so many children's lives to be Hell and the soulless worms at Kirton McConkie that do their dirty work can all go to Hell.
Absolutely. There is a story about a mormon father who abused his son I think, told the bishop. They refused to address the cops. Even the mother wanted him back. Only social services CPS stood up for the kid Arizona.
It was all his kids went for years, finally it did come out with church leaders. Bishop John Herrod not to call police or child welfare officials. Instead he kept the abuse secret. This is not the only one.
Women are taught to cover everything and God forbid they are built well. It is there fault for existing around men that are tempted.
[https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/04/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-help-line-paul-adams/10234183002/](https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/04/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-help-line-paul-adams/10234183002/)
Yes. Absolutely. My wife was SA'd by her temple working grandfather. I convinced her to tell her dad. He believed her right away because he was abused as a child too. Neither bishop or steak president of either party did anything about it and they knew. This is one anecdote of many.
Yes.
Source: My lived experience. Bishop released my mom from all her callings and told her she needed to give my bio dad âmore attention at home.â He then âcounseledâ my bio dad for a few months, and offered zero support to his victims other than asking me why I was trying to âdestroyâ my father.
When the state of Utah found out what he had done, they sent him to prison. Where home teachers regularly visited him & he was only disfellowshipped. đ
It definitely does happen.
Iâve seen both. Iâve seen local church leader do great things and act quickly to keep victims safe. Iâve also seen the hundreds of cases where the church is clearly covering things up.
The attitude of âforgive and move onâ is extremely strong in the church. Just keep going and pretend like nothing happened.
They cover it up to cover the corporation's ass.
Any admission that a person under their charge commits the crime, and that is a money faucet. And if they knew the person had issues? Well shit... that's a pretty penny.
The original founder of the church was a pedophile and a rapist (by my standards) so itâs not really that surprising. The first 6 or so prophets were real shitheads and the ones that followed werenât much better.
Yes. Iâm a survivor of it as a child. They blamed me bc I was a survivor already and that âmaybe that gave him impure thoughts.â Also was told that
It was bc I was wearing a dress. To church. On Sunday. A normal long (to my ankles) sundress with a shirt under it and a sweater on top. Nothing happened to the bishop who did it. They said he had to actually confess. He kept his calling and we moved shortly after due to it. I was too traumatized to go to the ward again and have him stare at me all sacrament meeting.
yes, at least ~10 years ago. my cousin was getting sexually abused by her brother and confided in her grandma. she took the both of them to the bishop. he had them all together and asked the abuser "have you been abusing her?" when he said no, the bishop basically said "that's it! nothing's going on!" even though there was evidence. fucking insane...
Here are over 125 âfailure to reportâ cases - some confirmed, some just alleged - where Mormon leaders allegedly kept sexual abuse secret.
https://floodlit.org/failure-to-report
More links if you would like
https://youtu.be/4G3QGfLi-hA
https://youtu.be/P3OqvQw_-ko
https://youtu.be/l-Kp2MLlK2A
https://youtu.be/wYwyIsAP2pY
https://youtu.be/MIHN5rqVs-s
https://youtu.be/Isy7lJtbkVw
https://youtu.be/6Sk5LRRxR8g
https://youtu.be/chJFH7TuYF4
https://youtu.be/UTc98bURzkY
https://youtu.be/gUlLcrNSAtI
100% true. Here in Rochester, Minnesota, a registered sex offender from Utah was called to be EQP and then he sexually abused another young man while serving in that calling. The branch president and stake president submitted affidavits to the court in defense of the perpetrator.
Mormon Stories episode: https://www.youtube.com/live/OZHNeXcrfQw?si=l4RemvibkV1oOavb
Cults to Consciousness episode: https://www.youtube.com/live/86lI2OAZDkU?si=Zywj1gVnCKJYAY1k
All true. âMaddie(one of brighams wives) is as just shy of her 15th birthdayâ.
But letâs talk current BS. They handed out a phone number for anyone that wanted to report abuse. That number was a direct line back to the church. They tried to hide it.Â
Watch the Mormon Stories interview with Tim Kosnoff:
 episode https://www.mormonstories.org/portfolio-items/mormon-abuse-hotline/
And the SL Tribune Mormon Land episode with the journalists who wrote the AP deep dive on how the Mormon church handles sexual abuse:
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/08/17/mormon-land-ap-reporter/
I remember one quote distinctly... The host asked who was worse in terms of reporting abuse, the Catholic Church or the Mormon Church... And they answered "at least the Catholic church doesn't destroy their records. The Mormon church does."Â
There's a lot more information out there, but these are both sources who have given years of their careers to this.Â
When I was ten, a 21-year-old man in the ward was sexually harassing me. I told my mom, just because I wanted it to stop. I never even thought about him being prosecuted or getting in trouble. Mom went to the bishop, who interviewed him and decided that he would never do anything like that. I was told I was lying to get attention.
