August 2018 – Mormons Speak

With the Church’s recent threat to excommunicate Sam Young, a former LDS bishop who fasted for twenty-three day to protect LDS children from one-on-one bishop interviews with unacceptably explicit sexual questions, we ask:

Members need to evaluate whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is operating as a church or as a corporation. If a church’s decisions are based solely on preserving the church’s wealth, image, or power at the expense of women and children, it is acting as a corporation. If it is serving the least among us, including the sick, poor, displaced, elderly, dying, or the suffering, it is acting as a church.

Our church does much to help those who are suffering, but it can do much more, especially in giving generously of its tithes to help the destitute–in homeless shelters, refugee camps, the starving, malnourished, those who have no access to clean water, health care, and housing. Almost half of the world is living in situations that can be considered as destitute.

Based on current LDS Church income, about .07 percent of its income or $50 million goes to humanitarian projects each year. Although the Church does much to provide food and clothing for its neediest members, The Church can do much more to help those throughout the world who need humanitarian relief.

Consider the wise counsel of Brene Brown, who wrote, ““When the culture of any organization mandates that it is more important protect the reputation of a system and those in power than it is to protect the basic human dignity of the individuals who serve that system or who are served by that system, you can be certain that the shame is systemic, the money is driving ethics, and the accountability is all but dead.”

The LDS Church must make love its driving ethic, not money. It must protect the human dignity of all who serve in the Church or who are served by the Church. It must make its highest priority the protecting its children, not increasing its corporate power.

The leaders of the Church will discover that as they seek to love and protect all of its members, including its children, it will become a greater force for good throughout the world. It will become all that God intended it to be.

We trust and pray that this will happen soon.

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14 KJV

“If anyone causes one of these little ones–those who believe in me–to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18: 6 NIV

“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 18:10 KJV

To better understand the systemic problem of sex abuse in the LDS Church, listen to the interview with Dr. Gina Convin and “Tim Kosnoff, a US attorney who has spent the last two decades representing victims of sexual abuse. His introduction to the LDS Church and their lawyers was when he represented Jeremiah Scott who was sexually abused by a serial paedophile Frank Curtis. His work, in this case, appears in Lisa Davis’ legal thriller, The Sins of Brother Curtis.

“This case has lead to a practice in which he has come to represent over 150 Mormon sexual abuse victims bringing him face to face with the Mormon law machine time and time again.”

To summarize some of his concerns:

The LDS Church refuses to adopt policies that protect women and children from ecclesiastical sexual abuse. It also encourages the adoption of laws that protect Church leaders from testifying against perpetrators, using the pretense of privileged communication for everything bishops hear.

The LDS Church attorneys spend millions of dollars to silence victims and to protect perpetrators. Most law firms lack the money and time to take on a client who seek legal help after being sexually abused by a LDS ecclesiastical or member perpetrator.

The Utah legal system which is predominantly LDS tends to rule in behalf of the Church. Judges who rule in favor of plaintiffs are in danger of losing their jobs, so even non-LDS judges are afraid to rule in favor of victims and often send the cases to the Utah Supreme Court, which often rules in favor of the LDS Church.

LDS juries also tend to rule against victims because they cannot believe that their Church could support a perpetrator. Since members are taught that all leaders are called by God, they cannot believe that some trusted leaders are perpetrators.

Utah attorneys hesitate to take on a case for an LDS victim of sexual ecclesiastical abuse because they fear that their practice will be injured. In addition, they also realize that they will likely lose the case or that it will cost them millions of dollars and years of work to fight the LDS Church the legal system.

Lawyers who take on cases involving LDS ecclesiastical sexual abuse must pick their cases carefully and select jurisdictions where the judges and juries are more likely to be fair-minded.

The Mormon Church is consistently covering up sexual abuse that is perpetrated upon its innocent children by men in positions of trust and authority in the Church. Because the Church teaches its members that every bishop is called by God, this practice is unlikely to change unless many members speak up, and most are afraid to do so for fear of Church reprisal.

The LDS Church has knowingly adopted practices that destroy or attempt to destroy victims of sexual abuse.

This must stop.

Now.

For a full discussion on this topic, listen to this fascinating A Thoughtful Faith podcast:

Month: August 2018

Are We a Corporation or a Church?

How LDS Policies Protect Sex Abuse Perpetrators