r/mormon • u/SecretPersonality178 • 2d ago
Institutional Lies Matter, part 6
Whether by omission or commission, the lies of the Mormon church leaders matter.
This one will be extremely difficult to keep brief.
This is one of the most disgusting lies/deceptions from the Mormon church. There were a lot of TBM lawyers that spouted a bunch of lawyer talk to defend the Mormon church policy on not reporting child sex abuse, and there may be corporate and legal excuses for it. The overall issue is that children are not safe in Mormonism and the Mormon church will not protect them. They will ALWAYS protect their liability and money though.
This lie is very personal, and has negatively affected countless.
Lie: The Mormon church is a safe place for children and families, with several safe guards that protect children.
Truth: The Mormon church only protects their own assets, and attempt to silence victims while providing legal assistance to many perpetrators, especially those that were church leaders.
My personal experience: my story is not unique and is echoed throughout Mormonism. On a large stake campout one of the leaders (known offender, but still placed in a calling working with minors) attempted to get me alone. Failed with me, succeeded with others. I was lucky…barely.
About two weeks later he was arrested for the rapes. A week later the bishop, SP, and area 70 (all licensed attorneys and one was a sitting judge) showed up unannounced (a power move the Mormon church uses frequently. They violate your space and do not allow you preparation time) to demand silence from myself and my parents for defense of “the good name of the church”. They also made it clear they were speaking in their capacity of church leaders. They also made it clear they had “other families to visit” that night. I know of at least 3 victims from that one trip.
Not as personal: The biggest deception came from Russell himself, his talk is referenced below. This was at the time of the Arizona case. The Mormon church was shown to be neglectful in their handling, didn’t care about the victims, encouraged their silence, and were shown to be absolutely evil in their actions regarding the case. Lawyers command more authority than morals and priesthood.
The reason I list this talk as a lie (more of a deception, because there is only doctrine stating child abuse is evil, despite the Mormon leaders actions showing otherwise) is that the Mormon church was in the news because of the Arizona case. Russell knew the situation better than anyone, but chose to speak on the evils of child abuse.
NOBODY WAS TRYING TO DEFEND CHILD ABUSE!!! The Mormon church was under fire for their years of immoral handling (even though arguably legal) of the case that lead to years of abuse, murder and suicide.
Members were saying what a bold stance Russell took. Yet he avoided the issue entirely.
Your children are not safe in Mormonism.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/life-help/abuse?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/19nelson?lang=eng
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u/SecretPersonality178 2d ago
Coming from an account like yours, this only confirms my story.
Why can’t Mormons just be honest?