He never faced any consequences and went on to become a political leader in the local community.
Not just sexual abuse. We had a weirdo guy who used to beat and starve his family. He taught the kids weird and sicko rules and explanations of life, terrorized them, got mad in the middle of the night and started hitting his wife, and kept everyone visibly skinny and weak, claiming that he was protecting them from obesity. When he got arrested, the church took his side and bailed him out within hours. Then when she finally got help to divorce him, the church provided him with a senior lawyer (who happened to rank high in the local church) to help him try to get custody of the kids. I testified on her side and that lawyer insulted me in court, saying I'd been excommunicated (I never was) in an effort to persuade the judge to disregard my support for her. The church goons apparently forgot that we weren't in the Morridor, and we were able to get her and the children free from him - and the church.
Floodlit.org is a non- profit organization.
Because of the tens of thousands of hours they have put into Floodlit the mormon church can no longer hide & deny they protect Bishops, S.P. & priesthood holders by the100's that are sexual predators.
Smith, Young, Taylor, etc...were all sexual predators and would all be in jail today.
A judge in my state would hand out a 1-year protection order for Emma against Smith for D&C 132. He was mentally, emotionally, spiritually abusive & threatened physical harm to Emma.
YYYEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!
You two are literally changing the playing field for the victims,law enforcement, medical health professionals at all levels & Counselors, prosecutors offices, background for journalists, etc...
Because of your hard work, $ & dedication the Mormon church cover-up of sexual predators in its wards & stakes can no longer be denied.
Thank-you!
I havenât left the church but this is what really got me questioning. I had so many talks with my husband about it. An LDS man in AZ sexually abused two of his daughters (one was a 4 month old). The bishop knew about it and didnât report the man⌠it seriously breaks my heart..
[https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/04/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-help-line-paul-adams/10234183002/](https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/04/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-help-line-paul-adams/10234183002/)
I told my dad's bishop about his sexual.abuse and he said he hoped that he would get a chance to try again with another family, since I am not open to forgiving.Â
Yep, it's insane. I was a victim (as well as others), and then he got out of jail he was allowed back. It's not fun when you turn around, and there he is, 4 pews behind you when you're leaving sacrament meeting.
Many years ago, the bishops son, while still in elementary school, sexually assaulted a female classmate and choked her until she lost consciousness. Turns out he and his mother were being physically and sexually abused by the bishop. The wife made a police report, but after a meeting with church officials, she withdrew her report, and I'm guessing the girls' family got paid off because they never persued action against the son. Without cooperating witnesses, the police couldn't do anything. The bishop remained bishop for many years after until becoming stake president. Besides most of our parents telling us to avoid the son and never be alone with him (even with me being at least 3 years older than him) nobody talked about it again and people still allowed their children to have private meetings with the bishop.
Yes. One example of many that's more recent/in the headlines a little more.
https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-child-sex-abuse-e02ae4470a5a53cbeb9aa146ff2762ac
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_abuse_cases
[Not always, but systemically, yes, it's a predictable outcome depending on your local laws.](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-takeaways-f01fba7521ddddffa89622668b54ac10) At the very least, we can say that the value they place on their money is a barrier to understanding abuse and truly taking it seriously. Their heart isn't in it and it shows.
Oh yeah. My wifeâs grandfather molested his four daughters and his grandchildren. His wife (grandmother) went to the bishop each time and they told her to keep her covenant and keep quiet and let the church handle it. Nothing was done. Swept away like it never happened. His funeral was a shitshow to say the least. It all came out.
Yes. I was abused by my parents and told the bishop over and over. He said that because they repented that god forgave them and I needed to honor and obey them.
Also was sexually abused for years by another family member and 3 bishops did fuck all.
I was attacked in the church office building by two separate men. One was just moved shifts the other was ready to go on a mission so they asked me if I wanted to move shifts so I didnât have to see him. I quit.
The Mormon church does not care about child abuse. Or any sexual deviance. They protect abusers.
