Sue the Hell out of the Mormon Church

RyanWhiteOn March 30, 2018, one thousand child protection advocates rallied at the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City.  Books were delivered into the hands of the official Church representative.  These volumes contained hundreds of first hand stories recounting the horrific harms done to children behind the doors of Mormon bishops.

Effective with the delivery of these tragic stories, the Apostles can no longer publicly feign that they are unaware of the dangers their policies expose children to.  Indisputable evidence is now in their hands.  And everybody knows it.

It’s inexcusable that this continues to happen:

In December 2018, Bishop Jeffry Bryan Head was arrested and charged with two counts of forcible sex abuse and two counts of lewdness.  These crimes were committed while he was a serving bishop.  The victims were boys in his congregation.  Gross, disgusting, criminal behavior that will affect these children the rest of their lives.

Bishop Head is only one in a long line of Mormon bishops who have abused children.  When will the Church do what is right?  These crimes were facilitated by one-on-one interviews where sexually explicit questions are fair game.  NO OTHER CHURCH allows this behavior.  The Mormon leaders should have made appropriate policy changes  the day we delivered the evidence of their wrong-doings.

So how is it that the church will finally be dragged into the modern world of truly caring for children’s safety?  If a child is abused, here’s my recommendation:

SUE THE HELL OUT OF THE MORMON CHURCH

They don’t seem to listen to anything else.

It’s inexcusable that this continues to happen:

In April 2019, a “lifetime registered sex offender was arrested for sexually assaulting a minor.”  He was a leader in the local Mormon congregation.  Why was he allowed to work with the youth?  Because the Mormon Church requires NO BACKGROUND CHECKS on anybody.  Not on the congregational leaders.  Not on the regional leaders.  Not on any adult who works with children.

This is inexcusable.  The Mormon Church has become a safe hunting ground for pedophiles.

If a child is abused, here’s my recommendation:

SUE THE HELL OUT OF THE MORMON CHURCH

They don’t seem to listen to anything else.

Help Stamp Out Child Sex Abuse in Religious Institutions

Protect Every Child has mountainous plans  to save children in 2019.  Please stand up and make a difference.

  1. Sign the New Petition.
  2. Share and talk about the petition.
  3. Climb a mountain, unfurl a banner, take a picture and share it.
  4. Come to the March on October 5, 2019 in Salt Lake City.

The march will make all the difference in the world if….lots of people show up.    The media pays attention to numbers.  So do institutions, politicians and society at large.  And large need to be our numbers for October 5th.  The lofty goal is 5,000 child protection advocates marching the streets of Salt Lake City while waving the banners that have been unfurled high on the mountain tops.

 

My Apology for Racism–F&T Meeting June 3, 2018

Black and White

Last weekend I was in Portland for a Protect Every Child event.  It was marvelous.  About 50 child protection advocates climbed to Multnomah Falls and unfurled many banners.

While I was there, the topic of past racist policies of the Mormon Church came up.  It reminded me of a fast & testimony meeting from just a year ago.  I stood and read the words below.  Obviously, I thought it was a pretty good testimony.

However, a few tattle-tales in the congregation disagreed.  They ran to the local leaders to report me.  The stake president called me in and told me not to bring up any more issues in future testimonies.  He instructed me to only bear testimony of the Church, Joseph Smith, the current prophet, the Book of Mormon, etc.

Some context.  At the Fast & Testimony meeting one month before, I had born witness of my love for the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.  As soon as the meeting was over a prominent member of the congregation rushed over to me.  In a patronizing tone he scolded, “Without a full-throated witness of the restoration, your testimony was like tinkling brass.”

June 3, 2018 Testimony:

Last month I shared my testimony of the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. I took some flak for not having mentioned the restoration or the prophets.

Today, I’m going to correct that.

I want to give our current crop of apostles and prophets a strong shout out of support. Last Friday, the church held an event to officially celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the reversal of our church doctrine that forbid black men from receiving the priesthood and prohibited both black men and black women from entering the temple.

