The ultimate act of destruction is to take a life. That is why abortion is such a serious sin. Our attitude toward abortion is not based on revealed knowledge of when mortal life begins for legal purposes. It is fixed by our knowledge that according to an eternal plan all of the spirit children of God must come to this earth for a glorious purpose, and that individual identity began long before conception and will continue for all the eternities to come. Dallin H Oaks, conference report Ensign November 1993
As an adult convert who is single, I was repeatedly told by many members (only after baptism) that it was expected of me to ‘find a husband’ and have children – that I had ‘a responsibility to procreate as long as it was physically possible to do so’ as otherwise I would be ‘depriving spirit children of a body’. This was despite the fact that I was settled and happy in my chosen career and had no wish to marry and raise a family. I was told this was being ‘disobedient’. This attitude clearly showed me that according to the church, my choices were ‘wrong’, my degree of faith was in question, my career was of no significance and that the ‘person’ I am does not matter; only my gender matters, which exists primarily for the purpose of bearing children.
Obedience and childbirth – that is the lot of Mormon females, both on earth and in heaven. Yes, many women worldwide are downtrodden. If you want to say that Mormon women are less downtrodden, OK, but that’s just an argument of degree. It still doesn’t make it right. Nightingale, board post ‘Women in the Church’
Tom Stollings – 2 hrs – Tonight on ABC Nightline, they will be airing the story about our case. Finally the world will get to see first hand how evil and controlling the Mormon ( the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ). I keep forgetting they changed their name. Lol !!!
They knew and protected a sexual predator with a big known name in the Mormon leadership Christopher Michael Jensen. His family have served in Utah over other countries missions and more.
It’s reported that this monster abused over 47 children. I am sure there are many of more victims. He did this over six years here in Martinsburg WV.
Multiple Bishops, Stake President, multiple leaders all the way to the top of the Mormon church knew and did nothing. To this day they still deny, even though in our trial that was settled after 10 weeks. They still lie. The facts and evidence was presented for the world to hear and it is public record.
Even though we had to fight three judges and go to the West Virginia Supreme Court of appeals we finally got our trial date. We would have never considered settling at the time when we did but the judge was threatening to call a mistrial and set another trial. We did what was best for our children. We knew at least 70 percent of the evidence had been shown for the world to see.
The judge and church lawyers broke so many laws in doing this. Trust me they will and are going to be held accountable for the world to see the evil in the Mormon church and in court system. Sunbeamnotlogedin, board post 28 June 2019, ‘Tonight on ABC Nightline’
The victim must do all in his or her power to stop the abuse. Most often, the victim is innocent because of being disabled by fear or the power or authority of the offender. At some point in time, however, the Lord may prompt a victim to recognize a degree of responsibility for abuse. Your priesthood leader will help assess your responsibility so that, if needed, it can be addressed. Otherwise the seeds of guilt will remain and sprout into bitter fruit. Yet no matter what degree of responsibility, from absolutely none to increasing consent, the healing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ can provide a complete cure. Richard G Scott, Healing the Tragic Scars of Abuse, general conference report Ensign May 1992
Men have been given the priesthood because women enjoy the glory of childbirth. While women are blessed to carry, birth and nurture a child, the only recompense for men is to be charged with honoring the priesthood. Richard G Scott
When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else. David A Bednar, talk on taking offence and forgetting the victims of abuse and rape
My eight-year-old daughter was pulled out of Primary last week without warning and ‘interviewed’ by the Bishop for her projected baptism coming up in late January ... My daughter was in tears after the interview because of some the questions that she couldn’t answer that the Bishop asked her such as: Has she had sexual intercourse with a male or female? Has she engaged in deviate sexual intercourse (sodomy, group sex or sex with objects)? Does she masturbate or has she allowed anyone else to fondle her private areas? Does she look at pornography? This is an eight-year-old! According to my daughter, the Bishop had dolls he used to show the various actions so that she couldn’t ‘misunderstand’ his questions because her ‘eternal salvation’ if she lied was in serious jeopardy.