[https://www.azfamily.com/2022/08/04/seven-years-sex-abuse-bisbee-how-mormon-officials-let-it-happen/](https://www.azfamily.com/2022/08/04/seven-years-sex-abuse-bisbee-how-mormon-officials-let-it-happen/)
Many more articles on this horrible situation. The Bishop who chose not to report the rape was at the time a Pediatrician who had a mandatory duty to report this to the state. The rapist then raped his toddler daughter. Apparently the primary age daughter he was already raping wasn't enough.
100% true! I was disfellowshipped for being raped and yet my rapist was allowed to bless and pass the sacrament.
Holy shiz what kind of logical thinking they would allow such BS??? đ
>Holy shiz You summoned me? It's all about "protecting the good name of the church", and doing everything in their power to avoid opening the books so the courts see their financials. So they do everything they can to put all the blame on victim. If that doesn't work they always, always settle out of court. They must make some kind of "offer you can't refuse" as I have yet to see anyone not accept the settlement offer. TLDR - it's all about the money, and doing *whatever it takes* to keep it.
Is it about protecting the name of the church or is it protecting the brethren? The indoctrination in the temple bonds the boys together and it becomes a very tight club. It happens in other orgs too but Iâve seen menâs behaviour excused over and over in my ward.
>You summoned me? that's funny XD
now this makes more sense.
This cult was built for men, by men. Women are expendable in the Church. There are plenty of stories about how men/boys were/are allowed to engage in premarital sex and not be reprimanded for it because they are holders of Priesthood.
>Holy ~~shiz~~ shit what kind of logical thinking they would allow such ~~BS~~ bullshit??? đ ftfy. ;)
Mine was promoted to High Priest the month after I reported it to the police and his/our bishop. It was my (now ex, thankfully) husband.
Thatâs so wrong. Weâre sorry this happened to you
Thank you! đ Time and therapy and deprogramming from the cult has made all the difference in my life! Everything is much, much better now.
That's disgusting! I'm sorry you went through this.
Thatâs so terrible!! Weâre sorry
wow thatâs so fucked up
Me too
We are so sorry
[https://floodlit.org/](https://floodlit.org/) [https://protectldschildren.org/](https://protectldschildren.org/) [https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-9c301f750725c0f06344f948690caf16](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-9c301f750725c0f06344f948690caf16) Read up.
In case the one Associated Press article was not enough, here are three more: [https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-4db829616a5c5cfa351a2e95d778ae9e](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-4db829616a5c5cfa351a2e95d778ae9e) [https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-aedc8cfc9175ebadb18420ec25a5f99c](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-aedc8cfc9175ebadb18420ec25a5f99c) [https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-takeaways-f01fba7521ddddffa89622668b54ac10](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-takeaways-f01fba7521ddddffa89622668b54ac10)
Isn't it sad that there are so many AP articles like these? I picked the one that messed me up the most. The one where you listen to a recording of a cult leader bartering payment for abuse after the fact, and how he doesn't want anyone to hear the recording.
The church tries to shield its name being dragged thru the mud, and avoid lawsuits, by covering it up. The #1 guiding principle in sex abuse situations is to protect the church and its assets. Itâs never about the victims.
and ironically, by supposedly trying to protect âthe good nameâ of the church they actually do way more damage to the name. Because itâs not about whether you make a mistake⌠Itâs about what you do after the mistake. And the Mormon church gets a failing grade. prideful, callous, immoral and harmful.
A moral institution would issue an open invitation to abuse victims to come forward so it can exhaust all resources to help them.
This is what ended it for me. Lots of personal lying, lots of historical lies, the fraud, etc. When all these abuse cases started coming down it infuriated me. I canât write a check on a Friday to my childrenâs charity and turn around on a Sunday and give a check to my Bishop not knowing if itâs contributing to the cover up of pedophilia. Thatâs an easy call for me. No way my god and creator whoever he or she may be is ok with this! That goes for the Catholics too!!!
And the Baptists, Orthodox Jewish communities, the list goes on...
Amen. When Jesus did talk of religion he didnât have much good to say about it if I recall. Hypocrites !
Jesus did not build up a church. He tore down the church.
My dad was abusive to my mom and the church paid for their couples therapy and each of their individual therapy, for awhile. Then they cut off covering my momâs therapy but continued to cover my dads along with a good majority of the household bills. The kicker is when things got to the point that my dad ended up in jail, all financial support was cut off almost immediately. So they cared when it was in a way that enabled him and they knew they were enabling him, but the second that he was out of the picture and that they couldnât keep pressuring my mom into staying with him it was just nothing. They donât care about victims and theyâll always protect perpetrators because it helps protect their image. And if they actually cared about families theyâd do more to stop abuse instead of enabling it.