This ban on church privileges was lifted in 1978. I had the honor of sitting in a Houston chapel during general conference when Elder N. Eldon Tanner presented the lifting of the ban for a sustaining vote. My hand was proudly raised in support of changing our policy. This is a great example of the Law of Common Consent in action. All policies and major decisions are supposed to be presented to the membership for approval or disapproval. I love this empowering element of the restored gospel. So, there’s my full-throated endorsement of a glorious principle that came directly as a part of the restoration.

Now, I want to express my appreciation and respect for our current apostles and prophets. 4 years ago, the apostles did something very gutsy that no top leadership has ever done before. They published an essay on LDS.org entitled Race and the Priesthood. It condemns our past racism. It disavows our past racist doctrine, teachings and practices. That’s a disavowal and condemnation of what all the past prophets and apostles from Brigham Young on have taught regarding black people being cursed with a dark skin. Hallelujah!!!

Unfortunately, until 4 years ago when this essay was published, I completely believed our racist teachings that are now officially condemned.  I’m glad that the church celebrated the lifting of the ban.  However, I wish that there had also been an official full-throated apology for our past racism.

Today, I offer my apology and the apology of many, many of my friends.  We are sorry that we were gullible enough to believe that our white skin was a reflection of our righteousness in the pre-mortal life.  And that a black skin was a reflection of the opposite.

I’m sorry that these disavowed practices, which I fully supported, marginalized an entire race for 150 years within the church of Jesus Christ.

I offer this apology in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Three months later, I was excommunicated.

Adam & the Bishop

Banner

For the sake of anonymity, I’ll call this boy ‘Adam.’

His story is #4 on ProtectEveryChild.com  and #1054 on ProtectLDSChildren.org.  During my correspondence with Adam, he gave me his permission to publish it here.

First, I want to thank the 1,067 victims who have shared their stories of abuse.  You made it safe for this man to write and share his story.

When I first read Adam’s narrative, my shock quickly turned to anger and sadness.  It’s a mixture of emotions that I have become very familiar with.  The anger drives me to fight my damnedest to eradicate all practices that facilitate this horror.  The sadness draws my empathy to the surface.

I asked myself this question, ‘How much grooming did it take before the bishop felt safe enough to do what he did to this child?”

Tears come as I write this. I am going to climb mountain after mountain after mountain, literally and figuratively, to stop more stories like Adam’s from being written in the heart of a child again.  Please, please join me.

**Strong Trigger Warning**

**Disturbingly graphic sexual story below.

**DO NOT READ if you could be re-victimized

**

**

**

**I read the story because I wanted to understand what our children can face all alone with a Mormon bishop.

When I was age 11-15, I had different experiences with different bishops. I have never had the courage to say anything, and I also have never had a place where I can feel safe to talk about it. These men are part of my family’s community still to this day, and the encounters were so long ago (I am now 24) that is just doesn’t seem like it will even help to approach them.

My first bishop was a very jovial and traditional Mormon bishop (he told pioneer tales and frequently called up youth to recognize them for their valiant examples of faith in sacrament meeting).

I had an instance where I had confided in my bishop about seeing a pornographic picture and how it was hard to get it out of my head. He kept asking me how the picture made me feel, even though I told him it made me feel yucky and scared. When he obsessed over this I assumed that he was trying to fish out of me some secret evil thought that I thought in order for him to help me repent.

Even though we had an opening prayer, he stopped the meeting and said that we needed to pray. He asked me to pray and to ask God to make me feel the same feelings I felt when I looked at the photo so that I could remember them and repent. When I opened my eyes mid prayer, I he apparently had scooted his office chair in front of me, and he had his legs spread with an obvious erection just a foot away from me. Most terrifying, his eyes were open while mine were closed, and he was smiling. After the meeting concluded we both stood up, and he shook my hand.  Now that he was standing his pants were loose enough for the erect penis to be literally pointed right at me. I kept repenting for even noticing it and it made me feel even more perverted, like it was a test

The second encounter has brought me immeasurable sorrow and still as I am typing this makes my stomach feel like its in ropes. I was 15. This time it was a different bishop. He later on became a member of my stake presidency and was known for his strong connection to the youth and his tenor voice as he sang in the choir. I was entering his office because I had “heavy petted” a girl in my high school consensually, but I felt grief stricken by it.