He told her at the end of the interview that he would have to speak to her parents because at this time he doesn’t feel he can allow her to be baptized. Lark, board post 6th January 2009 (adapted), ‘Interrogation of an Eight-Year-Old Girl’
Provo — As many as 40 people in the same Lehi neighborhood were implicated as child sex abusers by their own offspring and other children in the area, a therapist testified Tuesday.
Dr Barbara Snow, the principal therapist who broke an alleged widespread pattern of child sexual abuse centered in one ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spent nearly six hours on the stand during the second day of the trial of Alan B Hadfield. Salt Lake Tribune 16th December 1987
In so many cases, the church had just taken the children to another province or state and they had never seen their child again. Or the church had overwhelmed them in court with unlimited money and lawyers and PR and they had lost their children. Or mothers had consented to adoption (from pressure and guilt and force) and changed their minds only to have the LDS cult refuse to return the children, or find a legal loophole to keep them from getting their children back.
Countless fathers had been lied to, conned, out-manipulated, out-spent, or just plain had their children kidnapped from them. Especially non-LDS men who wanted to keep their children but never had a chance. This is happening every day!
That is wrong and immoral and should be illegal and stopped. Galatian, board post 8th March 2007, ‘A Personal Story of Abuse by the Mormon Owned LDS Social Services’
I know there are Mormon parents all over the world whose children take a backseat to the church. This is an area that I’ve struggled with and I don’t know why I’m so bothered by it even years later. Perhaps, sharing my story will help me a little.
My mom worked full time while I was growing up. I have no problem with women working when they have children at home if they need to provide for their families or just because they want to. Lots of kids grow up in similar circumstances. My issue is that my mom chose to spend a great deal of time away from her family so that my parents could be full tithe payers. My mom was the type that thought tithing should be paid on gross income, as well as every gift and every dime that was found on the sidewalk. I was regularly told that all of her income went to pay my parents’ tithing and they wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. I remember overhearing conversations where my dad pleaded with my mom to alter how they calculated tithing so that she could spend more time with us kids.
Because my mom worked, I was responsible for all the household duties. I did all the cleaning and laundry and babysat my younger siblings for years until I left for college. I could never participate in any extracurricular activities at school, because I always had responsibilities at home.
My mom often went right from work to attend church meetings. She always had callings that required a lot of her time and never missed homemaking etc. The demands on her time often made her exhausted and grouchy. I was regularly yelled at when things weren't done exactly to her liking. I believe that a lot of the perfectionist tendencies that I struggle with today stem from not being quite ‘enough’ for my mom. anonthistime, board post August 2013, ‘Anyone Else Angry That Their Parents Put the Church Before Their Families?’
As a Mormon, I was expected to have regular interviews with my priesthood authorities. These interviews were used to determine my worthiness to attend the temple and to hold volunteer positions in the Mormon so called ‘lay’ ministry. This concept of continual private interviews seems to be a huge step outside of mainstream Christianity. These interviews are not limited to adults. They start with children as young as eight years of age. Korihor’s Second Cousin, board post 14th November 2011, ‘Practice of Interviewing Children – This is Not Mainstream Christianity’
Martinsburg – A lawsuit filed in Berkeley County against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormon Church, and local church officials accuses church leaders of covering up allegations that the son of local church officials sexually abused 12 children over the course of more than five years.
Christopher Michael Jensen, 22, of Cheswick Drive, Martinsburg, was found guilty of one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse by a custodian February 6 following a jury trial in Berkeley County Circuit Court.
The criminal charges involved only two of the 12 children suing the church, who were ages 3 and 4 at the time of the abuse.
The suit says the church has not accepted responsibility for what it allegedly did or failed to do, despite allegedly being confronted with information about the alleged abuse on several occasions.
The suit also alleges that the church has continued its cover up, sending emissaries from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Martinsburg to instruct witnesses not to talk with attorneys representing the children suing the church.