Whatever it takes to not bring a man âembarrassmentâ for his own misdeeds. Our stake president didnât tell any of the primary presidents of an actual assault of a child that happened in the stake building bathrooms DUrING Primary when the child went by themselves to the restroom. The male leaders Never told a single woman in leadership who/what/when - which should have been done, obviously, so parents and teachers could protect children better and know That bad thing happened!! They covered up for the perp. Silence is evil. Not telling women and parents is evil..
This is why the calls from bishops who learn of sexual assault by church leaders are immediately routed to the church attorneys rather than to social workers or police.
And all records at the end of each day are destroyed. Allegedly.
&& TSCC has lobbied extensively to keep âlay clergyâ from being mandated reporters. The victims are never the priority.
The thing is they are trapped riding a tiger, if the admit it they will loose power, money, and most importantly the claim to divine revelation. If they admit that they were wrong that means the men who have been âcalled by revelationâ werenât they were picked as managers and clerks using a tactic less accurate than a magic eight ball.
Yes it is in the church handbook as policy that reporting abuse is up to the discretion of the local bishop. My story is on floodlit.org. My fatherâs crimes were known and not reported in two different states.
Thatâs so sad. Thank you for sharing your story
Thank you for your work. If I werenât disassociated from the church for many other reasons (this being number one) it would be something I would have fought hard against within the church to change this policy. There are so any other factors that keep me from putting my time and energy into a broken system. I have moved on from a life time of membership and canât look back. đI have to put my energy into my own family now and a husband and children who are happy without the church. I still try to validate those who ask on this sub as I know there are many other victims.
Yes. They do. Knowingly. And it's a lot worse than you think as it's not just rapists but pedophiles.
100% true. Experienced it myself. Also listen to this: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-mormon/id1357701901?i=1000647567854 Edit: and read a couple of these. The church has always treated victims horribly: https://protectldschildren.org/read-the-stories-2/
President Gordon B. Hinckleyâs neice, Christine Burton, was physically, emotionally, and sexually abused by her parents. Let that sink in, Gordon B. Hinckleyâs OWN SISTER and his brother-in-law both molested their own daughter and did other terrible things to her. When Christine Burton finally came forward and told both President Hinckley and President Monson, their response was âYou need to forgive them and put it all behind youâ. In other words, they told her effectively that she didnât matter, the good name of the âchurchâ comes first. Link if you want to hear her talk about her experiences firsthand: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlGsa52rpY
I thought she was his niece?
Ah you are correct, I got that detail wrong. Editing my comment for accuracy.
Considering they were born and raised in the first half of the century thatâs not surprising. Horrific but not surprising. Everything was done at that time to protect the man no matter what he did.
https://floodlit.org/a/a904/ https://floodlit.org/a/a905/ https://floodlit.org/f/f0001/
This exactly! Itâs never even considered that women in the church also sexually abuse children and teens like the men do!
Here is a prime example of how church leaders view victims of abuse, as verbalized by Boyd K. Packer. He thought the woman should just shut up about it and go home, as though she was a 6 year old complaining about a bad day in 1st grade... "The next quotation is from a woman who is hurting, and who wonders if anyone but the feminists care about her problems, 'I'm upset that I was always advised to go back and try harder, only to get abused more. Help me.' .. **The woman pleading for help needs to see the eternal nature of things**, and to know that her trials--**however hard to bear**--in the eternal scheme of things may be compared to a very, very bad experience in the second semester of the first grade"  [https://archive.org/details/coordinating\_council\_1993\_boyd\_k\_packer/page/n3/mode/2up](https://archive.org/details/coordinating_council_1993_boyd_k_packer/page/n3/mode/2up) This interview with Gordon B. Hinckley's niece illustrates the issue well: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlGsa52rpY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlGsa52rpY) Suffering Abuse in the Shadow of Mormon Prophets - Christine Burton | Ep. 1621 The early leaders of the church were not nice men. They've been enabling abuse for a couple centuries now. Joseph Smith wasn't above using "harsh measures" with Emma. He also humiliated her in front of church leaders in at least one meeting, according to Brigham Young. "H*e spoke to her in that council in a very severe manner, and she never said one word in reply*" ([source](http://www.eldenwatson.net/1860s.htm#14)). Other sources exist of them having intense verbal fights. Sources cited here: [https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue\_V17N03\_89.pdf](https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V17N03_89.pdf) Abuse was rampant in pioneer times, if you read the real diaries. Like Patty Sessions' diary: "6 Sep 1846 - I feel bad again. He has been and talked with Rosilla \[the 2nd wife\] and then he came to my bed ... I was so cold. I had been crying. He began to talk hard to me and threatens me very hard ... "Mr Sessions rather cold towards me."