He told me that I could not fully repent unless I saw him and told him the details of the petting. Instead of asking how long and things he started asking me details that at the time I thought were part of the process (I thought I was supposed to feel humiliated, and conflated that with godly sorrow). His first humiliating question was “Did your hands smell differently?” I told him that I din’t know. He assured me “I know its embarrassing but I want you to know that as a judge in Israel the Lord knows your thoughts, and withholding details will disqualify you for the atonement.”

I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t smell my hands. He then asked me if “they smelled like tuna, and asked me if I sucked it off of my fingers, or asked her to suck it off of my fingers.” I told him neither. He seemed irritated but went on to ask me to describe the girl’s anus. I had never went near that area. He told me that I needed to tell him everything.

After about 20 awkward minutes of him projecting his fantasies, he asked me to read in the scriptures. We read about the people looking at the snake on the stick and how it healed them. I don’t remember what part of the bible it was. But he told me that I must never tell anybody but that the lord was going to give me a special opportunity because “He loved me and that I was favored among my peers, and destined for great trust.” He then gave me a blessing with the chair in the center of the room.

As he was giving it, and his hands were on my head, I remember feeling on of his hands leave my head, and then return. On the back of my head I could feel something warm poking me. I didn’t realize, but he had pulled his penis out, and it was touching my head. I remember my hairs all standing on end as in the blessing he said “The Lord now commands you, Brother _______ to look and be healed, as the faithful in ancient times,.” And that “this opportunity was sacred, and that others had not the faith as I did, and would not receive this opportunity.” When he said amen, I quickly got up and turned around to quickly shake his hand, but he swiveled around fast enough to slap me in the face with his erect penis. It didn’t hurt, but I remembered that I didn’t know how to react and said “oh woah I’m sorry!”

I wanted to weep or to just leave the bishops office, but he started bombarding me with compliments and “revelation that the lord gave him of my valiance.” He told me that if I look at “what the Lord has provided” that his priesthood keys would “discharge a blessing of forgiveness.” (Looking back I feel as though he must have planned to ejaculate, but it never happened.) After looking at his erect penis (I can still fully visualize it in my memory) I remember he told me that the Lord was lifting my burdens. He then situated a bag of starburst over his penis, and asked me if I would like one. He had pulled open a hole to insert his penis and was wanting me to reach inside. I declined and said that I am “not hungry” an he protested that I love starburst (He had given them to all of the youth before and I loved the pink ones.) I remembered he stood up, and let go of the bag of candy, and it spilled out on the floor but the bag was still on his erect penis. He then sat down, and we had a closing prayer. I DISTINCTLY remember him asking me to pray, and to include asking BOTH of us for forgiveness for the “many sins” that “the Lord showed unto us” that day.

I have gone to therapy and have declined giving them incriminating details. However, the process has helped me to feel like I am not guilty even though I still feel like its my fault to this day.

My friend Adam, it was never your fault.  Your story will help fuel the drive to protect children of the future.  For that, I am grateful.

Take Action

+Please sign the new PETITION.

+Share the PETITION with friends and family.

+Climb a mountain, hill or driveway.  Unfurl a banner, take a picture and share.

+Register for the Children’s March on Oct 5th in Salt Lake City.

Together, we are going to save future children from the horrors of child sex abuse.

Pennies

Three Pennies

Yesterday, I took a long walk.

Came across a penny on the roadside.

Almost unnoticeable.

Nearly unrecognizable.

It was marred and scarred.

Run-over and stepped on.

Smashed flush with the surrounding debris.

Later, I came across another.

Further on, one more.

At some point, each had been cast aside.