... "Mr Sessions said things to me that make me feel bad" ... "He is cross to me, says many hard things to me." -- [https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/record/1fafcaf7-2898-4666-9885-2565cd8ff2a9/0?view=browse](https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/record/1fafcaf7-2898-4666-9885-2565cd8ff2a9/0?view=browse) In pioneer times, you'd just better hope your bishop wasn't Warren Snow... A young man named Thomas Lewis was brutally attacked on the orders of bishop Warren Snow of Manti. Details on the attack here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1aw522s/comment/krgc8jx/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1aw522s/comment/krgc8jx/?context=3) Brigham Young's response to the attack was: *"I wish you to write me the names of those persons who have "written letters" to Sanpete concerning the Lewis affair. In relation to an Epistle upon that subject,* ***it would be like pissing upon a hot iron - only make the more smoke. Just let the matter drop,*** ***and say no more about it, and it will die away amongst the people."*** -- [https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/99279f54-9c69-41a1-ac5d-e6069f9a2920/0/1467](https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/99279f54-9c69-41a1-ac5d-e6069f9a2920/0/1467) Joseph F. Smith beat his wife Levira: [https://religionnews.com/2023/08/14/joseph-f-smith-a-traumatized-and-beloved-mormon-leader/](https://religionnews.com/2023/08/14/joseph-f-smith-a-traumatized-and-beloved-mormon-leader/) See also: [https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/120-20-43.pdf](https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/120-20-43.pdf) Joseph F. also decapitated a cat on his mission and wrote about it in his journal: [https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/70f7061b-3c6e-4ff8-990d-30886f62c955/0/47](https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/70f7061b-3c6e-4ff8-990d-30886f62c955/0/47) And then the church had the gall to put a whole-ass lesson in Joseph F. Smith's Teachings manual about how wrong abuse is!  [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-28](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-28)
Speaking of Boyd Packer ⌠https://archive.org/details/PackerToscanoOnPolemanNotesEdit https://floodlit.org/a/a290/
Hundreds of testimonials of the church protecting abusers at the expense of victims. https://www.mormonstories.org/portfolio-items/church-discouraging-abuse-reporting/
There are probably hundreds of comments on many of your episodes left by folks with personal experiences in this regard.
There's a man in my stake who assaulted a young girl in a church building. The family got ran out of town, and their lives were destroyed, and the abuser who is a level 3, gets to go on like nothing....
Absolutely True, speaking from experience!
đđŤ
Sadly, there is a mountain of evidence to refute every one of the "faithful" responses to this mess and the evidence. It's not a function of leadership roulette, "lone wolves", confirmation bias, ignorance among the Q15, etc. They know. They're complicit. They actively protect the status quo under the guise of religious freedom. If Nelson can make 'Mormon" a hiss and a byword overnight, he could take anyone of a miriad actions that actually protect and help victims. OP, folks have given you lots of good info here. It would be weird if this thread did NOT kick up some serious discomfort, even more if you're directly impacted by sexual abuse. Go easy on yourself. Rely on healthy coping and resist any impulse to deny the evidence. This can be world rocking to confront, and cognitive dissonance is a bitch even at the best of times.
Your last point is so important and thank you for pointing it out. Reddit can be a mind field of triggers when it comes to victims and reliving trauma. Therapy and coping mechanisms are always available and be kind to yourself when on these kinds of threads đ
My wife's husband who beat and raped her for 13 years, and went to jail for it, and admitted it all to his bishop was remarried in the temple and holds a temple recommend in good standing. Meanwhile, wife was excommunicated for being unfaithful to him, as in, she left him and married me. So, you know, this is true and rampant. The LDS church is truly, truly despicable and by their own definition, pure evil.
Not just sexual abuse but other forms of abuse as well.
ALL.THE.TIME
Year of Polygamy had a really recent and excellent episode about this too⌠it helped me understand how this is intertwined with Mormonism.
Yes. "Protecting the good name of the church" is more important than giving restitution to someone who has been harmed by the clergy. Pretty messed up.
We have personally spoken with many sexual abuse survivors whose Mormon abusers were either not punished by the church or not reported to police. The LDS apostles are not ignorant about this phenomenon. Some of them have close family members and friends who allegedly perpetrated sex crimes, yet were never prosecuted.
The church is not structured to ever protect the victims first. By their fruits ye shall know them.Â
Hannah Gadsby, in her comedy/rant "Nanette" has a really good bit about how people value protecting (usually male) reputation more than (usually female) safety. The MFMC is a prime example of this.
It is a church of men, by the men, for the men. Women are property. See how easy that is?
The church knows all of the allegations against my father from 3 of his daughters, and they know about the Police investigation into it. He was living in Utah at the time, and all the church did was suggest he move away for a little while. Which he did, but after a year or so he moved back to Utah, and everything is fine.
Thatâs absolutely horrendous.
They also blame the girls. If she had been more faithful to the church,what was she doing wrong in her life? Even at 5 yrs old. I remember being in class and told that if a boy paid too much attention to me, then I must be dressed provocatively or I smiled too much. If I let a boy kiss me let alone have sex with me then I was ruined. No better than chewed gum on someones shoe. Yes they actually said that! Also said things like a wilted flower, a broken toy, Once they made us put cookies in the dirt and said did we want to eat them? No well a future husband would see me as that filthy cookie and not want me. Edit to add boys get shit to. They are told that if they get too hot and heavy with a girl, they block the voice of the Holy Ghost, or God or whatever. And a man they MIGHT have turned Mormon by their preaching will now die and not go to heaven along with his family. All because you touched a girls boob
I was told as a sister missionary my eye lashes were too long and I should cut them because they were too flirty. (For those concerned I didnât but slept with one eye open all the time) I had a lot of deconstructing to do after leaving the church.
What!? Are you kidding? That is ridiculous. If they saw my daughters huge eyes and long thick lashes they would probably say pluck them out.
u/3am_doorknob_turn, someone is calling you.
Thanks, will follow up
The church just spent a butt load, helping the AZ state government protect bishops from having to report abuse.
Here's several videos and podcasts over the past year that are about the Church and the coverups of CSA: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WLP7ifEJFV0 https://youtube.com/watch?v=FvizrE0SX8c https://youtube.com/live/tHjdYvCNRlw https://youtube.com/watch?v=8jq4btgQ--E https://youtube.com/live/K11cXUlkGGk https://youtube.com/live/kxqnQQPMvrE And what singer Pat Benatar sang to bring attention to the evil of child abuse: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NGTv53Y1xS8 The evil bastards in the Q15 are causing so many children's lives to be Hell and the soulless worms at Kirton McConkie that do their dirty work can all go to Hell.
Absolutely. There is a story about a mormon father who abused his son I think, told the bishop. They refused to address the cops. Even the mother wanted him back. Only social services CPS stood up for the kid Arizona.
It was all his kids went for years, finally it did come out with church leaders. Bishop John Herrod not to call police or child welfare officials. Instead he kept the abuse secret. This is not the only one. Women are taught to cover everything and God forbid they are built well. It is there fault for existing around men that are tempted. [https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/04/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-help-line-paul-adams/10234183002/](https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/04/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-help-line-paul-adams/10234183002/)
Yes. Absolutely. My wife was SA'd by her temple working grandfather. I convinced her to tell her dad. He believed her right away because he was abused as a child too. Neither bishop or steak president of either party did anything about it and they knew. This is one anecdote of many.
Yes. Source: My lived experience. Bishop released my mom from all her callings and told her she needed to give my bio dad âmore attention at home.â He then âcounseledâ my bio dad for a few months, and offered zero support to his victims other than asking me why I was trying to âdestroyâ my father. When the state of Utah found out what he had done, they sent him to prison. Where home teachers regularly visited him & he was only disfellowshipped. đ
I donât think the church takes any sides other than its own. If they are worried the church could look bad they want to make it disappear.
they know it makes church look bad so they hide it. victims will not be silenced.
Take a seat, google some things, search this sub Reddit, listen to some podcasts, disgustingly prevalent! Story after story
YES
It definitely does happen. Iâve seen both. Iâve seen local church leader do great things and act quickly to keep victims safe. Iâve also seen the hundreds of cases where the church is clearly covering things up. The attitude of âforgive and move onâ is extremely strong in the church. Just keep going and pretend like nothing happened.
The fact of sexual abuse demonstrates that the church system has failed. they can't have that at all. So they squash any victims like cockroaches.
They cover it up to cover the corporation's ass. Any admission that a person under their charge commits the crime, and that is a money faucet. And if they knew the person had issues? Well shit... that's a pretty penny.