Maybe long, long ago.

How many travelers had passed them by?

I stopped.

Bent down.

Picked each up and examined.

Then a tear.

Though marred and scarred,

Their worth was undimmed.

Their value as bright as any other.

 

“Silent and Immobile.” -Elder Dallin H. Oaks

 

Flag Lisa Ensign PeakAt the men’s session of the April 2019 General Conference, apostle Dallin H. Oaks presented a parable that perfectly describes our course over the past 2 years.  You can watch the entire address HERE.

Some decisions are choices between doing something and doing nothing.   I heard an example of this kind of choice at a stake conference in the United States many years ago.  The setting was a beautiful college campus.  A crowd of young students were seated on the grass.  The speaker who described the circumstance said they were watching a handsome tree squirrel with a large bushy tail playing around the base of a beautiful hardwood tree.  Sometimes it was on the ground.  Sometimes up and down and around the trunk. 

But why would that familiar sight attract a crowd of students? 

Stretched out prone on the grass nearby was an Irish Setter.  He was the object of the students’ interest and the squirrel was the object of his.  Each time the squirrel was momentarily out of sight circling the tree, the Setter would quietly creep forward a few inches and then resume his apparently indifferent posture.  This is what held the student’s interest.  Silent and immobile, their eyes were riveted on the event whose outcome was increasingly obvious. 

Finally, the Setter was close enough to bound at the squirrel and catch it in his mouth.  A gasp of horror arose and the crowd of students surged forward and wrested the little animal away from the dog.  But it was too late.  The squirrel was dead. (Audience laughs???) 

Anyone in that crowd could have warned the squirrel at any time by waving arms or by crying out, but none did.  They just watched while the inevitable outcome got closer and closer.  No one asked, where will this lead?  When the predictable occurred, all rushed to prevent the outcome.  But it was too late.   Tearful regret was all they could offer. 

That true story is a parable of sorts.  It applies to things we see in our own lives and in lives and circumstances around us.  As we see threats creeping up on things or persons we love, we have the choice of speaking or acting or remaining silent.  It is well to ask ourselves, where will this lead?  Where the consequences are immediate and serious, we cannot afford to do nothing.  We must sound the appropriate warnings or support appropriate preventative efforts while there is still time.

Thank you Elder Oaks for your validation.

Almost everyday we are witnessing the predictable consequences of leaving children unprotected.  “We must sound the appropriate warnings.”

Don’t sit silent and immobile.  Children are crying out for our voices to be lifted up.

Take Action

+Please sign the new PETITION.

+Share the PETITION with friends and family.

+Climb a mountain, hill or driveway.  Unfurl a banner, take a picture and share.

+Register for the Children’s March on Oct 5 in Salt Lake City.

Together, we are going to save those precious squirrels.

Excommunication is a violent act

chopping block

Excommunication is a violent act!

I first heard this statement from John Dehlin on a Mormon Stories podcast.  I dismissed it as an emotional exaggeration.

Then it was my turn.  As the excommunication tribunal approached, I was not thinking, “This is going to be violent.”  My immediate interest was figuring out how to use the church court to as a vehicle to bring more awareness to the plight of Mormon children.

Now I know better.  Post excommunication, if you choose to continue associating with the Mormon community, it messes with your head.  The frequency and duration of the trauma is  gradually subsiding.  Sometimes it comes rushing back, if only for a moment.  Today, was one of those moments.

My wife went to church this morning.  A former member of our congregation was visiting.  She is a fine person.  Our families have been friends for years.   Due to her husband’s church status, she hobnobs with the elite leadership of the LDS Church.  Of course, my wife was happy to see her.  They chit-chatted about what the kids and grand-kids were doing.  My name was never bought up.

Here’s the violent part.  As my wife shared the encounter with me, I thought, “This old friend believes that at the end of mortality , my wife will be given to another man!!!  That she will be a polygamous wife for eternity.  Relegated to the unenviable status of the 2nd, or the 3rd or the 100th wife.  Never to have any association with her excommunicated apostate husband ever again.   Behind the polite smile, my friend believes that my children will be provided another father.  My grandchildren will be given to another grandfather.  Their beloved dad and granddad ripped forever from their presence.”