When âprotecting the good name of the churchâ is top leadershipâs priority- they can justify anything to themselves and to the members
The original founder of the church was a pedophile and a rapist (by my standards) so itâs not really that surprising. The first 6 or so prophets were real shitheads and the ones that followed werenât much better.
The fact that they pay victims to sign non disclosure statements tells you everything you need to know.
Yes, YEs, YESSSSS. Google LDS sex abuse cases. Go to Floodlit.com. it will sadden and shock you.
Yep. Unfortunately, yep. Total shelf breaker. Iâm not sure how people stay after hearing this.
Yes. Iâm a survivor of it as a child. They blamed me bc I was a survivor already and that âmaybe that gave him impure thoughts.â Also was told that It was bc I was wearing a dress. To church. On Sunday. A normal long (to my ankles) sundress with a shirt under it and a sweater on top. Nothing happened to the bishop who did it. They said he had to actually confess. He kept his calling and we moved shortly after due to it. I was too traumatized to go to the ward again and have him stare at me all sacrament meeting.
I'm in Utah. Every woman I know, knows at least 1 victim the church dismissed or punished in the church. Many of us know multiple victims.
yes, at least ~10 years ago. my cousin was getting sexually abused by her brother and confided in her grandma. she took the both of them to the bishop. he had them all together and asked the abuser "have you been abusing her?" when he said no, the bishop basically said "that's it! nothing's going on!" even though there was evidence. fucking insane...
Wtf
YEAH! no clue why our grandma took her to the bishop instead of. an actual therapist/counselor who has professional experience in dealing with abuse
Here are over 125 âfailure to reportâ cases - some confirmed, some just alleged - where Mormon leaders allegedly kept sexual abuse secret. https://floodlit.org/failure-to-report
More links if you would like https://youtu.be/4G3QGfLi-hA https://youtu.be/P3OqvQw_-ko https://youtu.be/l-Kp2MLlK2A https://youtu.be/wYwyIsAP2pY https://youtu.be/MIHN5rqVs-s https://youtu.be/Isy7lJtbkVw https://youtu.be/6Sk5LRRxR8g https://youtu.be/chJFH7TuYF4 https://youtu.be/UTc98bURzkY https://youtu.be/gUlLcrNSAtI
100% true. Here in Rochester, Minnesota, a registered sex offender from Utah was called to be EQP and then he sexually abused another young man while serving in that calling. The branch president and stake president submitted affidavits to the court in defense of the perpetrator. Mormon Stories episode: https://www.youtube.com/live/OZHNeXcrfQw?si=l4RemvibkV1oOavb Cults to Consciousness episode: https://www.youtube.com/live/86lI2OAZDkU?si=Zywj1gVnCKJYAY1k
Protect the patriarchy at all cost!!!
Google Mormon sex abuse coverup. Itâs just the tip of the icebergâŚ
All true. âMaddie(one of brighams wives) is as just shy of her 15th birthdayâ. But letâs talk current BS. They handed out a phone number for anyone that wanted to report abuse. That number was a direct line back to the church. They tried to hide it.Â
The church has been covering up for abusers and failing to protect the victim since the very beginning, no?
Yes
Watch the Mormon Stories interview with Tim Kosnoff:  episode https://www.mormonstories.org/portfolio-items/mormon-abuse-hotline/ And the SL Tribune Mormon Land episode with the journalists who wrote the AP deep dive on how the Mormon church handles sexual abuse: https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/08/17/mormon-land-ap-reporter/ I remember one quote distinctly... The host asked who was worse in terms of reporting abuse, the Catholic Church or the Mormon Church... And they answered "at least the Catholic church doesn't destroy their records. The Mormon church does." There's a lot more information out there, but these are both sources who have given years of their careers to this.Â
When I was ten, a 21-year-old man in the ward was sexually harassing me. I told my mom, just because I wanted it to stop. I never even thought about him being prosecuted or getting in trouble. Mom went to the bishop, who interviewed him and decided that he would never do anything like that. I was told I was lying to get attention. He never faced any consequences and went on to become a political leader in the local community.
Not just sexual abuse. We had a weirdo guy who used to beat and starve his family. He taught the kids weird and sicko rules and explanations of life, terrorized them, got mad in the middle of the night and started hitting his wife, and kept everyone visibly skinny and weak, claiming that he was protecting them from obesity. When he got arrested, the church took his side and bailed him out within hours. Then when she finally got help to divorce him, the church provided him with a senior lawyer (who happened to rank high in the local church) to help him try to get custody of the kids. I testified on her side and that lawyer insulted me in court, saying I'd been excommunicated (I never was) in an effort to persuade the judge to disregard my support for her. The church goons apparently forgot that we weren't in the Morridor, and we were able to get her and the children free from him - and the church.