I don’t believe any of that crap.  It’s idiotic made-up doctrine.  Conjured up to justify the aspirations of a few men to have sex with as many women as their loins desired.

My TBM* friends claim that they believe what the prophets have taught.  They KNOW that the Mormon Church is the ONLY true church on the face of the earth.  They KNOW that the prophets and apostles speak with and for God.  If they KNOW all that, then they must believe that my wife, children and grandchildren will be torn from my side and given to a worthy and righteous man.  Perhaps to the very husband of our friend in high places whose conversation brought all these thoughts to mind.

Excommunication is a violent act!

Back to Important Matters

Climb a Mountain, Save a Child

Need a flag?

Sign the NEW Petition

Register for the Oct 5 Children’s March in SLC

*TBM = True Believing Mormon

Depravity with a Child Acceptable in the Mormon Church

Shame-ChildFirst the Good News

A new message from a friend.  The following happened in a Mormon chapel.

Recently, a family member’s daughter went in for a bishop’s interview.  She told the boy who was waiting to go in, that he could go first because she was waiting for her Mom to go in with her.  He said,  “Don’t worry, I’m waiting here for my Mom too.”  The culture is changing and you had a lot to do with that.  What a great mark to leave.

On the front lines there are good parents whose eyes are being opened.  They are not waiting for the Church.  Instead they are taking the safety of their children into their own hands and not allowing one-on-one interviews.

By the way, this is no longer MY mark.  This is a mark that WE are leaving.

***Trigger Warning***

***Graphic Sexual Question***

***Psychological Sex Abuse of a Child***

Depravity

Today I spoke with a delightful couple in their early 30’s.  Both had left the Church in the past year.  When the husband heard about Protect LDS Children he was immediately interested in our cause.  His childhood bishop interviews still haunt him.

In his first interview this bishop asked if he masturbated.  The boy didn’t know what it meant.  The bishop described it in lurid detail.  In subsequent meetings the questions about masturbation became increasingly explicit.

And then he shared the coup de gras.  At some point the bishop probed with the following query:

Have you ever tasted your own ejaculate?

WHAT THE HELL!!!!  Mormons, can’t you see how horrendous this is?  The question itself is shame inducing and way beyond the extreme boundary of propriety .  What do you suppose a child is thinking, all alone behind a closed door with an older man?  And then to be asked…HAVE YOU EVER TASTED YOUR EJACULATE???

Yes I’M SHOUTING.  THIS.IS.CHILD.ABUSE.  And yet, it’s totally acceptable in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You, my Mormon friends, should be ashamed that the so called apostles of Jesus Christ allow pornographic probing of children.  It does all kinds of damage.  At this point, I’m glad to have been excommunicated.  I am ashamed of what your Church permits to be done to its young ones.

This depraved question has been added to the 29 Questions permissible in the Mormon Church and yet are revolting to the rest of the world.

Protect Every Child

We’re moving forward, putting things in place for big actions this summer.

  1. We have pivoted to protecting all children regardless of religious affiliation.
  2. The NEW petition is up.  Please sign and share.  This is very important.
  3. The NEW website has just been published.  I’ll post an article soon discussing it in more detail.  Although several pages are still under construction, it contains valuable information.
  4. Flags are now available for purchase.  I hope you are planning to plant a banner on a mountain peak, a hill top or at the end of a driveway.  Of course, homemade flags are totally acceptable.
  5. Soon we’ll start reaching out to other youth serving organizations for support and endorsement.
  6. We will also be inviting therapists, psychologists, and other professionals to endorse and join our movement.

For a fuller discussion of Protect Every Child click HERE.

 

Enough is Enough–Protect Every Child!!