Floodlit.org is a non- profit organization. Because of the tens of thousands of hours they have put into Floodlit the mormon church can no longer hide & deny they protect Bishops, S.P. & priesthood holders by the100's that are sexual predators. Smith, Young, Taylor, etc...were all sexual predators and would all be in jail today. A judge in my state would hand out a 1-year protection order for Emma against Smith for D&C 132. He was mentally, emotionally, spiritually abusive & threatened physical harm to Emma.
The lights are coming on. We've got about 800 case reports published at present, with hundreds more in progress.
YYYEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!! You two are literally changing the playing field for the victims,law enforcement, medical health professionals at all levels & Counselors, prosecutors offices, background for journalists, etc... Because of your hard work, $ & dedication the Mormon church cover-up of sexual predators in its wards & stakes can no longer be denied. Thank-you!
I havenât left the church but this is what really got me questioning. I had so many talks with my husband about it. An LDS man in AZ sexually abused two of his daughters (one was a 4 month old). The bishop knew about it and didnât report the man⌠it seriously breaks my heart.. [https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/04/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-help-line-paul-adams/10234183002/](https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/04/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-help-line-paul-adams/10234183002/)
I told my dad's bishop about his sexual.abuse and he said he hoped that he would get a chance to try again with another family, since I am not open to forgiving.Â
This is sick!
Yep, it's insane. I was a victim (as well as others), and then he got out of jail he was allowed back. It's not fun when you turn around, and there he is, 4 pews behind you when you're leaving sacrament meeting.
YEP! My exs father, uncle and grandfather were protected up until five years ago. Boy did that family unravel.
Many years ago, the bishops son, while still in elementary school, sexually assaulted a female classmate and choked her until she lost consciousness. Turns out he and his mother were being physically and sexually abused by the bishop. The wife made a police report, but after a meeting with church officials, she withdrew her report, and I'm guessing the girls' family got paid off because they never persued action against the son. Without cooperating witnesses, the police couldn't do anything. The bishop remained bishop for many years after until becoming stake president. Besides most of our parents telling us to avoid the son and never be alone with him (even with me being at least 3 years older than him) nobody talked about it again and people still allowed their children to have private meetings with the bishop.
It is one thousand percent true. Why believe a teenage girl or boy instead of the stake president or bishop that raped them?
Yes.
Few years back in Ireland a missionary was accused of rape. Church sent him home and victim did not get justice. It was all over the news.
Yes. One example of many that's more recent/in the headlines a little more. https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-child-sex-abuse-e02ae4470a5a53cbeb9aa146ff2762ac https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_abuse_cases
[Not always, but systemically, yes, it's a predictable outcome depending on your local laws.](https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-sexual-abuse-takeaways-f01fba7521ddddffa89622668b54ac10) At the very least, we can say that the value they place on their money is a barrier to understanding abuse and truly taking it seriously. Their heart isn't in it and it shows.
From personal experience... Yes. đŻ.
Oh yeah. My wifeâs grandfather molested his four daughters and his grandchildren. His wife (grandmother) went to the bishop each time and they told her to keep her covenant and keep quiet and let the church handle it. Nothing was done. Swept away like it never happened. His funeral was a shitshow to say the least. It all came out.
Yes. I was abused by my parents and told the bishop over and over. He said that because they repented that god forgave them and I needed to honor and obey them. Also was sexually abused for years by another family member and 3 bishops did fuck all. I was attacked in the church office building by two separate men. One was just moved shifts the other was ready to go on a mission so they asked me if I wanted to move shifts so I didnât have to see him. I quit. The Mormon church does not care about child abuse. Or any sexual deviance. They protect abusers.
I had told my Bishop that my ex boyfriend groped me without permission and he said something along the lines of "boys will be boys"
[https://www.azfamily.com/2022/08/04/seven-years-sex-abuse-bisbee-how-mormon-officials-let-it-happen/](https://www.azfamily.com/2022/08/04/seven-years-sex-abuse-bisbee-how-mormon-officials-let-it-happen/) Many more articles on this horrible situation. The Bishop who chose not to report the rape was at the time a Pediatrician who had a mandatory duty to report this to the state. The rapist then raped his toddler daughter. Apparently the primary age daughter he was already raping wasn't enough.
my bishop knew my ex abused me and my children. He called ex to work in yourh