PEC BackgroundOver the past 18 months, the cause of Protect LDS Children (PLDSC) has been dedicated to protecting kids in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Also known as the Mormons.  In 2019, we will take up the noble cause to protect EVERY child, regardless of religious affiliation.

Last year, we documented the dangers facing children in the Mormon church.  Survivors shared thousands of stories of sexual abuse, both physical & psychological, overt and covert.  Many of their narratives can be seen HERE and read HERE.  Over and over, survivors also shared that our movement brought with it a great healing effect.

Background

In the summer of 2017, I organized an initiative called Protect LDS Children.  That’s the year I found out that my daughter was regularly subjected to sexually explicit interrogations  from age 12 to 17.  I raised her and my other 5 daughters in the Mormon Church.  This happened to my sweet child behind closed doors, all alone with the bishop of my congregation.

I wish I could go back in time and protect my innocent 12 year old daughter.  I can’t.  But I can stand up and speak out for the protection of today’s children.  Through PLDSC, I called on the Mormon Church to end the practice of one-on-one interviews and to eliminate sexual questions.

During 2018, Protect LDS Children carried out the following actions.  Tens of thousands of supporters joined the cause.

All of this generated much needed awareness of the dangers that the Mormon interview practices pose to children.  The Church responded with a minor, yet significant, policy change.  Unfortunately, Mormon children are still at great risk.

Protect Every Child (PEC)

Our original goal was to protect Mormon children.  During 2018 and early 2019, as scandal after scandal after scandal of child abuse continuously erupted, I realized that EVERY CHILD is at risk.  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.  Adults need to stand up and shout from the mountain tops that abuse of children must stop.  No longer will we take it sitting down. 

Rather than reading the horrors perpetrated on children and simply shaking our heads, it’s time that the whole of society flex its powerful muscles.  We can’t prevent what happened in the past.  We WILL protect our precious kids going forward.

Protect LDS Children has expanded its cause to Protect Every Child, regardless of religious affiliation.  We will reach out and join forces with other organizations which also seek to safeguard our little ones.  Child abuse is not just among the Mormons or the Catholics or the Baptists.  It is everywhere. 

In 2019, Protect Every Child will launch a series of actions to raise awareness to mountainous levels.  Here is our four point plan.

Action 1:  New Petition

Last year’s petition was directed at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This year’s new petition will call for all parents as well as all religions, denominations and youth serving organizations to Protect Every Child.  The goal is to gather 50,000 signatures.

Action 2:  Climb a Mountain, Save a Child

  • Summit a mountain, a hill, a driveway or any point of prominence.  Whether big or small.
  • Unfurl a banner on that driveway or mountain top.  Take a picture.  Then share it everywhere.
  • This year, hundreds of banners will be planted on pinnacles all around the world.  The flags are not to be left behind.  Rather, they are to be brought home for a subsequent action.
  • A lovely carol is sung during the Christmas season–Go Tell It On A Mountain.  If ever there was a message to shout from the mountain tops, this is it.  PROTECT EVERY CHILD.

Action 3:  12 Days of Ascension–July 24 to August 4, 2019

Last summer, a 23 day hunger strike was conducted in the shadow of the Salt Lake Temple.  This summer, we’ll return to Utah for 12 days,    Not to fast…to climb.  Peaks will be summitted around the valley.  Others will climb mountains across the country.  Banners will be unfurled for the entire world to see.

  • Each evening, a temple-side-chat will be broadcast.  Flags carried down from the mountain tops will be on display.  Discussions will be held with survivors and supporters.  Religious leaders will be invited to share their child safety practices.
  • On the final day, a large gathering will be held, similar to last year’s amazing Samaritan’s party.  Many described it as the most spiritual meeting they had ever attended.
  • During last summer’s hunger strike, over 500,000 social media views were registered.  This year we will raise that awareness to millions.

Action 4:  The Children’s March!!  Oct 5, 2019

Last spring, PLDSC held a rally and march in Salt Lake City.  Its culmination was the delivery of the petition to the top Mormon leadership.  Books were also presented that contained hundreds of stories of harm done behind closed doors.

It was a magical experience.  Healing of childhood wounds.  Awareness raised.  A thousand people joined together in a common and noble cause. Giving voice to the voiceless.  Standing up to protect the vulnerable.  Recognizing, validating and soothing the deep hurt still lodged in the broken hearts of adults who were abused as kids.

October 5, 2019, a second march will be held in the streets of Salt Lake City.  The banners that have been planted at the tops of the world and at the end of driveways will be publicly unfurled and proudly waved.  Huge awareness will be spread of the abuse our children have endured and what MUST be done to prevent it in the future.

This will be an historic event.  In 2018, one thousand marchers peacefully walked the streets of Salt Lake.  Our goal for 2019 is 5,000 participants.  Join us for this experience of a lifetime.  Come…march…and Protect Every Child.

Desired Changes

Some institutions have already implemented child protection policies.  Some of those policies are robust and well thought out.  We commend those institutions.

Many churches and other organizations have constructed bare-bone policies or none at all.  That is no longer tolerable.  Our children must be priority number one!  Not the good name of the institution or the reputation of  its leaders.  In fact, the repute of an institute should be directly tied to the quality of its safeguards and its diligence in enforcing them.

As a minimum, Protect Every Child calls for the following standards.  The term ‘children’ refers to minors up to and including the age of 17.

  1. No one-on-one interaction between adults and children.  That includes ecclesiastical leaders.  Children should never be taken behind closed doors without at least 2 adults present.
  2. No one-on-one communication via technology between unrelated adults and children.
  3. No private discussions initiated by adults relating to sex or sexual activity.
  4. For all adults who work with children:  a) Criminal background checks.  b) Re-verify criminal background checks at least every 3 years.  c) Professional training on youth protection.  d) Renew youth protection training at least every 2 years.
  5. Child protection policies are to be posted publicly and given to all parents.  Parents and leaders/volunteers working with children are to be trained annually on these policies.
  6. Establish a complaint process for reporting policies not being observed or leaders acting in ways that are not consistent with child protection responsibilities.  This process should be independent of the organization’s leadership.
  7. All institutions must act in accordance with government laws of reporting child abuse or suspicion of child abuse.
  8. Institutions are to have an independent process to evaluate how well the institution is following the policies.

Now…

Let’s join arm-in-arm to Protect Every Child.

You can start by signing the new PETITION.

Then share it with everybody.   Every human being has a huge stake in this.

About Me

I am a Houston small business owner and father of six daughters.  Over my 66 year lifetime, I have dedicated decades of volunteer service to the Mormon Church is various roles including bishop, bishopric counselor, ward mission leader, ward young men president, stake young men president, stake public affairs director, stake activities director, high councilor, high priest group leader, seminary teacher, institute teacher and several special assignments.  From 1972 to 1974, I served a full time proselyting mission in Guatemala and El Salvador.

 

“What the Church is doing is nothing short of evil!”

 

Flag Mary S. Currie

(Mary S. Currie at the summit of Mither Tap near Aberdeen, Scotland)

Mormons—DON’T ALLOW THE CHURCH TO GET AWAY WITH PROTECTING PREDATORS.

The next time it could be your child or your grandchild,  your friend’s daughter or your neighbor’s son.

Shared with permission.

Roughly 10-12 years ago, a sibling of mine came forward with a terrible story. He gathered the family together and informed us that when he was younger he had been groomed and repeatedly fondled and raped by a former Bishop (Mormon). He approximated that he had been about 10 years old when it had started. It continued for several years. He had decided to inform the current Stake Presidency of said Bishop. And he wanted us all to know what had happened before he did because shit might get crazy. I was shocked, but I was extremely impressed and proud of my brother’s bravery that day.

My parents were both present as our former bishop was read a letter composed by my brother detailing the events of their highly inappropriate relationship. The former bishop confessed to it all. At this point my brother and family naively expected The Church to take action both within The Church and also with law enforcement. The Church would do the right thing…we thought.

After several months of silence, an anonymous person informed my parents that the Stake Presidency had been instructed by their superiors to say nothing about the crimes of the bishop, not even to their own families. In disbelief we realized that The Church was protecting a pedophile in their ranks. Discouraged, my brother decided that if the Church would not go to the law he would. At the very least, my brother expected an apology from The Church. Maybe some counseling. He had hoped that informing them might make them reconsider some of their policies. He didn’t want this to happen to anyone else. But The Church made no contact with my brother. The silence was deafening on all sides.

My brother went to the police with his story and the bishop was arrested. He was released on bail shortly afterwards. The press picked up on this story and it was reported widely locally. After the story broke the District Attorney started receiving calls from other victims of our ex-bishop. Apparently my brother was not the only victim. This District Attorney would not give exact numbers but he did say that the number was “substantial.” Unfortunately all other victims decided to remain anonymous.

Then a funny thing happened. After months, perhaps a year, The Church came forth with a statement that read: “The Church was shocked to learn recently of these allegations, particularly considering the relationship of trust that must exist between a bishop and the members of his congregation. We express our deepest sympathy for the victim and his family. The Church has cooperated fully with law enforcement officers in their investigation of this matter.”

Wait, what? The Church is extending it’s deepest sympathies? They’re shocked at this news? If that was the case why in the hell hadn’t they apologized to my brother months ago! And why didn’t they alert the public that a pedophile who had victimized many was roaming freely among the unsuspecting. Why did they wait for the issue to become public before saying anything at all?

At this point it was painfully obvious that The Church did not give a shit about my brother and the emotional anguish that had haunted him for years. No. The Church was worried about it’s reputation. It was all about PR for them. And what was even more disturbing is the fact that the highest leaders of The Church were aware of this matter. President Hinckley was in on the sham! The Church doesn’t make a public statement without the leaders knowing, right? It made me sick. I was revolted at the trust I had extended to this institution at one point in my life.

The bishop walked away a free man. Not for lack of evidence. There was plenty of evidence to put him away. But it had been too long and the statute of limitations had passed. The Courts could do nothing. Soon the media attention faded and so did the horrific acts of an evil man. A man that may still be an active pedophile. Who knows how many more since then.

I was so angry at this ex-bishop. I was even more angry with the secrets and deceit of The Church. They played it all so well. They walked away clean. I’m still angry! But it’s not so much concerning the events of a decade ago. I’m still angry because I repeatedly hear the same story, over and over again. Another sexual predator in the Church that I hear about on the news or through acquaintances (I know a lot of people that have had this experience,) who slips away quietly after The Church instructs its leaders to say nothing about the sexual predator next door. Silence is their policy. And it happens again and again and again. People tell me I should let this go. Perhaps I can. But it won’t be until The Church of Jesus Christ and it’s sexual predator epidemic is front page news on The Washington Post or The New York times. There must be a reckoning! What the Church is doing is nothing short of evil!

Speak up!

Fight!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!

Bishop Abuser

April 2004, this bishop was arrested for sexually abusing the 10 year old boy in the story above.

December 2018, a bishop was arrested for sexually abusing young boys in his ward.

February 2019, a bishop was arrested in a human trafficking & prostitution sting.

My blood is boiling.  I hope all who read this feels the boiling indignation that will drive you to action.  It is time that WE bring this to a halt…in the Mormon Church and in every other church on the face of the earth.

Climb a Mountain, Save a Child

This is the year to make a huge difference.  It’s all laid out HERE.  I know, I know…I need to write it out.  It’s on my list to do VERY soon.  The new website for Protect Every Child is about done.  Flags will be available for purchase.  In the meantime, several people have already climbed several mountains and unfurled their own homemade banners.

Petition

A new petition is also in the works calling for parents and churches to Protect Every Child.  In the meantime, if you haven’t signed the last petition which was addressed to the LDS Church, please consider doing it now.

THANK YOU!